Debate Syllabus 2014-2015
“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you
made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” Coach John Wooden
What are the class requirements?
 Attend and compete satisfactorily in debate at The Rookie Rumble debate tournament in October
and in individual events at one other tournament
 Learn how to properly write, research, and format arguments, and then write them.
 Prepare one Individual Event (a speech) for competition
 Learn debate theory and philosophy
 Take a few quizzes and one test.
 Prepare and research arguments
 Work on spring projects including Mock Trial, Parliamentary Debate, Model United Nations, and
Student Congress.
What textbook do we use?
The Art of Debate -Basic Debate and Public Forum iBook by N. André Cossette and two more iBooks in
the Art of Debate series.
What are some goals and objectives of Debate?
1. Gain command of the fundamental processes of argumentation and debate
2. Demonstrate familiarity with the materials and methods of research
3. Improve your ability to think clearly, critically, creatively, and analytically
4. Demonstrate effective oral communication skills
5. Use ethical standards in competition
6. Gain knowledge and interest in political and social issues
7. Create and organize debate materials
8. Evaluate debates and speeches of peers
9. Demonstrate oral communication that increases self-esteem and enhances interpersonal
relationships
What do we do all year?
1st Quarter – Proceed through The Art of Debate. Learn the following (but not in this order):
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Basic Debate Terminology
Fundamentals of persuasion
Logical Fallacies
Debate Topic Analysis
Evidence and Research
Blocking and Briefing
Framework
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Answering Arguments
Writing Blocks
Flowing
Cross-Examination Questioning
Basic Rebuttal Debating
Take exams and quizzes: one cumulative exam and several quizzes on the above chapters. Write two
cases for the November/October topic.
2nd Quarter – Participate in the Rookie Rumble – Tournament grade for Debate participation in 1st
semester = 100 points. Research and write more cases and arguments for the January/February
topic. Develop an individual event to compete in by November, December, January, or February.
Learn Congressional Debate in December.
3rd Quarter – Participate in an individual event by the Foley tournament in February. Tournament
grade for Individual Events on the 2nd Semester Grade = 100 points.
4th Quarter – The competitive season ends in March, so in March we work on Spring Projects including
researching for next year’s topics. Spring Projects include Parliamentary Debate, Mock Trial, Student
Congress, and Model United Nations.
Some frequently asked questions . . .
Debate is just about arguing, right? I should be good at that because I argue
with my parents all the time.
Yes and No: In Debate, we don’t just jump up and argue. We have to learn some techniques of
speaking, logical thinking, asking cross-examination questions, researching and writing arguments,
types of arguments, and types of answers of arguments. THEN, we are ready to jump up and debate
well.
What do we debate about?
We start off by debating topics that the students write. Then, we prepare to debate the National
Forensic League national debate topics. In the Spokane area, debate tournaments offer several types of
debate. In one type of debate, the students argue about the same topic all year: this year’s topic is
about economic policy in Latin America. In another type of debate, students argue about moral,
ethical, and philosophical topics. The topic for this type of debate changes every two months, and the
first topic hasn’t been released yet. We’ll know the topics October 1st.
Do we debate against other schools?
Yes, most of the high schools have debate programs. We prepare our arguments and then compete
against the other high schools in weekend-long debate tournaments. We have tournaments
throughout the year, but you are only required to attend the Rookie Rumble Tournament in October
and then another one of your choice. The best debaters get invited to be on the traveling squad and
compete in tournaments around the Northwest and nationwide and even Canada. However, some
students just choose to do the two required tournaments.
Does winning and losing count in the grade?
No. Your effort at the tournament counts toward your grade. The debate contests are judged, and I
look at the judges’ comments on the ballots and use a rubric to calculate the grade. Debating at a
tournament during the first semester is worth 100 points, and performing an Individual Event (speech)
during a tournament is worth 100 points on the second semester grade.
I heard Debate looks good for colleges. Is that true?
Apparently so. Several of our debaters have been accepted into the best universities in the world
including Harvard, Stanford, Cambridge, Notre Dame, and Princeton. The Harvard student said that
debate helped him because he was able to list all of his debate awards on his college application, and
during the college interview, he was able to speak eloquently about a deep philosophical concept.
Colleges like debaters because debaters know how to organize their thoughts in written and spoken
form and know how to research. Colleges also know that debaters tend to be good leaders. You can
even get scholarships in debate.
Can I play sports and be in Debate?
Yes. We've had varsity sports athletes of all kinds. Debate is primarily a winter sport, so we might
have to get creative to work around some winter school sports conflicts. Your coach and I usually
negotiate when you have a conflict. You will need to sacrifice one Friday and Saturday in October and
another weekend between November and February, though, which means if you are in a club sport,
you might have to give up one of your club events to get your second tournament in. So, DO NOT
PROCRASTINATE about getting that second tournament in and then come to me and say "I
can't make the last tournament because I have (club soccer or volleyball or whatever)." You will
have had at least five chances to compete in that second tournament.
What kind of students make the best debaters?
Passionate students make the best debaters. Hardworking, intelligent students tend to make
pretty good debaters. Lazy, bright underachievers are the worst debaters because they are smart
enough to think they know what they are doing, so they don’t listen and don’t do the work. So, if you
typically don’t do your homework and don’t study, you and I will both be frustrated with your
performance, so go to your counselor and request to change your schedule and go into a different,
easier fine art. Also, you need to be a good reader and writer to be in debate: we often read debate
evidence that college professors write, so the ability to read and quickly process information helps.
Debate is the most academic fine art: we have homework, tests, quizzes, and assignments, but it won't
have more homework than English, Math, or World History, and most of it can be done in class. Let
me emphasize this: to debate well requires HARD WORK. DO NOT stay in this class if you thought
it was going to be easy or it looked better than the other options.
The best debaters have this:
They have heart: the internal motivation to succeed. If you love debate, it
will love you back.