First Draft of AR paper

The Role of Writing in Sport and Recreation Management

Sport event management, a fairly new academic discipline, is rising in popularity and becoming a sought after degree in many areas of business. The degree itself is very versatile, providing professionals with exposure in management, marketing, finance and event planning. Unlike many other fields, (SRM) does not base its academic works off of quantitative data or scientific methods, instead, a more simplistic form of language is used. This opens up a potential for a wide range of people to both study and appreciate the discipline. Most commonly, the work of (SRM) is viewed through non-academic sources such as blogs and online articles, often accompanied with videos and pictures, while the few academic sources follow a very specific structure. In this report, the key differences between writing academically and non-academically in the sport and recreation field will be both identified and analyzed in depth.   

Academic Writing

Unlike most other disciplines, Sport and Recreation Management produces a majority of non-academic, blog styled work, providing highlights of various news in the Sports world. However, there are some outlying texts that showcase the various rhetorical qualities of writing in sport management, all of which playing a part in the comprehension of the field. These academic examples of writing in sport and recreation management shift their focus more to how professionals in the field have grown to success, carefully gathering information from various sources and educational environments. Due to being a fairly new discipline of study, sport and recreation management professionals often struggle in gaining credibility, but those who succeed do so by their use of structure, various references and language in their writing. With the use of these three rhetorical techniques, the author’s credibility will be increased as well as the audiences understanding of the content provided.

Structure 

The first rhetorical device professionals in the sport and recreation discipline must employ in their writing is structure. In 2014, Science Direct published a journal entry titled “Analyse of the Expectations of the Sports Management Students in Terms of Quality” (Sedva Ciftci, Burcu Gökçel, Yagizcan Demirkıran, 2014). This journal provides a structural example reflecting how all academic sources in the sport and recreation management discipline are organized. To open the journal, a paragraph reading “abstract” introduces the topic of the writing, and an overall summary of the content. This is followed by the “main text” portion of the writing which contains the main body and information the journal will cover. In some (SRM) journals, this portion of the text provides various visual appeals to the writing such as models and graphs, in this example, the author provides a great deal of tables. After the main text, the author will provide a “conclusion” and or “discussion”, recapping the information covered within in the writing above. At the end of the journal, the author provides a list of references used in the writing, increasing his or her credibility on the topic. Along with a header, footer and numbered pages, the author provides a very organized text with little room for confusion. 

When digging deeper and analyzing the meaning behind this structure, it is apparent that this writing style is very unique. Unlike most other disciplines, (SRM) does not provide a paragraph titled “introduction”, but instead introduces their question, and what will be covered throughout in their main text. Since this writing is not in a traditional style, there are also no transitional statements separating one section from another. For this reason, the various titles such as “main text” and “discussion” are meant to represent and replace transitions by giving the audience a clear point where content shifts. For example, authors in Analyse of the expectations of the sports management students in terms of quality, provide several sub-headers such as “methods” and “data collection” to separate the content within their main text (Sevda Ciftci, Burcu Gökçel, Yagizcan Demirkiran (2014) 2605-2606). Organizing academic sources in this step in step format, an author may ensure the audience has no trouble following the content provided.    

References

Another important rhetorical device that professionals in the Sport and Recreation Management discipline utilize is references, or the sources an author gathers related information from to include in their text. Although sport and recreation management does not have a great deal of published content compared to other, more scientific disciplines, successful authors in the field use every possible opportunity to include past work in their writing, therefore increasing their credibility. New Trends in Sports Management- Reengineering, a journal on the evolution of (SRM) provides an excellent example of the importance of references. This extremely informative journal fluently combines information from a range of seven previous works, including excerpts, models and tables from journals back in 1997. These sources, cited in an APA format, increase the author’s credibility greatly by not only fueling their writing, but by backing up the claims and information provided. 

Another prime example of the importance of references in sport and recreation academic text can be found in Practical Implications and Future Research Directions for International Sports Management. “The branding of sport is an important issue for international sport management (Kolbe and James, 2000)” (Vanessa Ratten, 2011, p. 765). As seen in this excerpt, this journal cites various works in their field throughout their writing, steeply increasing the credibility of the text. Along with these numerous citations, the author also provides a two page list of all the references used throughout their journal. By basing their writing off of other successful professionals in their discipline, an author has the opportunity to provide the audience with reason to believe the information is reliable. 

Language

The last and perhaps most important rhetorical device professionals in the (SRM) discipline must utilize is the role of language in effectively engaging their audience. Considering the fact that sport and recreation management is not a scientific or mathematical field, the language used in academic writing does not differ greatly from the language used in non-academic work. “There is limited literature discussing the impact and issues involved with the effective delivery of entrepreneurship education in non-business-related disciplines” (Paul and Amanda Jones, 2014, p. 718). This excerpt from an entrepreneurship journal titled Attitudes of Sports Development and Sports Management Undergraduate Students Towards Entrepreneurship speaks briefly on the pre and post graduate success of (SRM) students, and the various paths they can follow with the degree. There are several great examples of writing within this text, and it is apparent that the language is highly reflective of simplistic writing techniques. While the author's tone and message throughout their writing is highly professional and disciplined, they understand the nature of (SRM) is not highly complicated, being sure to use less aggressive language. 

This same phenomenon can be found in New Trends in Sports Management- Reengineering, however the author's tone is much more professional. This text covering different advancements within (SRM) reads, “The substantiations for that new approach are related to the unilateral training of those authorized to manage the sports activities, to…” (Claudia and Elena Mereutā, 2009, p. 293). The author uses a fair deal of more uncommon words like “substantiations” and “unilateral”, making the text seem to be of higher comprehension levels, but don’t let this fool you. While some words and phrases in this journal are large, the overall language used in this text is meant to be easily comprehended by any audience, while the tone is of a more serious nature. In both journals, the author’s use of simplistic and comprehendable writing increases their credibility by giving a wider range of readers and chance to understand the topic at hand. 

Non-Academic Writing

While there are some great examples of academic writing in the sport and recreation discipline, most news, highlights and updates about the field are found on blogs, electronic articles and various other non-academic sources. These non-academic works are oriented towards a more general audience, not necessarily educated on the topic. As a result, some rhetorical strategies such as structure and references are vastly different from that of academic writing, while language is very similar. Although the two writing styles differ greatly from each other, authors of all fields must be sure to relay their message to a given audience as efficiently as possible.

Structure

The first aspect of writing that differs greatly between academic and non-academic work can be seen in the structure of the text. Academic sources in the sport and recreation management discipline have a very specific criteria for organization, following a step by step structure in all journals. With an “abstract” introduction, followed by the “main text”, and then concluded with a “discussion” and “references”, there is no room left in academic writing for confusion in the audience. Since the majority of academic writing is also oriented towards professionals in the sport and recreation discipline, this structure provides a template for all authors to remain on an even playing field. In non-academic work, this structure is not followed; as a matter of fact, no structure is followed. In the blog, Latest Trends in the Sports Word- The Role of Sport Event Management in Companies (Cortsen, K. 2014), this variance in structure can be seen. The blog doesn't open with any sort of introduction, nor does it provide a clear shift into its main point. There are no concluding statements in the text and a list of references is not provided. At the end of this blog, there are several videos provided where the author speaks more in detail on the topics covered, but all in all the structure has no organization. Although the author has credibility on the topic, their writing is to simply inform the general public on the latest trends in the sports world, not to inform professionals on a change in the field.   

Another important factor to consider in (SRM) non-academic writing is that headers are not provided to separate the content. When analyzing academic work in this discipline, headers are used throughout to separate each piece of text, while in non-academic writing, transitional statements fulfill this need. In the article, Latest Trends in the Sport World- the role of sport event management companies, a great example of this can be found. To conclude their content, the author provides a final paragraph reading, “As a result of the changes in the entire sports world, the athletes started attracting enhanced respect from society, more and more enthusiastic youngsters have chosen this profession” (Cortsen K. 2014). With the simple use of “as a result”, a widely used conclusional statement, the author smoothly transitions into a new section of work, as well as symbolizing that the writing is nearly finished. While this difference from academic writing may seem small, this lack of headers leaves authors with unlimited ways to organize a piece of work, easily leading to confusion within their audience. 

References

Another aspect of non-academic writing that greatly differs from academic work is references, or the alternate work the author refers to. In the blog How to Choose a Sports Management Program (admin, 2012), The author does not make any use of citations throughout their text, nor do they include any references at the conclusion of their text. When comparing this to the academic source, Practical Implications and Future Research Directions for International Sports Management which has a two page breakdown of every reference used in the journal, the differences can be clearly seen. Again, considering this non-academic source is meant for the general public, it does not have a need for a large deal of references. In this case, the author is trying to educate potential sport and recreation management students on different school’s programs, a goal that does not require previous works. Although the author does not provide references, they do include a list of the nations highest rated (SRM) programs with links to follow. The lack of references in this blog do not directly lower the author's credibility, as the writing is simply aimed towards a different audience.

Language

While the rhetorical devices; structure and references greatly differ between academic and non-academic writing, the language used is very similar. Considering the discipline of sport and recreation management is not a scientific or mathematical field, the language used is not complex. In both Attitudes of Sports Development and Sports Management Undergraduate Students Towards Entrepreneurship, an academic (SRM) journal and “Sports and Recreation Management Students Score ‘touchdown’ for Networking Event”, an article on The Daily Iowan, very simplistic language is used. The newspaper article reads “Undergraduate students in the growing UI Sport and Recreation Management program had the opportunity to network with…” (Chloe Connor, 2019). This excerpt, much like the academic source, is easily comprehensible by all audiences and requires little to no (SRM) education to understand. In almost every other discipline, language plays a large role in professional writing, while in sport and recreation management, it does not. 

Conclusion

Although writing encompasses many components, the most important rhetorical devices when writing in the sport and recreation management discipline are structure, references and language. When closely analyzing the differences between academic and non-academic sources within (SRM), it ends up boiling down to the number of citations and references to previous works, and the organization of the writing. While language plays an important role in credibility, simple, easily comprehensible words and phrases are used while writing in (SRM), opening up the potential for all viewers to understand both areas of work.Without the need for data and closely studied variables, this discipline can be easily studied and written in by any author who pleases, in the end it is just a matter of who they are writing to.     

        

References

Admin. (2012). How to choose a sports management degree. Retrieved from 

https://www.sportsmanagementdegrees.net/2012/how-to-choose-a-sports-management-

program/.

Ciftci, S. Gokcel, B. Demirkiran, Y. (2014). Analyse of the expectations of the sports management students in terms of quality. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Science, 2602- 2609, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.939. 

Connor, C. (2019). Sport and recreation management students score touchdown for networking event. Retrieved from https://dailyiowan.com/2019/09/09/iowa-sports-and-recreation-management-students-score-touchdown-for-networking-event/.

Cortsen,K. (2014). Latest trends in the sports world role of sport event management companies practical perspective. Retrieved from http://kennethcortsen.com/latest-trends-sports-world-role-sport-event-management-companies-practical-perspective/.

Jones, A. Jones, P. (2014) Attitudes of sports development and sports management undergraduate students towards entrepreneurship. Emerald Insight, 716- 732, doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.939 .

Mereuta, C. Mereuta, E. (2009) New trends in sports management- reengineering. The Annals of “Dunarea de Jos”, 293- 298. ISSN 1584-0409.

Ratten, V. (2011) Practical implications and future research directions for international sports    management. Wiley Online Library, 763- 770.