Hand-out
Introduction to Debate: what is debating?
Debate is a formal method of presenting arguments that support or oppose a
stance on a given issue. The topic of a debate is often expressed as a
“proposition”, a brief statement describing a change in law or policy that a
government might adopt. The proposing and opposing teams in a debate
interact with each other with the objective of persuading a panel of judges or a
public audience that their position on a motion is the correct one. The term
formal indicates that debate is governed a body of rules, and that debaters
must adhere to these rules during their speeches. Different sets of rules are
combined to produce different debating formats. Some formats require
debaters to focus on producing intricate, exhaustively researched arguments,
which are then presented to judges using a special style of speaking called
“spreading”. Other formats allow debaters to interrogate their opponents on
the contents of their speeches. Still other formats emphasise rhetorical and
presentational flare.
Although debate involves dissent and disagreement the main function
of debate is to educate people on a given issue so that they may learn more
about it and explore solutions to the social and political problems that may be
identified by speakers.
Informal debate occurs in many places – at the dinner table, in work
places, schools and churches. The quality and depth of a debate, formal or
informal, improves according to the knowledge and skill of its participants. In
order to gain the most from both formal and informal debating, training and
preparation are required.
Debate is part of democratic systems of government, where
deliberative bodies such as parliaments and legislative assemblies engage in
discussions on the merits of proposed changes to the laws and powers that
guide and protect states and societies. Formal debates between candidates
campaigning for an elected office are also common in democratic states. The
televised debates that take place in the run-up to presidential elections in the
USA are an example of this latter category. The outcome of such debates is
decided by vote – either in, a house of parliament or through a public poll of
registered voters.
In many societies rule-based competitive debate forms a part of
humanities curricula in secondary schools and universities. This type of
debating is formal. It consists of a contest between two or four teams,
governed by a settled set of rules. This type of debating may be referred to as
competitive debating.
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Competitive debates begin with a resolution, a simple statement that
summarises either a value judgment (i.e. “This House believes that online
social networks do more harm than good”) or a proposition to create or
change a law or government policy. is The motion is subjected to critical
analysis by both teams. The side supporting the resolution speaks first and is
referred to as an affirmative or government side (since it affirms and supports
a given resolution). The other side of the debate must then oppose the
arguments offered by the affirming team and offer arguments against adopting
the resolution (it is referred to as a negative or opposition side).
Teams on each side of the debate are expected to respond directly to
the arguments offered by their opponents, in addition to presenting original
arguments that they have devised independently. It is the job of a judge, a
neutral third party, to listen carefully to the arguments presented by both sides
and decide which set of claims has been presented in the most persuasive
fashion.
Thousands of young people all over the world are engaged in
competitive debates and participate in local, national and international debate
competitions and tournaments. There are many different organizations
promoting debate both nationally and internationally and many different styles
of debate take place in a wide variety of formats.
Competive debate develops many skills but the major goal of studying
and practicing debate is to develop speakers’ ability to argue on a range of
subjects and ideological positions (pro and con) with equal ease. For
experienced debaters, any proposition can be defended or destroyed after the
same amount of preparation time (sometimes quite short).
In many societies and communities, there is a rich tradition of public
debating. These debates can involve public figures (politicians, wrtiers,
acitivists and community loeaders), and members of the public as well as
students. The main goal of a public debate is to engage citizens in discussion
of an important issue. The purpose of debating in such a context is not so
much competition between participants but the raising of awareness,
education and advocacy.
In many communities, public debates occur regularly in a designated
space (e.g. a debate chamber or a town hall, etc.) and become an important
element of that community’s life. Public debates can reach out to a wider
audience if they are broadcast via television or radio.
Why debate?
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Participation in a debate program provides young people with an opportunity
to develop a number of important skills, including:

Public speaking and communication skills – participants in
competitive debating become more confident and persuasive
speakers and they lose their fear of speaking in public.

Critical thinking and argumentation skills – debaters practice
their critical thinking skills and learn how to develop stronger
arguments, critically evaluate arguments presented by others,
ask and respond to questions, and evaluate evidence.

Research skills – most debates require significant preparation.
Debaters are compelled to expand their knowledge of the
humanities, of social policy and of politics – topic that, in turn
require, require incisive and disciplined use of research sources.

Organization skills – debates involve a vast range of ideas. It is
important for debaters to organise the content of their speeches
so that audience and judges understand presented arguments
and how they fit motion.

Listening skills – when the other team is speaking, debaters
must be able to understand what they say so that their team can
offer effective responses.

Team work skills- most debates involve more than one debater
on each side. To argue successfully, debaters have to work,
train and strategise with a partner, a coach and other
teammates. They may have research assignments that must be
completed and shared with the whole team and they must be
able communicate and cooperate during a debate.
When organized in a local community as a public debate, it helps to advance
the following important social objectives:

It brings people together and help to develop a sense of
belonging- often debates help to bridge generation gap by
bringing different generations together.

Debate provides a friendly and open environment for addressing
contentious issues and addressing problems that a community
may face.
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
Debate does not only inform and educate citizens about issues
but may also motivate them to get involved in finding solutions
and volunteering for the community.

Debate can provide entartainment and become a social event in
a community/youth club, school.
The main components of a debate
As formal events debates share some common elements that include:
1. Controversy: an issue, a question, or a problem; something that is
unsettled and that ought to be settled. In a debate this controversy is
expressed in a form of resolution – a statement that both sides can
disagree about.
2. Opposition: there are two or more sides in a debate (teams/parties)
that have opposing views of the issue, question or problem. Many
times debaters defend/attack positions on a given issue that are not
their own views on the issue. Often, like in a game, the side a debater
is on during the debate is decided randomly – e.g. by tossing a coin,
etc.
3. Argumentation: the teams have committed to the use of arguments and
will support their claims with reasoning and evidence
4. Engagement: the teams have committed to focus not only on their own
views but also on the views of their adversaries
5. Audience: the teams present argumentation to a particular or general
audience (e.g. judges in a competitive debate or members of a public
in a public debate), in order to gain their understanding or agreement.
6. Formality: teams debate in a certain format- each team has an equal
number of speakers, speaking time and the speakers on each time
speak in a certain order.
Good conduct during debates
Debate is a social activity (involving participants and audiences) and as such
it should be governed by principles which will assure that participation in
debates is a worthwhile and enriching experience for all the involved.
There are four main responsibilities of debate participants:
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1. A commitment to full preparation. Preparation involves gaining a
proper understanding and knowledge of the issues, conducting
appropriate research, recording and presenting outside sources in
an appropriate manner, etc.
2. A dedication to the common good - under this principle debaters are
required see debate as more than an opportunity for presenting
themselves, demonstrating their skills or winning at all costs.
Debaters should be committed to analyzing complex issues, making
fair judgments and exploring the depth of an issue- for the benefit of
everybody involved.
3. A respect for rational argument - reliance and reason and argument
is the foundation of any debate and debaters should assure that
they do not only demonstrate public speaking skills but also use
well-founded and developed reasons to bring judges/audience to
supporting their side in a debate. A debate prefers arguments over
assertions, and persuasion over demagoguery.
4. A respect for ideas and people- a debate is a human encounter
where every person should fee safe to express their views and
were courtesy and respect for each other and each other ideas
(including the views of an audience) are fundamental values.
Debate topics
Debate topic is also referred to as a debate resolution. Choosing a good
debate topic is one of the most important tasks preceding a debate: a good
debate topic will make for good debates - a bad debate topic will result in poor
debates and potentially a lot of disappointment on the part of debaters, judges
and the audience. When selecting a topic area and the topic it is important to
remember the following:
1. A good debate topic should be interesting – a lot of times this
means that a topic concerns a significant contemporary issue or
something that is hotly discussed and debate in a public sphere (in
the media, etc.). Good debate topics can be inspired by the
newspaper headlines, TV news reports and editorials.
2. A good debate topic should be controversial – which means that it
should be debatable. Good debate topics provide enough
disagreement or pose a problem with many potential solutions.
3. Good debate topic should be balanced - it should provide enough
arguments and evidence for both sides in debate- the affirmative
and negative.
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4. A good debate topic should avoid being too abstract and focus on
issues that both debaters and the audience understand and can
relate to.
5. At the same time a good debate topic should avoid being too
specific and technical- some issues related to science may pose
good debates for scientists or experts specializing in a given narrow
field but would be to complicated for most layman debaters and
audiences.
When wording a topic- expressing it in a form of statement- it is important to
ensure that:
1. It is expressed in a declarative (affirmative) sentence
2. It is expressed in a clear manner (it avoids ambiguous words and
phrases)
3. It is worded neutrally (it avoids biased terms)
Examples of well thought-out topics include
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This House would legalise recreational drugs
This House would legalise prostitution
This House believes that ordinary people should have the right to own
and carry hand-guns.
Additional examples are listed below.
Education
 There should be a separation of state and church in public schools.
 School authorities should be allowed to randomly search students’
belongings.
 University education is a privilege and not a right.
 School students should face mandatory drug-tests.
 Parents should be allowed to educate their children at home.
 Cell phones should be banned at schools.
 Schools should require students to wear uniforms.
 Sex education should (not) be taught at school.
 Condoms should (not) be distributed in public schools.
 Corporal punishment should be allowed in schools.
Ethical/Religious
 Parental consent should (not) be required for under-aged women to
have abortions.
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Capital punishment is immoral.
Sales of human organs should be legalized.
National lotteries should be abolished.
Governments should not negotiate with terrorists.
Terrorism can be justified.
Women should (not) be allowed to serve in combat roles in the armed
forces.
Gangsta rap and violent hip-hop lyrics should be censored (banned).
Cloning of human being should be banned.
Age of consent laws should be made more liberal.
International Issues
 Turkey should join the EU.
 Iran should not be allowed to develop its nuclear program.
 US is dangerous to the world’s peace.
 Former colonial powers pay reparations to former colonies for their
past activities.
 The European Union (EU) should adopt a Constitution.
 Governments in rich countries should relax the laws controlling
immigration.
 Invasion of Iraq was justified.
 Protection of human rights is more important than a nation’s
sovereignty.
 Rich nations have an obligation to help poor countries.
 EU should have its own army.
Politics
 Citizens should have the right to bear arms.
 Young people be subjected to night-time curfews as a way to reduce
crime.
 Voting in elections should be compulsory.
 Flag burning should be prohibited as a form of protest.
 Monarchies should be abolished.
 Political expression instigating inter-ethnic or inter-religious conflict
should be banned.
 Government is justified to censor some TV productions.
 Military service should be compulsory.
 All state industries and services should be privatised.
 Cameras should be allowed in courtrooms so that criminal trials can be
televised.
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Civil, political and human rights
 Restriction of civil liberties for the sake of combating terrorism is
justified.
 Mandatory drug testing of public officials is justified.
 Compulsory testing for AIDS should be more important than personal
privacy rights.
 The public's right to know outweighs a candidate's right to privacy.
 An individual's freedom of expression is of greater value than social
harmony.
 Terminally ill patients have the right to die.
 The Boy Scouts should have the right to exclude gays.
 Smoking should be banned in public places.
 Police should not be allowed to routinely bear arms.
 Animals’ rights should be expanded.
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