Considering Another Side: Debate Worksheet
Purpose
 To give students practice considering another side of an argument.
 To give students practice finding support for an argument in a specific context.
 To ensure students have something to say on debate day.
Notes to Instructor: The debate worksheet goes with the Considering Another Side: Battle of the
Sexes Debate Parts 1 & 2, which are also found on this website. This handout is intended to
prepare students for an in-class debate, in which the male students are to argue females are smarter
and the female students are to argue males are smarter. To learn how to run the debate, see
Considering Another Side: Battle of the Sexes Debate Part 1. The handout can be adapted to a
variety of topics; if you would like to focus on a current event, that would work quite well. However,
this particular topic is one within students’ realm of experience. It also is one with clear-cut
opposing ends of a spectrum. Allow students to keep their worksheets during the debate so that
they have starting points to speak from, but feel free to collect it after the debate is over. Before
having them fill out the worksheet, make sure you explain that, of course, there are shades of gray in
the issue, but for the sake of the exercise, we will deal in the extremes.
Directions: The Battle (or should I say War?) of the Sexes is as old as time. How are men and
women different? Who has it easier? Who is smarter? Everyone has an opinion on these questions.
Generally, we are locked into the perspective dictated by the cultural constructs of our gender.
However, now is your chance to try and figure out where the other side is coming from. Complete
the sections below to prepare for debating the OPPOSITE gender-constructed perspective than
your own on the issue of “Who is Smarter: Men or Women?” Feel free to use psychological
research, sociology studies, personal experiences, famous quotes, movie plots, excerpts from Men are
From Mars, Women are from Venus, whatever. Just be creative! And remember, ALWAYS keep your
audience in mind (it’s your classmates, so you should have a good idea of who you are dealing with).
This will be collected after the debate.
1) Audience Analysis: What are the demographics, values, biases, etc., of your opposition? What
kinds of arguments will be most effective for this particular group?
2) Explain 3 pathos arguments you could potentially present.
3) Explain 3 logos arguments you could potentially present.
4) Explain 2 ways you can develop your ethos during the debate (remember, you are arguing the
opinion different to the one you actually hold, so developing ethos may be a bit tricky. You may
need to think in terms of a persona.).
5) Give an argument for each of the Common Topics that you could potentially present.
-Definition:
-Cause/Consequence
-Comparison/Contrast
-Authority/Testimony
6) Name 2 arguments you may have to refute and explain how you will deal with them.
7) If you were arguing your own point of view, how would you approach the debate differently?