Oral and Written Comm.
Debate
Mrs. Schmitz
Debate Structure
A debate involves taking sides on an issue, and then
presenting your arguments for or against that issue. A
statement of that issue is called a proposition.
The people who support the proposition are called the Affirmative Team. They
agree with the statement. Those who disagree with it are called the Negative Team.
While formal debates follow a strict format, informal debates have various
structures. Following is an example of a format for an informal debate. This is the format
that we will follow for conducting debates in class:
Opening Statement by Affirmative Team – 3-5 minutes
Opening Statement by Negative Team – 3-5 minutes
(3 minutes allotted for teams to prepare rebuttals.)
Rebuttal by Affirmative Team – 3-5 minutes
Rebuttal by Negative Team – 3-5 minutes
Second Affirmative Statement – 3-5 minutes
Second Negative Statement – 3-5 minutes
(3 minutes allotted for teams to prepare rebuttals and closing statements.)
Rebuttal and Closing by Affirmative Team – 2-4 minutes
Rebuttal and Closing by Negative Team – 2-4 minutes
NOTE:
An opening statement introduces a team’s position and offers important evidence.
A rebuttal is a team’s response to its opponent’s arguments.
A second statement is a team’s chance to expand upon their ideas and evidence.