This semester I learned a lot about Public Relations Writing and how to write a Press Release. As well as many other important elements that go into PR. Before taking this class, I didn’t know much about PR writing. As I only have a few weeks left, there are several things I’ve learned. Especially all the different professional writing skills that I learned that I could use for my future career.
AP Style is one of the most important components to Public Relations writing that I learned about. AP Style is used for all press releases, backgrounders, media advisories and facts sheets that you write as a PR Professional. This semester I would say learning how to use AP Style was one of the hardest things for me to do. With AP style there is a lot of different abbreviations and grammatical errors that can happen because it is different than typical writing. It is important as a PR Professional to perfect this especially if you are writing for a company. You want to make sure your writing sounds professional and follows the AP style format.
Writing Press Releases for this class was also something I never had done before. Learning the format and what to and not put in a press release helped me to understand how to write one. This is really important to perfect as well on behalf of the company you are writing for. You want to make sure you are using AP style as well as putting in the necessary information and quotes that are relevant to what the press release is about. In class we did a lot of peer editing which was really helpful to know what I can improve on and fix for my final draft. At first, I was nervous to have my peers read the papers I wrote, but it helped me so much to see what I can improve on for next time.
Looking forward, I hope to continue to use the skills and feedback I got from this class. It definitely wasn’t an easy class and a lot of constructive criticism but has helped me how to improve and see how I can become a better writer. In this class I confidently know how to use social media as well as LinkedIn for future internships and jobs. Having these resources will be beneficial for job searching and writing professionally. So that other employers can see the skills that I have and show I know what I am doing. Even though right now I don’t know specifically what I want to do with PR, I hope to continue to use the skills from PR writing to network and find a couple of internships.
