diff --git a/src/pkg/net/http/doc.go b/src/pkg/net/http/doc.go
index 2dbcf8dc97c..8962ed31e6a 100644
--- a/src/pkg/net/http/doc.go
+++ b/src/pkg/net/http/doc.go
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ settings, create a Client:
 	resp, err := client.Get("http://example.com")
 	// ...
 
-	req := http.NewRequest("GET", "http://example.com", nil)
+	req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", "http://example.com", nil)
+	// ...
 	req.Header.Add("If-None-Match", `W/"wyzzy"`)
 	resp, err := client.Do(req)
 	// ...