Adam Ellis
ENG 111
Mr. Weinkam
22 October 2009

Olympics in Chicago: Will it save or destroy the economy?

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

much one-sided journalism. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:15 AM

Comment: May  need  more  explaining.  Not  
as  clear  as  it  could  be.  
The author then went on to outline the key similarities between Barcelona’s and

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

support that appears to be strong evidence. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:48 AM

Comment: Strong  claim  and  end  of  the  
paragraph.  

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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

economic boost. Adam Ellis 12/3/09 12:34 AM

Comment: This  paragraph  is  very  short.    

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

experience in the ups and downs of the economy.

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

credibility and it also distracts the reader from his argument.

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

4  
  

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

decades for an event that only lasts two weeks.

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

the bigger picture of his argument.

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.

5  
  

Overall, needs work in the area of choice of vocabulary and could use more quotes and support

the quotes to make a stronger paper.

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