Title: Lessons from the Press Box: What Sports Writers can Teach Academics
Abstract: Sports writing and academic writing might initially seem to be strange bedfellows. They have different structures--the inverted pyramid with emphasis on the lead versus, for example, the four-part format (introduction/literature review, method, results, and discussion) of the typical research paper. Their audiences also differthe broad Mr./Ms. Every person of sports writing as opposed to the specialized highly educated audience of academia. However, upon closer examination, they have more in common than might first appear, with sports writing providing lessons that academic writers could profitably draw upon.