Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Adam Ellis
ENG 111
Mr. Weinkam
22 October 2009
Though the 2016 Summer Olympics is over six years away, already there has been much
deliberation over which city should host these historic games. One of the United States very own Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:23 AM
Comment: Good
opening
sentence.
cities, Chicago, was up for the bid. Throughout the entire bid process, there was much debate
over whether Chicago playing host would yield positive or negative economic outcomes. Even
now that Chicago has lost the bid, the dispute still continues. Edward Snyder of the Chicago
Tribune argued for Chicago hosting the Olympics. Steve Chapman, also of the Chicago Tribune,
triumphed the fact that Chicago lost the bid and the benefits of Chicago’s defeat.
Snyder’s article, titled “2016 Olympics: Creating Value for Chicago”, portrays an
optimistic outlook on Chicago receiving the bid for the Olympics. Snyder’s argument was that
Chicago would receive an enormous economic boost by being a host city. The author argues that
the deluge of people that would flood Chicago for the Olympic Games would provide a great
increase in the city’s revenues. Synder argued his point by using the rhetorical elements of
kairos, logos, and ethos in an attempt to strengthen his argument. Ultimately, though, the
author’s claims fall short due to use of logical fallacy and lack of pathos. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:45 AM
Comment: Good
conclusion
to
the
paragraph
and
stance
on
Snyder’s
article
The author starts out his argument by using logos by using the examples of two former
Olympic host cities. He first mentions Barcelona, host in 1992, who used the Olympics as a Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:13 AM
Comment: Needs
better
introduction.
Needs
to
be
more
clear.
jumping off point to revitalize their city. The author contrasted this awe-inspiring example with
the instance of Athens, host in 2004. Athens did little to instill long lasting improvements for
their citizens, the few of which did leaving the city in major debt. The author uses these two Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:31 AM
Comment: Said
“the
author”
too
many
times
in
this
paragraph.
examples to show the possibility of greatness that Chicago could amount to if given the
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opportunity. The example of Barcelona is used in hopes of igniting the faith of the readers that Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:26 AM
Comment: Include
in
pathos
argument
as
well
Chicago could follow in Barcelona’s footsteps. Athens, on the other hand, serves as a warning of
what can happen if the appointment as a host city is ill handled. Including this warning, though
presenting such an example could hamper his argument, it instead portrays Synder as a practical
and levelheaded person who includes all the facts, not just the triumphs. The reader will now see Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:26 AM
Comment: Include
in
ethos
argument
as
well
the author as someone who will give them the whole story, which is important in this world of
Chicago’s governments that would lead to the Olympics being as beneficial to Chicago as in
Barcelona, thus swaying the reader in the author’s opinion. Good management and a long-term
vision by a government, as stated by the author, are the two key components to turn being a
Olympic host into long-standing improvements for one’s city. Since both of these were utilized
by Barcelona in 1992 and are also present in Chicago’s current government, the author argues
that Chicago too would have great success with the Olympics. By attempting to make this
comparison, the author is committing the logical fallacy of non sequiter. In assuming that Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:16 AM
Comment: Explain
in
a
different
way
instead
of
as
non
sequiter
because Barcelona had good management and a long-term vision that led to the Olympics
bringing their city good things, that these element are the causes of Olympic success. Therefore,
since Chicago has those two facets in its current government, they too will find economic
success. The author assumes that good management and long-term vision of Chicago’s city
officials is the cause of stimulating one’s city, when in reality an outside factor could really be
the cause. The author uses this logical fallacy in order to bolster his weaker argument with
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The author also applied kairos to his argument, seizing the right moment to discuss the
economic boost Chicago would receive from hosting the Olympics. The author took advantage
of the fact that our country is in an economic recession and looking for any boost for a struggling
economy. If not for the recession affecting the US economy so drastically Sydney’s argument
would not hold any weight in today’s society and people would really care less about a potential
The author’s ethos or his credibility comes from his background in economics as an
economics professor. At one point the author shows his ethos by stating, “While I am familiar
with studies showing the multiplier effect for the local economy over long periods…” This Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:17 AM
Comment: Good
use
of
quotation
to
support
claim.
clearly states that the author is well versed on the topic of economics and thus is a credible
source. As a credible source, the reader is more likely to have faith that the author does in fact
know if Chicago hosting the Olympics will give a boost to its economy, since he has much
Though the author aptly uses kairos, logos, and ethos to support his claims, it is not
enough to ignore the use of logical fallacy in attempt to cover up a weaker argument as well as a
complete lack of pathos. The author’s argument exhibits no emotional appeal, therefore giving
the reader no personal attachment to his claims. In order for a reader to believe in a claim, they
must feel some attachment to the argument. This article causes no feelings to arise from the
reading and consequently disallows the reader from feeling any connection to the piece. Without
pathos, the argument lacks what is needed to make this a strong and persuasive claim. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:25 AM
Comment: Good
point
made
to
make
argument.
While Synder’s argument is greatly lacking in the area of pathos and thus not an entirely
convincing argument, this is not at all the case in Chapman’s article, which is titled “Chicago
Wins by Losing”. The author argues that Chicago receiving the bid for the 2016 Olympics would Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:50 AM
Comment: Good
transition
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have been detrimental to Chicago’s economic well being. The author believes that if Chicago
had hosted the Olympics in 2016, they would be covered in mountains of debt for years to come,
thus hurting their economy even further. Therefore, his thought is that the Olympics negative
consequences would greatly outweigh any positive outcomes. In order to make his argument, the
author applies the use of pathos, as Synder could not, along with using logos and kairos to craft a
strong claim with sturdy support. His lack of ethos is the only element that detracts from his
Through the author’s use of pathos, he is able to craft a very compelling argument. The
author uses descriptive language that has an emotional appeal for the reader. An example of this
is, “Most important, they don't have to fear that they and their children will have to bear a lot of
unforeseen costs.” The author instills fear into the reader, but not for his or her own well-being,
but for that of their children. The author taps into the thinking that no parent would want to do
something that would evict harm upon his or her children. This also assumes that many of those
reading the articles are parents and will feel the intended emotional appeal. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:19 AM
Comment: Good
explanation
of
quote,
but
could
go
farther
in
depth.
The author’s use of logos is another main component that strengthens his argument and
supports his claims. In order to convince the reader that hosting the Olympics leaves the host city Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:20 AM
Comment: Needs
work
on
making
it
more
clear
what
this
paragraph
is
about.
in great debt, the author gives the examples of two host cites. First, that of Montreal, which took
thirty years to pay off its debts from hosting the Olympics. The author then presented that of
Athens spending three times the amount they had planned when they played host in 2004. This
large amount of debt really illustrates for the reader on how much it costs to host the Olympics.
The author effectively portrays to the reader that the Olympics has not only immediate
consequences, but also severe, long lasting effects. Facts and statistics are generally more
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concrete evidence for a claim, which is something the author seemed to apply to improve his
argument.
Like Synder, Chapman also takes advantage of the economic recession as the prime time
to write such an article. If our country hadn’t fallen upon such hard times, then this argument
would not hit home with the reader. The reader would see no problem about spending billions of
dollars on the Olympics otherwise. Instead, the economy is a major issue and the author taps into
the fact that the majority of the citizens of Chicago aren’t too keen on being in debt for many
The one weak spot in Chapman’s article is that of his ethos. Chapman’s credibility
doesn’t have much to back it up. The author is a member on the editorial board for the Chicago
Tribune. He doesn’t appear to have much experience in economics, but yet many of his claims
are backed up by economic support. Not being an expert on the economy, it would appear that
Chapman would not be very credible in making claims about what would or would not be good
for our economy. Luckily for Chapman, this may be something a reader would easily neglect in
Though Snyder appears to have more credibility in the field of economy than Chapman,
Chapman was able to out-argue Snyder through his superior use of logos and pathos. Overall,
though both strong arguments, Chapman’s claim that the 2016 Olympics would not be good for
Chicago is the stronger argument. Chapman convinces the reader by using facts to put it straight
and make it simple. Chapman then hooks the reader by drawing them in emotionally. Chapman’s
creative rhetorical tactics pull his argument ahead of Snyder’s, leaving the city of Chicago
relieved that the Olympic committee didn’t choose their city as host for the 2016 Olympic Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:27 AM
Comment: Don’t
generalize
as
much;
perhaps
state
some
are
relieved
Games.
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Overall, needs work in the area of choice of vocabulary and could use more quotes and support
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