Debate Jargon

  1. Resolution: topic of debate

Example: uniforms in school.

  1. Position: a personal viewpoint or opinion.

Example: I think uniforms in school would benefit students.

  1. Motion or proposition: a suggestion or proposal.

Example: I make a motion to require uniforms in school.

  1. Pro: in favor of a motion.
  1. Con: against a motion.
  1. Affirmative Side (Proposition): makes and supports a motion.

I represent the proposition and support the motion to have uniforms in school.

  1. Negative Side (Opposition): opposes the motion.

I represent the opposition and oppose the motion to have uniforms in school.

  1. Argument: oral disagreement.
  1. Constructive speech: position is presented and supported.

Examples: My is name is Mrs. Fava and I represent the proposition. I make a motion to require uniforms in school…

  1. Flowing: taking notes during the debate.
  1. Rebuttal: response to opposing position.

Example: My opponent says that uniforms save money, but I disagree. Uniforms actually increase a student’s clothes budget because parents have to buy uniforms and afterschool clothes.

  1. Refutation: rebuttal strategy for disproving the opposing view.

Example: While uniforms may create order, the more important issue is that they take away individual expression.

  1. Discrediting: rebuttal strategy to make someone or something look bad.

Example: My opponent may have good intentions, but she doesn’t understand what is at stake. As a teacher, she is more concerned with order in her classroom than the needs of students and parents.

  1. Points of Interest:May be a statement or a question. May not be more than 15 seconds long. The speaker must recognize you to make your point. If the speaker does not recognize you, you must sit down.
  1. Heckling:Banging desks is an appropriate means of heckling. It is an act of good will to bang a desk when anyone takes the floor for a speech. It is also helpful for debaters to bang desks when a speaker on their side has made a good point. Shouting ‘Hear! Hear!’ is another way to affirm good arguments.

WHAT DOES A FORMAL DEBATE LOOK LIKE?

DO…

Come prepared to support your position.

Make sure you understand the opposing position and how to refute it.

Listen respectfully and silently when your opponent is speaking.

Only speak during your turn or if your opponent gives you permission.

Take notes throughout the debate so that you can address the specific issues raised by your opponent.

Use formal language; sound educated and informed.

DON’T…

Expect to wing it. Do your research and time your argument to make sure you have enough material.

Forget to prepare a strong rebuttal. Stating your own position is only half of the battle.

Interrupt your opponent’s constructive speech; if you stand to speak and your opponent says, “No thank you,” sit down respectfully.

Fail to take notes. Without written cues, it is difficult to make the most of your limited time in a debate forum.

Use slang or sloppy speech.

MODEL

Name

Period

Date

Resolution: Teacher’s Salaries

Proposition: Teachers’ salaries need to be increased.

Reason 1: Teachers work many hours to plan instruction, grade papers, and communicate with parents.

  1. It takes many hours to plan organized lessons. For every lesson, teachers need to identify learning goals, prepare materials for instruction and practice, and plan assessments to measure student progress.
  2. Grading essays takes many hours as well; the average essay takes four minutes to grade. An average of 130 students x 4 minutes equals 8.6 hours. That is just one assignment.
  3. Teachers need to communicate with parents and often spend time each day emailing, phoning, and meeting with parents. In addition, teachers take time to post grades, assignments, and update their web pages so that parents can stay informed.
  4. If you were to include all of these additional hours for planning, grading, and parent contact, teachers work many hours in addition to 7:30 to 3:00 every day, and should be compensated for all of this effort.

Reason 2: Teachers provide a valuable service to society.

  1. Teachers build young minds and give students the skills they need to prepare for the future.
  2. Teachers build character and show students how to contribute to a community.
  3. Teachers often provide emotional support for troubled students when no one else does.
  4. Athletes are paid quite a bit for their work, but do they make the contribution to society that a teacher does? Ex: Cam Newton: 53 million, Lebron 77.2 m, Lionel Messi: 81.4 m
  5. Actors are paid ridiculous sums to entertain us: Chris Pratt earned 20 m

Rebuttal: My opponent might say that teachers have off all summer, work shorter hours than most other professionals, and earn a wage appropriate to their level of education and expertise.

  1. While teachers are officially off all summer, many teachers do a lot of planning and preparation during this time.
  2. Although teachers officially work from 7:30 to 3:00, the unofficial time spent on grading, planning, and mentoring students is much greater.
  3. While some argue that teachers do not earn a wage appropriate for their education and expertise, this is simply not true if you compare their salaries to those in other fields. Most teachers have a Masters, so they went to school for at least six years. Many people in business with much less education can make double what a teacher earns.

SAMPLE SPEECHES

SAMPLE PROPOSITION FIRST CONSTRUCTIVE SPEECH:

  1. ATTENTION GRABBER
  2. INTRODUCE YOURSELF
  3. MOTION
  4. REASONS
  5. SUPPORT FOR FIRST REASON

Some athletes can make as much a 50 million a year, so how it is that teachers often have to take a second job just to survive? Who really contributes more to society? Who has the greater responsibility? My name is Mrs. Fava and I represent the proposition. I make a motion to increase teachers’ salaries in this country because of all the hours teachers dedicate to their work and because they provide a truly valuable service to society by shaping young minds.

One reasons that teachers deserve a increase in salary is that they work many hours to plan instruction, grade papers, and communicate with parents. It takes many hours to plan organized lessons. For every lesson, teachers need to identify learning goals, prepare materials for instruction and practice, and plan assessments to measure student progress. In addition to planning, grading essays takes many hours as well; the average essay takes four minutes to grade. An average of 130 students x 4 minutes equals 8.6 hours. That is just one assignment. After all of that planning and grading, teachers need to communicate with parents and often spend time each day emailing, phoning, and meeting with parents. In addition, teachers take time to post grades, assignments, and update their web pages so that parents can stay informed. A teacher’s work day never seems to end!

This is just one of our reasons to support the motion to raise teachers’ salaries.

SAMPLE PROPOSITION SECOND CONSTRUCTIVE SPEECH:

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. MOTION
  3. REMIND AUDIENCE WHAT TEAMMATE SAID
  4. ADD TO IT WITH YOUR SUPPORTING REASON OR REASONS
  5. REFUTE OPPOSITION USING NOTES FROM FLOW CHART

Second Reason: My name is John Smith and I represent the proposition and support the motion to increase teachers’ salaries. My team member discussed the time that teachers devote to their career. I would ask you to consider another reason to support this motion. Teachers provide a valuable service to society. Teachers build young minds and give students the skills they need to prepare for the future.Teachers build character and show students how to contribute to a community. Teachers often provide emotional support for troubled students when no one else does.Look at how we currently reward athletes and actors who, in reality, do nothing more than entertain us. According to Forbes Magazine, NFL quarterback Cam Newton earns 53.1 million a year. NBA superstar Lebron James earns 77.2 million, and soccer’s best, Lionell Messi, earns 81.4 million annually. Actors are also overpaid for what they contribute to our world. This year alone, Chris Pratt earned 26 million. Meanwhile, the average teacher salary is $45,000 a year. Does this seem fair?

Flow Sheet Rebuttal: Now my opponent has said…however…

SAMPLE PROPOSITION REBUTTAL SPEECH:

  1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF
  2. REFUTE COUNTERCLAIMS
  3. SYNTHESIZE IDEAS YOUR TEAM PRESENTED AND EXPLAIN WHY THEY BETTER
  4. THANK THE AUDIENCE FOR LISTENING

My name is Jason Brown and I represent the proposition. As my teammates said, teachers work long hours and provide a valuable service to society, so they deserve to be well paid. However, my opponents disagree. My opposition have argued that teachers are officially off all summer, but I challenge this assumption. Many teachers do a lot of planning and preparation during this time. Although teachers aren’t in the summer, they are still working. My opponents assert that teachers had reasonable hours, but this assumption is false as well. Although teachers officially work from 7:30 to 3:00, the unofficial time spent on grading, planning, and mentoring students is much greater. In addition, my opponent’s belief that teachers earn a wage appropriate for their education and expertise is simply not true if you compare teachers’ salaries to those in other fields. Most teachers have a Masters, so they went to school for at least six years. Many people in business with much less education can make double what a teacher earns. Think about doctors, lawyers, market analysts: their salaries are at least double a teacher’s income.

Overall, the proposition has the better argument for this resolution. We have argued that teachers deserve to be paid for their long hours of work and their valuable services. Our opponents argue that teacher pay is just fine, but they ignore the much higher salaries of people with similar education and work load. The proposition has provided a much stronger argument all in all. Thank you for listening.

______


INSTRUCTIONS FOR MODIFIED PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE

Objective: Collaborate with panel members to prepare an argument for a given topic and position.

Topic: To be decided

What is a Parliamentary Debate:

  • Involves two teams of three speakers
  • Each speaker is responsible for only one speech

Format:

Proposition:

Opposition:

Steps

1.Meet with panel:

  • Meet with your panel members and select a representative to meet with other panel’s representative.
  • Representatives will flip a coin to decide who gets to choose the position.
  • Record in notebook:
  • Resolution:
  • Position:
  • Group Members:
  • Opponent Members:

2. Research:

Each panel member must review articles and prepare an argument independently.

Read through articles once for understanding. Circle words that are confusing.

Read a second time and annotate

Label possible support: R1, R2, R3, etc…

Label 3 rebuttal points: C1, C2, C3, etc…

Write down reasons to support your position. DO NOT WRITE DETAILS. JUST MAKE A LIST OF THE REASONS!!!

Write down counterclaims the opposition might make that you can refute. DO NOT WRITE DETAILS. JUST MAKE A LIST OF THE REASONS!!!

3. Meeting again with panel:

Share your reasons and counterclaims.

Assign each group member a task:

  1. First Constructive Speech
  2. Second Constructive Speech
  3. Rebuttal

4.Prepare your constructive speech or rebuttal:

5.Meet with panel for feedback on your argument:

  1. Meet with panel to get feedback:
  2. Is your reason or reasons clearly stated?
  3. Do you sufficient support for your reasoning?
  4. Are supporting details well-developed?
  5. Is language formal and concise?
  6. Have you used appropriate starters such “According to Smith…” and “In Ashe’s article…”? Plagiarism is unacceptable. Give credit to the source!

Revise:

  1. Final preparation: make suggested revisions to your argument.
  2. Time your constructive speeches and rebuttals.

Final meeting:

  1. Give feedback about delivery.
  2. Present!