Debates¶

In a debate, there are two teams of 2-3 speakers: the affirmative team supports and the negative team opposes a certain motion (position). The point of the debates is to look at a question from diverse perspectives and to get some practice of using the information in arguments and expressing ideas clearly and convincingly.

Preparation¶

A debate is a formal argument and it requires some serious preparation. Since the debate procedure is strict and quite rapid, there is not much room for improvisation; moreover, to build a successful case, you have to present strongly convincing points, so you have to study the topic thoroughly in advance. You must not only gather arguments, but validate and support them by evidence (general knowledge, publications, theories and empirical experiments etc.), structure them and finally develop them into speeches (more on that below).

It is highly important to get familiar with the opposition’s case as well as your own. You should do that in order to anticipate their counterpoints and be ready to defend yours. The better you know the opposite perspective, the higher the chances are to not get caught off guard and parry the offense.

The start materials for each position (counterposition) are given in advance, but you can use whatever you want as long as you can support the found arguments.

Procedure¶

As mentioned, each debate has two teams: the affirmative team, which supports the motion, and the negative team, which opposes it. In a perfect case, a team consists of 3 speakers; if there are only 2 speakers in the team, the role of the 3rd speaker is overtaken by one of the team members. I moderate the debate, ensuring orderly proceedings.

There are 3 stages to the procedure:

Prepared Speeches¶

Each team has three prepared speeches (3 min each), the sides speak in turn (starting with the affirmative). Each speech presents a point (or several points, which is however not recommended) to their case, so to support / oppose the motion. At this stage, the teams are only presenting their points independently from each other and do not counterargue. There is a 30 sec break between the speeches.

Floor Speeches¶

After the prepared speeches, anyone from the floor (classroom in our case) can stand up and give a speech (2 min) for or against the motion if they want to. There can be up to 3 floor speakers.

Rebuttal Speeches¶

Finally, the teams are given 3 min to prepare to rebuttal speeches - speeches in which they argue against the points raised by the opponents and reinforce their own arguments if needed. There are 2 rebuttal speeches from each team (2 min each), the sides speak in turn (starting with the negative this time). There is a 90 sec break between the speeches. These speeches are improvised but they are usually built on material prepared beforehand.

Rules¶

Points of order and points of information¶

Anyone may interrupt a speaker by raising their hand and indicating that they have a point of order or a point of information. A point of order points that one of the rules of debate is being broken (e.g. the speaker does not have evidence to support their point); a point of information offers the speaker a piece of information. The speaker may choose to not allow a point of information to be made (but not a point of order!). Whoever offers a point of order or information, has 15 seconds to do so, and these 15 seconds are included in the speaker’s time.

Code of Conduct¶

No team may shift its point of view (whatever their private opinions may be).
If a speaker makes a statement, they must be able to provide evidence or reasons to support the statement.
Facts presented in a debate must be accurate.
Speakers may not bring up new points in rebuttal speeches.

Summary¶

The final summary of the procedure is as follows (A stands for affirmative, N for negative, F for floor):


	Prepared Speeches
A1 for the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
		N1 against the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
A2 for the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
		N2 against the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
A3 for the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
		N3 against the motion (3 min)
	Break (30 sec)
	Floor Speeches
	F1 for/against the motion (2 min) (optional)
	Break (30 sec)
	F2 for/against the motion (2 min) (optional)
	Break (30 sec)
	F3 for/against the motion (2 min) (optional)
	Break (3 min)
	Rebuttal Speeches
		N responds to A (2 min)
	Break (90 sec)
A responds to N (2 min)
	Break (90 sec)
		N responds to A (2 min)
	Break (90 sec)
A responds to N (2 min)

One debate therefore lasts for about 45 minutes (if there are 3 floor speakers).

References¶

If still unsure about how a debate goes, look up some World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) finals, there are a lot of those available on the web.