• 3-minute read
• 16th October 2018

Writing Tips: An Example Press Release

In a previous post on the topic, we set out five tips for writing a good press release. But what should a press release look like in practice? And how can you fit all of the key points in a few short paragraphs? Check out our example press release below for a few ideas on how this might work.

Example Press Release

Proofreader Finds World’s Oldest ‘Typo’

A freelance proofreader at Proofed has identified a ‘typo’ on a parchment believed to be over 6,000 years old.

London, 20 August, 2018 – A freelancer from Proofed played an unusual role in solving a historical puzzle last week. On Wednesday, the Academy of Forensic Reading announced that they had made progress on translating the oldest parchment so far found in Europe. This came after one student, James Osterberg, realised that past translations contained an error.

Osterberg, who also works as a freelance proofreader for Proofed, says he found the error after he spotted a mark on the parchment that changed the interpretation of a single word. Previous researchers had dismissed this as a stain, but James quickly realised the oversight.

‘It was obvious once you knew what you were looking at,’ James says. ‘Maybe the difference was my training as a proofreader! I don’t usually edit documents written in mysterious ancient languages, but the attention to detail involved in proofreading is just as valuable in historical research.’

The origin of the parchment is still unknown, but it has been dated to circa 4,000 BCE. This latest development will help researchers complete its translation and solve the riddle of who wrote it.

Proofed’s CEO, Bernardette P’dant, says that she is ‘proud of the work James is doing with the Academy of Forensic Reading. Like all of our proofreaders, James is hard working and dedicated to excellent writing, although we usually aim to correct documents within 24 hours rather than after six millennia.’

For more information on this story, please contract Lewis Reed at info@proofreadmyessay.co.uk.

A Quick Breakdown…

To finish, we’ll run through a few key features of our example press release:

1. It begins with a punchy headline, followed by a subheading that provides more information to help hook the reader
2. All of the key details are set out in the first paragraph, including what happened, when it happened and who it involved
3. It then expands upon this and explains the importance of what happened
4. We’ve included quotes and an image that journalists can use
5. We’ve included contact details for anyone who wants to find out more

Doing these things well will boost your chances of getting coverage!