Want to get better at writing press releases? Hashim Communications has launched a free Press Release Writing Test, a place to practice your writing on mock client briefs. When you are done, you can have your draft reviewed by Hashim Communications at no charge. It is open now as a pilot at hashimpr.com/press-release-writing, in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
Why a writing test?
Many founders, marketers and fresh graduates are asked to write press releases, yet few have been taught how. The result is often a release that buries the news, skips key facts or reads like an advertisement. Journalists move on quickly when that happens.
The test is based on the writing tests that PR agencies give job candidates, which we have taken ourselves.
How it works
- Pick a scenario. Choose from fictional client briefs: a funding announcement, a product launch, a nonprofit program launch, or a partnership release drafted by an AI tool that you must check and fix. More scenarios may be added in the future.
- Write against the clock. You have one hour to write a release of roughly 500 to 700 words. The page counts your words as you go.
- Score yourself. When you finish, a 10-point checklist helps you assess your own draft against what editors look for.
- Learn from the traps. Each brief hides a few common mistakes. You then see what they were and how a model release handles them.
Write it yourself
We know that AI tools can produce a draft in seconds. Knowing whether that draft is accurate, newsworthy and ready for a journalist still takes judgment, and that is the skill this test helps you build. Please write without AI tools during the test. The “Fix the AI draft” scenario then puts that judgment to work on a release an AI tool got wrong.
Free, private and no sign-up
- No registration or login is needed.
- Your draft stays in your own browser. The page does not collect, store or send anything you write.
- All companies, people and figures in the briefs are fictional.
Hashim Communications also offers a free review of your draft press release. Contact details are on the test page.
This test page is a pilot version, so your feedback matters. After you finish a test, please take two minutes to complete the short feedback form. Tell us what worked, what was confusing and which scenarios you would like to see next.
Ready to try? Take the Press Release Writing Test.
