9th Honors Lit
A Separate Peace: Debate—Gene on Trial
In A Separate Peace, Brinker orders Gene to stand trial for his complicity in Finny’s fall from the tree during the
Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. You have determined your stance on the issue and found specific
evidence to support your belief. We are going to create a debate of our own to determine if Gene was innocent or
guilty of DELIBERATELY causing Finny’s fall.
During our debate process, we will be working toward the following skills and standards:
ELACCL9-10RL1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well
as inferences drawn from the text.
ELACCL9-10SL1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and
teacher-led) with diverse partners … building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by
referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange
of ideas.
b. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on
key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.
c. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or
larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
d. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted,
qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning
presented.
So you want to debate?
A debate is a logical argument, not an emotional one. Logically there must be at least two sides to an issue or it is not
debatable. Debating has strict rules of conduct and quite sophisticated arguing techniques and you will often be in a
position where you will have to argue the opposite of what you believe in. Therefore you should be able to debate either
side. Your emotions must not interfere. You will lose points for emotional arguments.
1. Logic - to say that the other side is wrong is not enough. You have to show why the other side is wrong. This is best
done by taking a main point of the other side's argument and showing that it does not make sense. Because a lot of the
thinking for this needs to be done quickly this is one of the most challenging and enjoyable aspects of debating.
2. Pick the important points - try to rebut the most important points of the other side's case. You will find that after a while
these are easier and easier to spot. One obvious spot to find them is when the first speaker of the other team outlines
briefly what the rest of the team will say. But do not rebut those points until after they have actually been presented by the
other team.
3. `Play the ball' - do not criticize the individual speakers, criticize what they say. To call someone fat, ugly or a nerd does
not make what they say wrong and it will also lose you marks.
Matter is what you say, it is the substance of your speech. You should divide your matter into arguments and examples.
An argument is a statement "The topic is true (or false depending on which side you are on) because of x", where the
argument fills in for the x .
An example is a fact or piece of evidence which supports an argument.
Any examples that you use should be relevant to the topic at hand. Examples which have very little or nothing to do with
the topic only make a speech look weak and lacking substance.
You do not win a debate by creating the biggest pile of facts. Facts are like bricks in a wall, if you don't cement them
together properly then they are useless. Similarly you cannot win a debate solely by proving that some of the facts of the
opposition are wrong. It may weaken their case a little, the same way that removing some of the bricks from a wall will,
but you really need to attack the main arguments that the other side presents to bring the whole wall crashing down.
What does a debate look like?
I. OPENING ARGUMENTS
Side A is always the affirmative: They are always for the change called for in the resolution. They must establish that a
significant goal will be met by the change they are calling for. The resolution is really the conclusion to their position.
They must prove that the change is needed. For the purposes of our debate, Side A claims that Gene is guilty of
deliberately causing Finny’s fall, which led to his death, and should be punished accordingly.
Side B is always the negative: They are for the status quo (the way things are now). Their job is to show that there is
insufficient reason to believe the affirmative's prediction will be proved true. They should attack the logic. For the
purposes of our debate, Side B claims that Gene is innocent of deliberately causing Finny’s fall, and therefore he should
not be punished for Finny’s death.
If the burden of proof is not established, the negative needs to do nothing. The status quo always wins in the absence of a
reasonable expectation that the proposition will achieve its goals. There is no reason to change if there isn't a reasonable
expectation of success.
II. CROSS EXAMINATION:
This is the fun part. The negative (Side B—Innocent) gets to question the affirmative (Side A—Guilty) first. During
cross-ex only one person at a time may ask a question of the opposing side. Anyone designated by the attacked captain
may answer but only the questioner may rebut (only once). The attacked side may not ask questions. The goal of cross
examination is to bring out the holes in the affirmative's plan. The affirmative has probably tried to avoid these points in
the opening argument. Now is the time for the negative to become aggressive.
Cross-ex looks like this: “Joe” from Side B asks a question. “Sally” from Side A answers. “Joe” from Side B elaborates
on the question. “Sally” from Side A answers. Then Side B moves on to the next question asked by a new person.
III. ORGANIZATION TIME
The organization time is most useful when a team is debating. It offers time for the members to conference and decide
their strategy. They should decide what the opponents' strongest argument is and how to attack it in the next round of
cross examinations.
IV. REBUTTAL AND FINAL CROSS EXAMINATION
This is like the first round except by now the arguments have been pretty much explored. You should now be leading the
questions to your conclusion. Try to take over. Don't allow lengthy answers. Therefore try to ask yes or no questions. You
may begin with rebuttal remarks before asking further questions. The affirmative cross examines last. They should
attempt to shore up their position by either asking questions that will lead the negative to agree with their position or by
challenging the negative's status quo.
Rebuttal looks like this: “Tom” from Side A asks a question. “Jane” from Side B answers. “Tom” from Side A
elaborates on the question. “Jane” from Side B answers. Then Side A moves on to the next question asked by a new
person.
IV. ORGANIZATION TIME
The final organization time is crucial for the closing statement team. It offers time for the members to organize and refute
the claims made by the opposition.
VI. CLOSING STATEMENTS
The closing remarks should be a response to the way the debate has gone. You may outline a rough closing statement, but
keep it flexible enough to allow you to deal with surprise arguments the opponents came up with. Team members in
charge of the closing statements should take notes during the debate in order to recall and refute the points of the opposing
side.
STRUCTURE OF DEBATE
 Opening arguments from each side: A then B
 Cross examination from each side: B then A
 Organization time: Sides confer and prepare rebuttal
 Rebuttal from each side: A then B
 Closing statements from each side: B then A
YOUR TEAM’S DEBATE
Prepare an opening argument: This may be written out or read from note cards but is more effective if delivered rather
than read.
(1) Affirmative: This needs to be a piece of persuasive writing outlining the belief of the affirmative side, the
evidence, and the change to be made or the resolution.
(2) Negative: This needs to be a piece of persuasive writing outlining the belief of the negative side, the evidence,
and the doubt about the workability of the resolution.
Prepare evidence for cross examination.
(1) Designate an expert for each piece of evidence. That expert will both ask and answer the questions pertaining
to that particular evidence. What questions will you want to ask? Who will ask which questions?
(2) You should cross examine each other as practice for the actual debate.
(3) Determine the order in which the questions/evidence will be presented. It may be wise to save some important
facts or arguments to present in cross-ex.
SCORING
The judge (teacher) will keep a tally of points for the debate and will be considered the final opinion.
POSITIVE SCORING: 1 point added for each of these items
Opening:
 Establish a burden of proof or cast doubt on the prediction.
 Each piece of evidence offered in support or attack.
Cross examination:
 The askers: question unanswered or poorly answered
 The asked: question answered
Closing statement:
 Each argument recalled and refuted
Participation:
 1 point for each member of the team making an active contribution.
NEGATIVE SCORING: 1 point lost for each of these infractions
 Speaking out of turn
 Each team member not contributing at least once
 Each interruption by a member of the audience costs the team supported 1 point.
 Speaking too quietly, sloppy posture, discourteous behavior
Decorum (Conduct during a debate): You must respect your opponent and your opponent's position. You may attack
faulty logic, poor and incorrect information, and emotional argument. You may speak only during your turn. You will lose
points for speaking out of turn. During team debate, a team will lose points if any but the designated speaker talks.
Audience: It is sometimes difficult not to jump in with your own comments. Don't. Remember debate is a contest. The
winner is determined by logical argument, not by the number of people who agree. The team whose side you seem to
support will be penalized points.
DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING OUR DEBATE
1. Divide into teams: Side A—Guilty or Side B—Innocent
2. Appoint a team captain. The captain will be in charge of directing all group members during the debate.
3. In an organized manner, each member should share evidence gathered in the persuasive essays.
4. Divide responsibilities among the group members and work to prepare your case. You will want one or two
person(s) to be in charge of gathering information for each of the following areas:
a. opening argument
b. each situation that arises between the boys and can lead to evidence for your case (ie. the beach, the fall,
the infirmary, etc.)
c. closing argument
5. After both groups (prosecution and defense) have constructed their cases, we will put Gene on trial in a debatestyle discussion.
9th Honors Literature
Gene on Trial: Debate Team Organizer
Claim: ___________________________________________________________
Team Captain: ____________________________________________________
Team Members: __________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Member(s) in
Charge
Opening Statement
Situation
Situation
Situation
Situation
Situation
Closing Argument
Evidence/Questions
Teacher’s Scoring Guide
Side A—Gene is Guilty
Opening Argument
--Burden of Proof
--Evidence Offered
Cross Examination
--Quality of Answers
Closing Statement
--Arguments refuted
Participation
--Contributions
Negative Points
Side B—Gene is Innocent