7.8 Critical writing 307
fact unless, for instance, it is coupled with the
fact that they had been held in Los Angeles
only 12 years earlier and that both these cities
are in the USA. Something else to remember is
that the same piece of evidence can be a
‘two-edged sword’. It may, depending on how it
is presented and interpreted, give support to
either side in an argument.
Take, for example, the information about
the earliest records of the Games, in the
second paragraph of Doc 2:
The ancient Olympic Games were always in
the same place – Olympia – a sacred city in
western Greece known as Elis. The Games
were a religious event, a festival that honored
the Greek God Zeus. The ancient Games were
hosted by the Elians who were the guardians
of the sanctuary to Zeus...This could be presented straightforwardly as
support for the claim that the Olympics
belong in Greece on historical and
geographical grounds. This is very much Janet
Sender’s take on the facts. But the few lines of
information could just as well be used to argue
that the ancient Games were nothing like the
modern ones, and the only connection
between them is that they share the same
name. Therefore the event we call the
Olympics now is no more a Greek invention
than it is French or American or Chinese.
At this stage in the exercise you should try,
as far as possible, to keep an open mind, even
if you do sympathise with one side more than
the other. Critical thinking should never be
reduced to a game in which the sole purpose
is to ‘win’ an argument. The primary object
of learning to think critically is to make good
judgements, not to score points. The right
approach is to look at the facts and ask
yourself: ‘What conclusion does this
information most strongly support?’ Not:
‘How can this information be manipulated to
back up my already-formed opinion?’
The points you select from the documents
may be similar to the bullet points below –
though the exact way in which you make
notes is up to you and your tutor to develop.
And if you are writing them in an exam, they
can be even more abbreviated, as only you
need to understand them. All the same, don’t
rush the reading and note-making stages of
the exercise: the time you spend reading,
thinking and planning will save you time
when you come to writing your finished essay.Doc 1 – argument
• conclusion: should be permanent venue in Greece
• reasons: historical right / present system driven by money / would depoliticise games /
lessen terrorist threat
• evaluation: contradictory in partsDoc 2 – historical
early OGs held at Olympia – religious festival – hosted by Elians (neutral but later allied and
hostile); moved to Rome in 80 BC, then back
• took place every four years and were like a calendar
• lasted 1000 yrs! then 1500 years passed before games restored
• records, especially dates unreliable / different calendars
• modern games – Coubertin – Frenchman; disagreement and confusion at first
• Games affected by wars, politics and corruption