Mary Nickum

Of the many kinds of specialized writers, the science writer has a unique responsibility to the reader. Unlike the sportswriter, for example, whose reader already knows, often in extraordinary detail, the rules of the game and who the players are, science writers must often introduce readers to a new "game" with every article. Imagine if a sportswriter had to assume readers had no knowledge of football every time he or she had to write about the latest NFL game.