Debate Project Outline 2015
Ms. Miller’s English Class
The project will be comprised of three assignments:
1. Minor Summative, Cornell Research Notes (from print, database, and online sources)
2. Major Summative, The Persuasive Essay
3. Major Summative, The Debate
Cornell Notes
A study published in 2007 by Wichita State University compared two note taking methods in a secondary
English classroom, and found that Cornell Note taking may be of added benefit in cases where students are
required to synthesize and apply learned knowledge… Jacobs, Keil. A Comparison of Two Note Taking Methods in a
Secondary English Classroom Proceedings: 4th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects [79] Conference
proceedings held at the Eugene Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 25, 2008. Symposium Chair: David M.
Eichhorn. These notes will be the backbone of your essay and debate. Be accurate. Be thorough.
Possible Debate Topics
1. International adoptions do more harm than good.
2. Medical testing on animals is acceptable.
3. Cell phones should be allowed to carry at school.
4. Cigarettes should be illegal.
5. Cloning should be legal.
6. The United States should ban the death penalty.
7. Public schools should not implement dress codes.
8. Size 0 models should be banned.
9. Secondary schools should eliminate number grades.
10. Rap music does more good than harm.
11. All-you-can-eat restaurants establishments should be banned.
12. The United States should negotiate with terrorists.
13. Video games are good for the United States.
14. Zoos are unethical.
15. Factory farming should be banned.
16. Teaching Spanish should be mandatory in schools.
Persuasive Essay
Getting your thoughts organized will make your debates go much smoother. To help with this, you will be
writing an essay arguing your position on your debate topic. This essay must be a minimum of 5 paragraphs.
1. Introduction- Here you outline your topic and briefly describe your position. You will then outline the
organization of the essay to follow.
2. Argument 1- This paragraph will be dedicated to explaining the first argument that supports your
position. To back up this argument, you will need to include at least one piece of evidence. (requires
MLA citation in bibliography)
3. Argument 2- This paragraph will explain your second argument. This should be a stronger argument
than the one in your previous paragraph. You will need to include at least one piece of evidence.
(requires MLA citation in bibliography)
4. Argument 3- This is your final and strongest argument. Include at least one piece of evidence. (requires
MLA citation in bibliography)
5. Conclusion- In the conclusion you will sum up your arguments, leaving your final points in the reader’s
mind as to why you are right.
Writing a good essay will help you when it comes to debate because you will have already thought out and
organized all your arguments. Rough Drafts will be due Thursday, December 10th. After teacher feedback
is provided to you, Final Drafts will be due TBD in Quarter 3.
The Debate
The classroom debates are exercises designed to allow you to strengthen your skills in the areas of leadership,
interpersonal influence, teambuilding, group problem solving, and oral presentation. All group members are
expected to participate in the research, development, and presentation of your debate position. Each member
will receive the same group grade.
Debate Format
3 minute Position Presentation – Pro
3 minute Position Presentation – Con
5 minute Work Period
2 minute Rebuttal – Pro
2 minute Rebuttal – Con
3 minute Work Period
2 minute Response – Pro
2 minute Response – Con
1 minute Work Period
2 minute Position Summary – Pro or Con
2 minute Position Summary – Pro or Con
5 minute of Ballots/Announcement of Winner
Debate Procedure
The debate will take the form of timed individual/group presentations and responses separated by timed group
work periods. The rules applied may deviate from the formal rules of debating. When questions arise, the
judgment of the instructor will provide the definitive ruling.
Prior to the beginning of the debates, teams are to position their desks facing each other in the middle of the
room. Each team is to write its team name and debate position (given by instructor) on foldable and facing
opposing team but still visible to instructor.
Team members may speak from their desk or the podium as they desire. Classes who choose an
extemporaneous debate may us audiovisuals, handouts, flipcharts, slides, audio and video clips since they have
time to prepare such supplements/aids. While a team is not required to use all of the time allocated to each
debate component, speakers must stop immediately when the allocated time runs out. Team members are
prohibited from speaking to the audience or opposing team except at times specifically allocated to them. Thus,
there can be no immediate, reciprocal interchange of comments between the teams. The sequence of the
position summaries will be determined by a random procedure at the conclusion of the final work period. Note
that that no new information may be introduced during the summary. Doing so may result in disqualification of
the offending group. If either team feels that their opponents are introducing new information during the
summary, they may challenge them immediately and request a ruling from the instructor.
Selection of Winner(s) and Allocation of Points
The instructor reserves the right to allocate fewer than the default or class voted points to a group, if, in his
opinion, the quality of preparation and/or presentation was inadequate.
Debate Winners will be selected in two ways as follows:
Audience Vote: Class members in the audience will vote by secret ballot for a debate winner. Votes are to be
based upon presentation quality only and not upon personal agreement of disagreement with the position
espoused. At the conclusion of each component of the debate, class members will be asked to assign a point
rating along with explanatory comments to each team for their performance during that component. When the
debate is over, the point ratings will be summed. Whichever team has the higher sum will be the winner on that
ballot. After all ballots are collected, the number of votes for each team will be announced. Whichever team
has more votes will be the winner, and the team will receive individual prizes. In the event of a tie, the
instructor’s vote will decide the winner.
Instructor’s Vote: The instructor will also evaluate both teams according to the above procedures and criteria
and select her choice for the winner.
Review of Ballots
Each debating team will have the opportunity to review feedback on their performance.
Schedule
Monday, December 7th – Wednesday, December 9th – Class vote for debate resolution (topic); Research for
persuasive essay and debate using Cornell Notes.
*Get everything you need to write your rough draft and complete Cornell Notes.
Thursday & Friday we’ll pause to take District Common Assessment.
Monday, December 14th – The Art of Debate; debate format for Miller’s class
Tuesday, December 15th – Prepare for debates
Wednesday, December 16th & Thursday, December 17th –Debate!
Friday, December 18th – Extemporaneous debates!