An Introduction To Debating

• A debate is an exchange of arguments between two teams

or individuals.

• The idea behind the whole discipline of debating is to teach or

to perform the approach to a certain topic from different
points of view.

• The side one has to debate on is drawn by tournament

organizer’s, so personal opinions are secondary.
 Cont…..
• If a debater, for instance, is against the death penalty but has
to defend it in a debate, the speaker is forced to find out
which arguments could actually be used in favor of it, the
basis of academic discourse lies in the assessment of both
sides to a topic before shaping an opinion. One can still be
against the death penalty after successfully having defended it
in a debate.

• However, the educational goal is to be able to understand the

motivation of the people who may think otherwise still
respecting their different views.
 Debating Formats
Commonly used debating formats are
• The world school debate format(WSDC)
• British Parliamentary (BP, Most used in UK and
in universities worldwide)
• Karl- Popper Format (“KP”), widespread in
Central and Eastern Europe)
• Lincoln – Douglas (used in the USA)
 Terminologies
• Motions
• THBT
• THW
• TH
• Proposition
• Opposition
 MOTION
• The given topic that is to be debated about is
known as the motion or the resolution. It is
the basis of the argument between the teams.
 Motions for “judgement” debates and “change” debates

Debates fall into two categories: “judgement” debates and “change” debates.
• Judgement debates
•  A “judgement” debate is one in which two opposing philosophies are being compared, with the audience being
asked to decide which is correct, or more important. “That the environment is more important than the
economy” is an example. The Proposition will attempt to show why this is true, whereas the Opposition will be
coming up with arguments and statements to convince the audience that the economy is, in fact, more important
than the environment.

• Change debates
• A “change” debate is one in which the motion indicates that some sort of policy or action needs to be made in
order to solve a particular problem. “That school uniform should be banned” and “that the death penalty should
be abolished” are examples. The Proposition will be telling the audience why the lives of people, society or a
certain situation will improve if the change is made, whereas the Opposition will be explaining the disadvantages
of the Proposition’s proposals.
• withTHBT (“This house believes that…)
• THW (“This house would…”)
• TH (“this house..”).

Motions are designed by tournament motion committees or by the event

organisers. Here are some motion examples:

• THBT public transport should be free of charge

• THBT smoking in public places should be banned
• THW lower the voting age
• THW ban beauty contests
• TH offers dictators immunity in return for giving up the power
 TEAMS

• There are two teams in debate

• Proposition
• Opposition
Defining a Motion – Role of Proposition
• The Proposition has the task of defining the motion for the debate. While there is no need to define every
word in the motion, the first Proposition speaker must set out what the debate is going to be about. This is
what is meant by defining the motion.
The following diagram shows the Basic layout of a debate in this style.
 SEQUENCE

• Teams perform by delivering three substantive

speeches (orange, blue and green lines) of eight
minutes each and one reply or summary
speech(purple lines), given by either first or second
speaker, of four minutes per team, adding up to eight
speeches per debate.
• Generally speaking, PROP begins with its first speaker
and then the teams take turns, except for the last two
speeches, the teams’ reply or summary speeches.
 POI
• What is (POIs) point of Information?
• Points of information (PoIs) are either questions or statements
made by a member of the opposing team during a speech,
interrupting the speaker. PoIs are essential for lively debates,
since they greatly increase the interaction between teams, and
challenge speakers to produce information without much
warning.

• The idea is to test the speaker’s ability to deal with unforeseen

aspects that hadn’t been taken into consideration and to become
a bit side-tracked by the opposing team. POIs are expected to be
offered from both teams.
 ARGUMENTS
• Each team uses two basic types of argument to support its
side of the motion.

• First, there are substantive arguments. These are prepared

arguments in favor of a team’s side of the motion.

• Second, there is rebuttal. Rebuttal is your attack on your

opposition’s arguments. The difference between substantive
arguments and rebuttal is the distinction between showing
why your team is right and your opposition is wrong. Each is
vital for successful debating.
 STEPS TO PREPARE
• Step 1: Brainstorm ideas Individual brainstorm : Use key words rather than full
sentences.

• Step 2: Organise ideas: The group then need another sheet of paper on which they
write 1-9 down the side. From the brainstorm they need to identify between 7 and
9 arguments. They may have more than these so to get them down they can:Scrap
small or insignificant arguments.
Join together similar arguments to make larger ones On their sheet they need to
write the names of the arguments. EACH NAME SHOULD BE NO LONGER THAN
THREE WORDS. They then need to divide the arguments between the first three
speakers. The first speaker should have three arguments. The second and third
speaker should have two or three arguments.

• :
 STEPS TO PREPARE
• Step Three: Structure the speeches Introduce the idea of the speech
structure on the board: Introduction – who are you and what do you stand
for?Preview – What are the names of the points you are going to cover?
Rebuttal – unless you are the first speaker, you’d say “first lets take a look
at what we heard from the previous speaker” and disagree with their
points. Point One – “Now onto my points”NameExplanation (the
reasoning – why is your point true and why does it mean your overall
position is right? Evidence (facts, analogies, examples, imagery or
authority to support your reasoning)Point Two – Name, Explanation,
Evidence Point Three – Name, Explanation, EvidenceReminder – remind
the audience of the three points you have covered Vote for Us
 STEPS TO PREPARE
• Step 4: Prepare your speeches Introduce the Idea of developing
your arguments by “Making Them REAL”Reason Evidence
Analysis Link Choose the first speakers in each group and allow
them some time to think about how to make each of their points
REAL. Only allow them to write down six words for each point (in
addition to the name)– it’s speaking and listening not reading
out!Choose the summary speaker and either a chair or
timekeeper from each group

• Step 5: The summary speakers need to think what they think the
biggest issues in the debate will be. Their speech will focus on
three big issues and show why their side has won those issues.