In Class Debate Assignment
Rather than a standard one-on-one Lincoln-Douglas debate, or a whole group
Congressional debate forum, you will be debating a proposition in a group of seven. You
will be given a proposition topic, a position of either negative or affirmative, and a
specific role within your group. Each team member is responsible for a section of the
debate, but you will be graded (and judged) as a group by the teacher and your fellow
students, and therefore must work collaboratively on the preparation of the debate as a
whole. The overall debate structure, and specific role of each member, is as follows:
-Affirmative Opening statement/Moderator (2 min.)
-1st Affirmative Constructive (6 min.)
-Cross examine prep (3 min.)
-Cross Examination (2 min.)
-Negative Opening statement/Moderator (2 min.)
Group member 1:__________________
-1st Negative Constructive (6 min.)
Group member 2 (point A, 2 min.):__________________
Group member 3 (point B, 2 min.):__________________
Group member 4 (point C, 2 min):__________________
-Cross examine prep (3 min.)
-Cross Examination (2 min.)
-1st Affirmative Rebuttal (6 min.)
-1st Negative Rebuttal (6 min.)
Group member 5 (rebuttal A, 2 min.):__________________
Group member 6 (rebuttal B, 2 min.):__________________
Group member 7 (rebuttal C, 2 min.):__________________
-Negative Closing statement (2 min.)
Group member 1 (same as above):___________________
-Affirmative Closing statement (2 min.)
Individual Roles for In-Class Debate
Group member 1:
You are responsible for the opening and closing statements of your argument.
You will also be the designated team member that will ask the questions during cross
examination. In the opening statement, you must clearly present your team’s case,
explain why your argument is strong, and state what criteria your team will use to support
it. At the end, you must wrap up your team’s case and re-state why it is the better
argument.
Outline for opening statement:
o We stand ____________(affirmative/negative) on the resolution
that ___________________________.
o We take this position for the following reasons: __________(point
A), _______ _(point B), ___________ and __________(point C).
o The criteria we have to support our position is based upon the
value that ______________, and will be taken from our evidence
of ______________, ______________, and ______________.
Outline for closing statement:
o The issue presented in the proposition that __________________
is clearly resolved by our contentions that ____________,
__________, and ____________ are of higher value than our
opponents because _____________________________________
________________________________________(2-3 sentences).
o Our evidence of ____________, ___________, and ___________
clearly support and establish our position because _____________
_______________________ (2-3 sentences).
o Therefore, you must resolve the _______________
(affirmative/negative) that _________________________
(proposition).
Group Member 2, 3 or 4:
You are responsible for presenting one argument in support of your group’s
position on the proposition during the Constructive part of the debate.
You must state your argument in detail and provide three points of evidence to
support your claim (these are pieces of evidence your group has found in your research,
such as statistics, expert opinions, or other facts). You will present these pieces of
evidence, including where you got them (magazine, book, newspaper, etc.) and the date
of publication. If it is an expert opinion, you must explain who the person is and why
they are knowledgeable or reliable in regards to the issue.
Finally, you must explain how your argument and supporting evidence reflects the
value stated by your team and why it is a strong argument in support of your position.
Outline for Constructive Argument:
o On the proposition that ___________________, I stand _______________
(affirmative/negative) with our team’s point ________(A, B or C), that
_______________. This point is strong because __________________
and reflects the value that ___________________.
o Evidence #1 (present evidence #1 and explain why it is relevant and strong
in support of your argument). This should be 3-4 sentences.
o Evidence #2 (present evidence # 2 and explain why it is relevant and
strong in support of your argument). This should be 3-4 sentences.
o Evidence #3 (present evidence # 3 and explain why it is relevant and
strong in support of your argument). This should be 3-4 sentences.
o For the reasons just stated, we _________ (affirm/negate) the proposition
that _________________.
Group member 5, 6 or 7:
You are responsible for defending your team’s position on the proposition and
refuting the opposing team’s arguments. This will require that you try to anticipate your
opponents’ arguments against you and prepare evidence and statements to defend your
team.
Also, it requires that you take notes during the first constructive speeches and are
able to respond to any points the other team brings up against you as well as point out any
flaws or weaknesses in their argument.
Some of this should be prepared ahead of time with input from the whole group
and some will need to be formulated during the speech, once you have heard the
opposing team’s arguments and evidence. Do the best you can in familiarizing yourself
with all areas of the proposition and your team’s evidence, so that you can argue against
their points and defend your team’s points. You should have access to all of the evidence
note cards that your team created, to use in your rebuttal.
Outline for Rebuttal:
o We stand _____________(affirmative/negative) on the proposition that
________________________ and I defend our point A that __________
_______________ in the following way(s): (this should be 3-4 sentences
and defend your team’s first point by responding to the other teams
arguments against it.)
o Furthermore, our position is stronger than the opponent’s position in
reference to their point A. Their point A is weak because _____________
____________________ (this should be 3-4 sentences and point out flaws
or problems to their point A argument. Use evidence if you have it.)
o Therefore, we remain ______________(affirmative/negative) on the
proposition that ___________________________.
Debate Rules
*No put downs. Only respectful debating
allowed or points will be deducted.
*You may speak with your team members
only during cross examinations.
*Teams lose 1 point for each interruption.
*Teams lose 1 point for
talking/whispering while another speaker
is talking.
Topic: Violence in the media leads to real
violence.
Topic: Random drug testing and the use of
drug-sniffing dogs in school would decrease
the amount of drug users.
Topic: Gun control in the United States
would decrease violent crime.
Topic: The death penalty should be
abolished.