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# 25 Criteria to Review Before Writing for PR Purposes
- URL: https://capitolcommunicator.com/25-criteria-to-review-before-writing-for-pr-purposes/
- Published: 2019-04-03T19:07:02.000Z
- Updated: 2019-04-06T17:43:23.000Z
- Author: Guest Columnist
- Tags: Events, PR, Insights, #Import 2026-10-08 18:50

**By Don Bates, APR, Fellow PRSA, PRSA-NCC Writing Workshop Instructor**

**Before you write anything for professional public relations purposes**, you need to review 25 accepted criteria, below, to ensure that your assignment is well-written, its structure is correct and its content is sensitive to the needs and interests of the target audience.

These criteria apply to all PR writing. They are based on what PR managers, writers, researchers, journalists, editors, teachers and consultants consider as essential, based on their professional knowledge, experience and expertise.

Print the list below, which is alphabetical, on a large note card or half sheet of paper you can attach to your computer, printer, bookcase or somewhere else close at hand where you can easily read it:  
1\. Accurate  
2\. Actionable  
3\. AP styled  
4\. Attributed  
5\. Audience-centric  
6\. Benefits focused  
7\. Clear  
8\. Concise  
9\. Credible  
10\. Direct  
11\. Engaging  
12\. Evaluated  
13\. Factual  
14\. Incisive  
15\. Informative  
16\. Insightful  
17\. Logical  
18\. Measured in tone  
19\. Persuasive  
20\. Positive  
21\. Readable  
22\. Researched  
23\. Simply stated  
24\. Strategic  
25\. Substantiated

Please share the list with colleagues, students, clients and employers. You have my permission.

**Don Bates next Washington, D.C., workshop is April 30, 8:30-4:30, at The George Washington University. More** [**here**](https://www.prsa-ncc.org/write-more-powerfully-strategically-public-relations-public-affairs-purposes-traditional-and-2?ref=capitolcommunicator.com)**.**

**About Don Bates,** pictured above.

Bates, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a well-known PR/PA executive, writer, teacher and consultant. He has worked for national and international corporations, nonprofit causes, professional associations and agencies. He conducts writing workshops worldwide. He has taught in China, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Peru, Spain and other countries. Don also teaches graduate public relations courses at New York University and is a senior advisor on PR agency M&A with Gould Partners. He owned and operated The Bates Company, NY/DC-based PR and marketing firm, which he sold after 12 years in business. He is a member of the PRSA-NCC and PRSA-NY chapters, and an honorary trustee of the Institute for Public Relations, which he helped to establish.