Introduction to Lincoln Douglas

Perspectives

A Brief Introduction toLincoln-Douglas Debate

Perspectives Debate Incorporated

P. O. Box 42137Philadelphia, PA 19101Web: www.philadebate.orgEmail:info@philadebate.org

Perspectives Debate Incorporated

Enriching the lives of young people through education, philosophy, and debate

Contents

Introduction...............................................................................................3 The Value of Debate...................................................................................3What is Lincoln-Douglas Debate?...............................................................3How to Make an Argument.........................................................................5How to Write a Case...................................................................................7How to Cross-Examine.............................................................................10How to Flow.............................................................................................10How a Debate Tournament Works............................................................11Appendix A: Logical Fallacies....................................................................13Appendix B: Sample Case........................................................................14Appendix C: Sample Flow.........................................................................18Appendix D: Skill Drills.............................................................................20

A Brief Introduction to Lincoln-Douglas Debate

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P. O. Box 42137 • Philadelphia, PA 19101 • info@philadebate.org • www.philadebate.org

Perspectives Debate Incorporated

Enriching the lives of young people through education, philosophy, and debate

Introduction

The purpose of this

Brief Introduction to Lincoln-Douglas Debate

is to provide aconcise summary of the world of Lincoln-Douglas Debate (“LD”). As the nameimplies, this work is meant to briefly introduce students and others to LD byaddressing the fundamental issues including the format of LD, how to effectivelyargue in LD and other pertinent issues. This is not comprehensive and it is notintended for experienced debaters. Because debate is such a difficult activity topick up and understand without the proper training, this book should be astarting point for anyone interested in debate. However, by forging ahead, anystudent, parent, coach, or judge who participates LD will be participating in oneof the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences of their lives.

The Value of Debate

The values of debate are endless. If you did a random sample of thedebate alumni database, you would find a list of lawyers, congresspersons, judges, CEO’s, businesspeople, scientists and others. Former debaters includeBill Clinton, Malcolm X, Adam Sandler, and even Oprah Winfrey! Throughdebating, students hone their writing and speaking skills to a superior level,become a first-class researcher, and gain expert knowledge in a number of interesting topics. Equally importantly, the debate awards students amassmake them a stronger candidate for college, and may help you earn scholarshipmonies. There are over 40 colleges and universities that offer full scholarshipsfor debate.

What is Lincoln-Douglas Debate?

While everyone argues every day, it is not common to hold a formaldebate, with an established topic, sides ascribed to each person, and times thateach person takes. LD is one format of debate that formalizes arguments andprovides a clear winner at the end of the round.

LD is a one-on-one values-based debate

. For each debate round, one student affirms (argues

for

theresolution) and one other negates (argues

against

the resolution). That LD is avalues-based debate means that students are not supposed to debate specificpolicy proposals. Instead, LD focuses on the values that underlie decisions toenact certain proposals and the philosophical beliefs that are used to justifycertain actions. For example, on a topic like school safety vs. students’ civilliberties, LD does not focus on whether school uniforms should be implementedin public schools or whether metal detectors are effective, but rather, onwhether the

value

of school safety overrides the

value

of students’ civil liberties.

There are several important features of debate that you should know:

1.

The debate topic is referred to as the “resolution” and it is phrased as astatement that one side agrees with (affirms) and one side disagrees with

A Brief Introduction to Lincoln-Douglas Debate

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P. O. Box 42137 • Philadelphia, PA 19101 • info@philadebate.org • www.philadebate.org