Debate: Basics & Formats
What is DEBATE?
Debate is the process of inquiry and advocacy, a way of arriving at a reasoned judgment on a
proposition.
Individuals may use debate to reach a decision in their own minds.
Individuals or groups may use it to bring others around to their way of thinking.
What Is Debate?
A debate means
a regulated discussion of a proposition by two matched sides, providing reasoned arguments for and
against a proposition.
(Goodnight 149)
Rules of the Game
regulated: agreed-upon rules
Format,
Speaker responsibilities (judges, affirmative, negative teams, timer)
Proofs, Logical reasoning, cross-examination
Rules of time, expected performances by both teams.
proposition 1:
A proposition is a statement that is open to interpretation
It shall be
controversial,
significant,
debatable,
durable, and most importantly,
with a single idea
Proposition 2: Examples
In a debate, the affirmative proposes to change the status quo with a carefully argued resolution with
justification, plan, and advantages.
RESOLVED: That six years of English in high school is adequate for a basic education.
RESOLVED: That modern art lacks artistic skill and creativity
RESOLVED: That AIDS education shall be introduced at elementary school level.
What Can Debating Do for You?
It
cultivates your leadership skills
Consolidates your investigation & analysis skills
Trains your critical listening/thinking skills
Enriches your open-mindedness
Equips you with better organization & speaking skills
Builds your self-confidence
Boosts your teamwork & cooperation ability
Provides you the fun when wits match with competition
PERSUASION
Purposeful persuasion is a communication intended to influence the acts, beliefs, attitudes, and
values of others.
Debate is one method of persuasion
Modes of Persuasion
ETHOS
an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of
the persuader
It is the judgment that the audience makes of the speaker
Ethos: 3 Characteristics in judging the speaker
(1) CHARACTER
-the audience measures the character of the speaker based on their perception of her
ethical behavior
(2) SAGACITY
Includes consideration of the speakers expertise and competence specific to the
material of the argument
(3) GOODWILL
trustworthiness and dynamism of the speaker
PATHOS
an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an
emotional response
This is the audiences judgment of the personal impact of an argument on them as listeners
LOGOS
Logical proof
an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason
It is the judgment the audience makes of the argument itself, but it is not a measure of certainty
or falsity of an argument, but rather of relative strength or weakness of the persuasion.
FOUNDATIONS OF DEBATE
2 BROAD CATEGORIES OF DEBATE
APPLIED DEBATE
presented before a judge or audience with the power to render a binding decision on
the proposition or to respond to the question or topic in a real way.
ACADEMIC DEBATE
Debate conducted under the direction of an educational institution for the purpose of
providing educational opportunities for its students
APPLIED DEBATE
(1) SPECIAL DEBATE
Conducted under special rules drafted for a specific occasion. i.e. political debates
Examples: Presidential Debate
Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858
Kennedy Nixon debates of 1960
McCain Obama in 2008
These were formal debates, yet they were neither judicial nor parliamentary
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Usually held at academic conferences, college campuses, government hearings
about social issues of public concern.
They are marked by a set of rules and format uniquely designed for a particular
debate
(2) JUDICIAL DEBATE
Conducted in the courts or before quasi-judicial bodies
Governed by the rules of a court of law, its purpose is the prosecution or defense of
individuals charged with violation of the law or determination of issues of law alleged to
be applicable to specific cases before the court
(3) APPLIED PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Refers to the use of parliamentary procedure as a set of guiding principles and rules for
debate within organized bodies for the purpose of decision making
Its purpose is the passage, amendment, or defeat of motions and resolutions that come
before a parliamentary assembly
- Derives its name from the parliament of Britain
(4) NONFORMAL DEBATE
- Conducted without the formal rules found in special, judicial, parliamentary and
academic debate
- Examples of nonformal debate can be found in national political campaign, in community hearings or
town hall meetings
ACADEMIC DEBATE
Debate conducted under the direction of an educational institution for the purpose of providing
educational opportunities for its students.
MOOT COURT DEBATE
an academic form of judicial debate used by law schools to prepare students for
courtroom debate
MOCK TRIAL DEBATE
A form of academic debate that emulates trial court debating
VALUES OF ACADEMIC DEBATE
1. Debate provides preparation for effective participation in a democratic society.
- debate is an inherent condition of a democratic society
- citizens educated in debate can hope to be empowered to participate in the shaping of the
world.
2. Debate offers preparation for leadership.
- an indispensable requirement of leadership is that the leader explains why the direction
proposed is right.
3. Debate offers training in argumentation.
- debate offers an ideal opportunity for students to apply the theories of argumentation under
conditions designed to increase their knowledge and understanding of these theories and their
proficiency in their use.
- as an educational method debate provides excellent motivation for learning, because students
have both the short-term goal of winning a decision, and the long-term goal of increasing their
knowledge.
4. Debate provides for investigation and intensive analysis of significant contemporary problems.
- in the course of debating, students will acquire a better-than-average knowledge of a current
problems, as well as skill in applying methods that will enable them to critically analyse the problems.
- through debate, student learns how to acquire knowledge and how to energize that
knowledge
5. Debate develops proficiency in critical thinking
- through study of argumentation and practice in debate, students participate in an educational
process, specifically designed to develop their proficiency in critical thinking.
- debaters learn to apply the principles of critical thinking not only to problems that emerge in
the relative comfort of research or a briefing session but also to problems that arise in the heat of
debate.
6. Debate is an integrator of knowledge
- debate offers a uniquely dynamic and energized environment within which students can learn.
7. Debate develops proficiency in purposeful inquiry.
- debaters must be well informed about all the relevant aspects of the issue to be debated.
8. Debate emphasizes quality instructions.
- debate is based on a close-tutorial relationship between faculty and students as well as
experiential learning.
9. Debate develops the ability to make prompt, analytical responses.
10. Debate develops critical listening.
- debaters quickly learn to listen to their opponents with sharply focused critical attention,
recording their argument precisely so that their own responses are to the point.