Basic Debating Rules: Starting with an Explanation of What is a Debate?

A debate is basically an argument with strict rules of conduct. It is not a shouting match between two
sides with different points of view.

Topic Sides
There are 2 sides in a debate:

1. The Affirmative agrees with the topic

2. The Negative disagrees with the topic

The Team Line

Three speakers work together as a team. The Team Line is the basic statement of “why the topic is true”
(for the affirmative team) and “why the topic is false” (for the negative team). It should be a short
sentence, presented by the first speaker of each team and used by the other two speakers to enforce
the idea of teamwork.

The Debate Announcer and Time Keeper

3. The Debate Announcer introduces the topic and the students on each team
4. The Debate Announcer mentions that each speaker will be timed, the minimum speech is 3
minutes and the Time Keeper will tap on the desk when the 3 minutes has elapsed so the
Speaker knows
5. Each team will have the same allowance for time

Speakers
Each side has 3 speakers who speak in order:

First Speaker of the Affirmative Side Must

• define the topic

• present the Affirmative team’s line
• outline briefly what each speaker in their team will talk about
• present the first half of the Affirmative case

First Speaker of the Negative Side Must

• accept or reject the definition. If you don’t do this it is assumed that you accept the definition.
• present the Negative team’s line
• outline briefly what each of the Negative speakers will say
• rebut a few of the main points of the First Affirmative Speaker
• the First Negative Speaker should spend about one quarter of their time rebutting
• Present the first half of the Negative team’s case

Second Affirmative Speaker Must

• reaffirm the Affirmative team’s line

• rebut the main points presented by the First Negative Speaker
• the Second Affirmative Speaker should spend about one third of their time rebutting
• present the second half of the Affirmative team’s case
Second Negative Speaker Must

• reaffirm the Negative team’s line

• rebut some of the main points of the Affirmative’s case
• the Second Negative Speaker should spend about one third of their time rebutting
• present the second half of the Negative team’s case

Third Affirmative Speaker Must

• reaffirm the Affirmative team’s line

• rebut all the remaining points of the Negative team’s case
• the Third Affirmative Speaker should spend about two thirds to three quarters of their time
rebutting
• present a summary of the Affirmative team’s case
• round off the debate for the Affirmative team

Third Negative Speaker Must

• reaffirm the Negative team’s line

• rebut all the remaining points of the Affirmative team’s case
• the Third Negative Speaker should spend about two thirds to three quarters of their time
rebutting
• present a summary of the Negative team’s case
• round off the debate for the Negative team
• neither Third Speaker may introduce any new parts of their team’s cases