debating tutorial handouts

5/28/2018 Debating Tutorial Handouts

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Debating

TutorialHandoutsBy Colm Flynn

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Debating Tutorial:

General Rules and Guidelines to debating.

Speaking Order in a Debate

Researching your motion

Structure of a Speech

Speaking style

Points of Information

Roles in a debate

Key extracts from orlds criteria

orlds !ull "d#udication $riteria

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%ab Sheets &'hat the #udges get(

Some )otions

* Page Summary

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General Rules & Guidelines for DebatingThe aim of this page is to give you an idea of how to debate !t"s not #ust a simple $ase

of standing up and saying the first thing that $omes into your head There are $ertain

rules and guidelines whi$h have to be adhered to if you want to have any $han$e in a

$ompetitive debate

This is not the page with all the answers !t is only a rough set of guidelines to help

get you started %veryone should try to find their own strengths and failings

!n the Debating nion we pra$ti$e 'ritish Parliamentary style( whi$h is now the

offi$ial style of the )orld *hampionships !n the +( *anada( et$ a very different

style is pra$ti$ed

1 +pee$hes should be +%,%- minutes in duration +pea.ers e/$eeding this

may be penalised but should never be substantially less than this !n general you

should spea. for at least 0: and generally no more than :245:34 !deally stay on

your feet until you hear the th min bell and then finish 6ie 7r +pea.er sir( ! beg

to8 and be in your seat by :1 9our times will be re$orded by the time.eeper

and given to the ad#udi$ators as they leave to ma.e their de$ision

2 !n general most debates are in %nglish The main $ompetitions are all in

%nglish but o$$asionally there are other anguage debates usually in $on#un$tion with

some other event;so$ Debating in %urope(


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ad#udi$ators 6eg =7r +pea.er( 7adame +e$retary(

uest a spea.er to end a point of

information at his;her dis$retion


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offered Repeated attempts to offer any other sort of Point

$an be heavily penalised by the ad#udi$ators

Points of order $on$erning the pro$edure of the debate must be addressed to

the $hair These $an be brought at any time and ta.e priority over all other spee$hes

@owever these are only used in e/$eptional $ir$umstan$es when the rules and

standing orders are being abused and the spea.er ma.ing the point must be $ertain

that the point of order is appropriate !n 'ritish Parliamentary there is no su$h thing as

Points of Personal Privilege 6whi$h are used in the +;*anada8


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debate Definitions must also be fair and debatable =Truisti$= or +elf Proving

arguments are not a$$epted 6eg The sea is full of water is pretty hard to reasonably

argue against8Cor full guidelines as to who $an redefine and when please refer to the

Rules of 'ritish Parliamentary 6eg the +ydney 2444 Rules8

1 The last spea.er on ea$h side is e/pe$ted to sum up his;her side"s

argument and rebutt or refute the arguments of the other side Generally this spea.er

will not add a great deal of new information to the debate

1 Rebuttal is vital in any $ompetitive spee$h


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important to $ompany law than Ryan versus elly 6These are #ust e/amples ! have

no idea if these $ases even e/ist8

1A Eust be$ause you may not be $ompeting this does not

mean that you $an ta.e no part in the debate


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23 9ou don"t have to be a genius for fa$ts and figures to

do well !f you $an remember an e/ample( or fa$t whi$h

you resear$hed( to ba$. up your argument use it @owever

if you get stu$. and $ant remember the e/a$t details of thefa$t you want to use dont worry about it !f the underlying

details of the report( resear$h et$ are $orre$t then the

$han$es are you will not be $hallenged and the point will

be made !f an opposing member $orre$ts you and gives

you the $orre$t name of the report( resear$her( institute et$

then they are an idiot for ba$.ing up your $ase

23 9ou don"t have to be a genius for fa$ts and figures to do well !f you $an

remember an e/ample( or fa$t whi$h you resear$hed( to ba$. up your argument use it

@owever if you get stu$. and thin. that a fa$t( figure or e/ample is needed and you

don"t have one( try ma.ing one up !t $an be ris.y if you get $aught by a member of

the opposing side who a$tually .nows what they are tal.ing about 6it $an be painful(

believe me8 but it $an be very effe$tive if you get away with it This is not( however(

a repla$ement for good resear$h( only a fall ba$. if you"re in trouble

2 !f you $an use humour it $an be e/tremely effe$tive in a debate 9ou $anridi$ule and destroy an opponent"s whole spee$h with a one5line #o.e atta$.ing it 'ut

don"t go over the top( while humour helps( ad#udi$ators may not be impressed by

stand up routine with little substan$e


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+pea.ing order in a Debate

The spea.ing order depends on whether it is individuals or teams( or both( and the

style being used in the $ompetition but it generally follows either =Times= or

=7a$e;)orlds= formatH

Indi+iduals,

618 ?pening Prop

628 ?pening ?pp

638 2nd Prop

68 2nd ?pp

68 3rd Prop

608 3rd opp

68 ast Prop

6A8 ast ?pp

%eams,

Times:618 1st spea.er from opening prop

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628 1st spea.er from opening opp

638 1st spea.er from 2nd prop team

68 1st spea.er from 2nd opp team

68 2nd spea.er from opening prop

608 2nd spea.er from opening opp

68 2nd spea.er from 2nd prop

6A8 2nd spea.er from 2nd opp

Mace/Worlds:

618 1st opening proposition

628 1st opening opposition

638 2nd opening proposition

68 2nd opening opposition

68 1st $losing proposition

608 1st $losing opposition

68 2nd $losing proposition

6A8 2nd $losing opposition

!f there is a mi/ture of teams and individuals 6eg in Times final8 the !ndividual

spea.ers are inserted in the middle of the debate ie after the first spea.er for the last

team and before the last spea.er for the for the first team

618 1st spea.er from opening prop

628 1st spea.er from opening opp

638 1st spea.er from 2nd prop

68 1st spea.er from 2nd opp

68 1st proposing individual

608 1st opposing individual

68 2nd proposing individual

6A8 2nd opposing individual

6B8 2nd spea.er from opening prop

and so on

-aturally the a$tual order depends on the number of teams;individuals debating

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Resear$hing your debate

Resear$h is vital and $annot be avoided if you want to ma.e a winning spee$h +ome

people say that only a small portion of your resear$h should appear in your spee$h

and the ma#ority will $ome into play later ! have yet to see the =later= This may be in

the form of points of information but that is assuming that you $an predi$t what

information you will need to $ontradi$t what the spea.er says !f you have

information don"t .eep it to yourself( +% !T

oo. for fa$ts and e/amples more so than statisti$s )hile statisti$s $an very handy

for filling up a few minutes( they are also boring 9our information should ba$. up

your argument and be memorable !f you find a little .nown fa$t that will surprise the

audien$e and $at$h their attention use it strategi$ally Pla$e it at a $ru$ial stage of your

spee$h in a way that everything falls in together and the audien$e be$omes $onvin$ed

of the truth of what you are saying Remember that your argument is the most

important part of your spee$h and your resear$h should ba$. it up( not the other way

round

Sources:

There are invaluable sour$es of information all around and you will very rarely $ome

a$ross a motion whi$h you $an find absolutely no information if you loo. hard

enough

o Internet:

Type any sub#e$t into the !nternet and you are li.ely to get ba$. 144 sites with useful

information and =Greater than 24(444= of utter rubbish 6eg this site8 @owever

there are a $ouple of good pla$es to start ?n the main page of this site you will find

lin.s to a $ouple of resear$h webpages whi$h give pros and $ons about many topi$s

They are wwwDebatabase$om and www9oudebate$om

o Library:


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=*hroni$le= style( bla$. bound( #ournals in the history se$tion of a good $ollege

library These are updated monthly !f you don"t .now where to go for information

ta.e the .eywords from the motion and type them into a nearby terminal !t should

give you the boo. referen$es you need.

o Books:

9es there are boo.s available whi$h give Pros and *ons of vatious topi$s They

should be used with $aution and not a $omplete repla$ement for your own arguments

and resear$h but they are a good start point and parti$ularly useful in the first 253 min

of your 1 min prep at )orlds style events -ot surprisingly the best of these boo.s

is $alled Pros and *ons

o Journals Room:

This is easily the best sour$e of information on any $ampus !f you have a motion

dealing with a topi$al politi$al( $ultural( or s$ientifi$ sub#e$t then the first thing you

should do is loo. through the ba$. issues of Time and -ewswee. These $ontain a

huge amount of information and not only on $urrent affairs !f you"ve never read them

it is well worth spending a short time fli$.ing through them so that you get a feel for

the sort of information they $arry and where to find it if you need it later !f you want

more information then there is bound to be some information about it in other more

spe$ialised #ournals but it may be harder to find 9ou $ould also loo. up the past

issues of newspapers on mi$rofilm but you really would want to .now e/a$tly what

you are loo.ing for

o T.V. & Radio:

)hile it is unli.ely that T, will oblige you by broad$asting a program dealing with

the sub#e$t behind your motion while you are preparing for it you $an still use them

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for information !f you .now that there is a do$umentary( spe$ial report or debate on a

topi$al issue why not wat$h( or listen to( it 9ou don"t have to go out of your way or

sit there ta.ing notes li.e a le$ture but if you have nothing better to do you might be

surprised how mu$h of it you will remember if it $omes up later

o Brainstorming:

This involves a group of people getting together to dis$uss a motion and $ome up with

ideas The group meets in a room and trash out the various issues involved from a

definition and line to e/amples and the other sides possible strategy ?ne member

writes down all the ideas and this is best done on a bla$.board so a tutorial room is

sometimes used @owever these $an also be$ome side5tra$.ed 6one ! was at lasted

over three hours and only twenty minutes were spent dis$ussing the motion8 !f used

effe$tively they should wor. well and we may start doing them on a more regular and

organised basis %ven if you don"t want to hold a brainstorming session don"t be afraid

to as. other debaters for ideas( most will be glad to help and may even have debated

the motion before

o A word of caution

There are many other sour$es of information if you .now where to loo. Perhaps thebest sour$e is your own memory !f you remember some fa$t but are haFy on the e/a$t

details of where or when you heard it don"t be afraid to use it < debate isn"t an e/am

so the information you use doesn"t have to be 144I a$$urate #ust sort of( from a

$ertain point of view of $ourse

@owever remember an outright lie $an be $onsidered unethiti$al and some more

=$onservative= people in debating would li.e to report students who brea. lo$al $odes

of ethi$s to their home $ollege offi$ials These people have lost all sight of the goal of

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debating and believe that an inability to sti$. to the moral $ode they subs$ribe to

means you $an be e/pelled from $ollege They ta.e no a$$ount of the fa$t that people

get fa$ts wrong and often in an attempt to win will use fa$ts they have not =properly

resear$hed= !n my opinion this is an e/tremely dangerous trend in debating and

while rare you should as. for $larifi$ation on the situation if debating outside the

'ritish !sles and )orlds $ompetitions 6parti$ularly in eastern %urope8 ?f $ourse by

even advo$ating a la$. of resear$h ! $an be a$$used of unethi$al behaviour by these

people !n response ! say that my view of debating is that it is a pastime not a

resear$h $onferen$e ! will never condone blatant liesbut ! re$ognise that the world

is far too vast for mere mortals to resear$h the hundreds of topi$s that $ould arise at

worlds and the human brain $ould never store that volume of information 9ou are

dealing with young people who have to absorb and remember vast amounts of

information Ca$ts will muddled and >uotes not properly referen$ed That doesn"t

ma.e their $entral point any less valid The $ut & trust of debating is to undermine

and highlight flaws in the opposing sides logi$ and fa$t That their fa$ts are

a$$identally flawed is not #ustifi$ation to see. to formally punish them and have them

e/pelled from $ollege as some misguided a$ademi$s would see.

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+tru$ture of a +pee$h!deally you should try to have a stru$ture to your spee$h !f you do then it is more

li.ely to be a good spee$h !f you don"t have some form of stru$ture you may be

penalised by ad#udi$ators and you may ramble 9ou don"t have to use a stri$t stru$ture

#ust have a mental layout of what you want to say and when !n fa$t if you have too

rigid a stru$ture then you will find it impossible to sti$. to it( when you have to rebutt

and deal with points of information

The following is a roughoutline of how to stru$ture your spee$h !n general #ust use

these as guidelines and( ideally( develop a style and stru$ture whi$h you are

$omfortable with

1st Minute (0:00-1:00):

6*an"t be given a point of information8

)in the audien$e( perhaps with a #o.e

Don"t rebutt another spea.ers spee$h

Define your spee$h( ie say what you will address and how

!deally be able to state your argument in a single( short senten$e

Define your team approa$h ie say( roughly( what your partner will say 6or

has said8

2nd Minute (1:00-2:00):

Don"t ta.e any Points of information until foundation has been laid ie

until you have developed your spee$h a bit

ayout your argument

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sually best to propose;oppose on 3 points 6eg Politi$al( %$onomi$(

+o$ial8

'egin your first point

3rd-th Minute (2:00-:00):


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+pea.ing +tyle

?ne thing you are bound to noti$e at any debate is the different spea.ing styles used

by the $ompetitors +pea.ing style is perhaps one of the most diffi$ult aspe$ts of

debating to attempt to =tea$h= 9ou will have to develop your own style and

preferably one that $omes naturally to you @owever there are a $ouple of things to be

.ept in mind

1 9ou must spea. $learly and loudly enough so that your

voi$e $an be heard by everyone Remember the

ad#udi$ators will sit towards the rear of the hall so at the

very least they must be able to hear what you are saying

if you are to have any $han$e of winning @owever you

shouldn"t shout as the halls have generally been designed

so that your voi$e will $arry towards the ba$.

2 Try to avoid monotone !f you are ma.ing an important point use your

voi$e to stress it and ma.e it stand out Try to slowly in$rease the stress and for$e

behind your voi$e as you go through your spee$h 'uild up to a high point and ma.e

this the $ru$ial point of your spee$h @owever don"t bring the audien$e on a

roller$oaster ride Don"t start high( fall down( build5up and fall down again( it loo.s as

though you are only $onvin$ed about the truth of half your spee$h

3 eep eye5$onta$t with the audien$e and don"t stare at the

podium !t gets easier to do this after some e/perien$e and

on$e you use fewer notes +ome people li.e to pi$. out

individuals in the audien$e and loo. at them ?thers #ust

spea. to the audien$e as a whole @owever you do it ma.e

sure to s$an the audien$e and move your gaFe to different

parts of the hall regularly

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se your body language to ba$. up your spee$h !f you stand

rigidly and don"t move then you will find it very diffi$ult to have

any real $onvi$tion in your voi$e se your arms and fa$ial

e/pressions to $onvey your emotions and ba$. up your spee$h@owever don"t go overboard( you want the audien$e"s attention to be

fo$used on your spee$h not your arms Try not to have anything in

your hands +ome people li.e to $arry a pen and end up waving it

about li.e a baton whi$h $an distra$t the ad#udi$ators !f you really

need something use inde/ $ards

9ou don"t have to stand stri$tly behind the podium

7ove around a bit and fa$e different se$tions of the

audien$e at different times


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advan$e but be $areful !f a #o.e sounds too prepared

than it may bomb Try to ma.e it sound spontaneous

and it"s more li.ely to be su$$essful

The best thing to do is wat$h other spea.ers and see how they $ombine the

various elements %/periment with different styles and try to find one that you are

$omfortable with @owever the only real way to develop a good style is to try to

spea. on a regular basis and listen to the advi$e of ad#udi$ators and the more

e/perien$ed debaters

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Points of information

Points of !nformation are a vital part of any debate and should not be

underestimated 'efore and after your spee$h you $an"t #ust sit >uietly and en#oy the

other spee$hes 9ou must .eep the ad#udi$ators aware of your presen$e( ideas and

argument ui$.ly

and at a split se$ond"s noti$e 6without sending your notes flying towards the podium8

!f you $an do without a ben$h for writing( then a front row seat is ideal !f however

you $an"t then use a seat at the end of a row so that you need only stand out to the

side ?n$e you have been a$$epted stand fa$ing the spea.er at the podium but also try

to half fa$e the $hair and audien$e( if possible

eep your P?! short and to the point The ma/ time

allowed is 1se$ but you should try for between and 14 se$

Remember that many spea.ers li.e to ta.e a P?! and then

use the time to $he$. what they will say ne/t while half

listening to the person offering the point ?n$e they .now

what the ne/t part of their spee$h is they wor. out an answer

to your point !f your point is only about se$ in duration it

doesn"t give them enough time and is more li.ely to $at$h

them 6espe$ially if the point is wea. and wouldn"t wor. well

if they had time to thin. about it8 !t loo.s bad if they have to

stop to thin. what to say( espe$ially if they have to as. you to

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repeat it

Timing is important !f a spea.er is in full stride and .nows e/a$tly where

they are going for the ne/t few se$onds( he;she is unli.ely to a$$ept a point )ait for

a pause( for breath et$ by the spea.er and then offer the point ?bviously you have to

be >ui$. and good refle/es are needed to be on your feet literally within a split

se$ond !"ve found that a point is more li.ely to be a$$epted in this type of $ase but

you $an"t wait for too long as the point $ould then be out of pla$e

!tyles:

Different people have different styles when it $omes to Points of !nformation

+ome people 6no names8 li.e to virtually barrage opposing spea.ers with every pointwhi$h pops into their head This $an be very diffi$ult to deal with and ta.es some

getting used to The tri$. is to #ust ignore it if possible and ma.e your spee$h !f you

de$ide to use this type of style be very $areful !t has been .nown to annoy

ad#udi$ators if ta.en too far and there !+ a pre$eden$e for having spea.ers

dis>ualified

Different people have different styles when it $omes to

Points of !nformation +ome people 6no names8 li.e to

virtually barrage opposing spea.ers with every point

whi$h pops into their head This $an be very diffi$ult to

deal with and ta.es some getting used to The tri$. is to

#ust ignore it if possible and ma.e your spee$h !f you

de$ide to use this type of style be very $areful !t has

been .nown to annoy ad#udi$ators if ta.en too far and

there !+ a pre$eden$e for having spea.ers dis>ualified

7ost spea.ers prefer to #ust wait and see how a spee$h develops This

involves leaving wea. points go and use #ust one or two atta$.ing the $entral $ore of

the spee$h on$e it has developed a bit

Acce"ting:

)hen you are spea.ing you should a$$ept 253 points )at$h out for good

spea.ers !f someone has .illed off every other spea.er on your side be $areful and

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don"t assume that you $an handle them


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Roles in a debate

"rime Minister (#$ening S$ea%er)&

!t is the duty of the KPrime 7inisterL to define the topi$ of the debate 'T it must be

$learly lin.ed to the 7otion !n some $ases the motion will be worded in su$h a way

as to permit a wide variety of Definitions 6eg KThis house believes that the Glass is

half fullL( )orlds BA8 ?thers will be tighter motions( whi$h allow little fle/ibility for

Definition 6eg KThis house believes that -orthern -ationalists have nothing to fear

from a nited ingdomL !rish Times B08


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!t is your role to set out the opposition to the Governments $ase 9ou have only min

6or less8 to $ome up with your opposition $ase but provided that the Government have

presented a debatable $ase you will be e/pe$ted to handle the limited time forpreparation ?utline and develop your $ase Then deal with the points made by the

government and lin. ba$. the reason for them being flawed to whatever your teams

$entral $ase is Remember the role of last ?pp is to rebut all four Government

spea.ers in his;her min and sum up the entire opposition $ase 9ou have only seen

one spea.er so you $ant ma.e a Kast ?pp +pee$hL oo. at it in terms of

proportions 9ouve only seen a >uarter of the Government therefore at most a

>uarter of your spee$h should be rebuttal The rest should involve outlining aKsubstantiveL opposition $ase

!t is also your duty to de$ide if the $ase is debatable !f it isnt 6and be very( very

$ertain that it isnt8 then you must submit an alternative definition 9ou $annot

simply say KThats a Truisti$;self provingL argument( spend seven minutes outlining

why and sit down !f you do that then you will have failed to do your duty as 1st

opposition !f you have the ability to spot a truisti$ argument then you should have

the ability to redefine( or at least to modify the Governments $ase to ma.e it

debatable

e$ut "rime Minister&

9ou must further develop your teams argument Rebut what the first opposition

spea.er has said but dont spend all your time rebutting 9our teams $ase $ant have

been fully outlined and developed so to spend min atta$.ing one opposition spea.er

is no win ta$ti$

9ou must ba$. up your teammate !f he;she has been torn apart then dont #ump ship

K*


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9our role is to develop your team line


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some time on your team line and $ountera$ting the atta$. on it !n short you must do

3 distin$t things: 618 +um up your team line 628 +um up the first Governments

arguments 638 Rebut the ?pposition Remember that while you $annot stab the 1st

government in the ba$. you should really reinfor$e your team line and then sum up

the rest of the Government argument

#$$osition Whi$, ('ast s$ea%er o* the debate)

Rebut( Rebut( Rebut( Rebut( oh and sum up 9ou are in pole position 9ou have had

almost an hour to develop your spee$h and this is a huge advantage 9ou should not

bring new information into the debate but remember that by new information wemean new $ore arguments and e/amples !n your rebuttal you may bring in new

e/amples( whi$h relate dire$tly to the points you are rebutting but you $annot ma.e

them the $entral plan. on whi$h your entire argument is based < lot of last ?pp

spea.ers will deal with the Government spea.ers almost one at a time and this

generally wor.s >uite well and lends a stru$ture to your spee$h

< lot of last ?pp spea.ers ma.e the mista.e of #ust rebutting and not summing up!deally you should use a summary of what has been said by the opposition up to now

as your rebuttal @owever you should also try to have a $learly defined period of

summation Dont get $arried away with your rebuttal and leave your sum up for the

last 34 se$onds Remember that there are a lot of ine/perien$ed #udges out there who

may not re$ognise that you have mi/ed summation and rebuttal in your spee$h and

will( unfairly( penalise you for only spending a few se$onds on sum up !deally aim

to start your sum up of the ?pp $ase with about 1 to 2 minutes left 9ou $an use

your last prote$ted minute to sum up the entire debate and not #ust your spee$h( it may

go against the te/tboo. stru$ture of a spee$h but it is a$$epted pra$ti$e

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ey e/tra$ts from )D* $riteria

These are .ey se$tions from the


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o 213 The definition must:

6a8 have a $lear and logi$al lin. to the motion 5 this means that

an average reasonable person would a$$ept the lin. made by the member between the

motion and the definition 6where there is no su$h lin. the definition is sometimes

referred to as a Ks>uirrelL8H

6b8 not be self5proving 5 a definition is self5proving when the

$ase is that something should or should not be done and there is no reasonable

rebuttal < definition is may also be self5proving when the $ase is that a $ertain state

of affairs e/ists or does not e/ist and there is no reasonable rebuttal 6these definitions

are sometimes referred to as KtruismsL8 6$8 not be time set 5 this means that the

debate must ta.e pla$e in the present and that the definition $annot set the debate in

the past or the futureH and 6d8 not be pla$e set unfairly 5 this means that the definition

$annot restri$t the debate so narrowly to a parti$ular geographi$al or politi$al lo$ation

that a parti$ipant of the tournament $ould not reasonably be e/pe$ted to have

.nowledge of the pla$e

!.! Challenging the definition

o 221 The eader of the ?pposition may $hallenge the definition if it

violates $lause 213 of these rules The eader of the ?pposition should $learly state

that he or she is $hallenging the definition

o 222 The eader of the ?pposition should substitute an alternative

definition after $hallenging the definition of the Prime 7inister

!." #ssessing the definitional hallenge

o 231 The ad#udi$ator should determine the definition to be

Ounreasonable where it violates $lause 213 of these rules

o 232 The onus to establish that the definition is unreasonable is on the

members asserting that the definition is unreasonable

o 233 )here the definition is unreasonable( the opposition should

substitute an alternative definition that should be a$$epted by the ad#udi$ator provided

it is not unreasonable

o 23 )here the definition of the ?pening Government is unreasonable

and an alternative definition is substituted by the ?pening ?pposition( the *losing

Government may introdu$e matter whi$h is in$onsistent with the matter presented bythe ?pening Government and $onsistent with the definition of the ?pening

?pposition

o 23 !f the ?pening ?pposition has substituted a definition that is also

unreasonable( the *losing Government may $hallenge the definition of the ?pening

?pposition and substitute an alternative definition

o 230 !f the *losing Government has substituted a definition that is also

unreasonable 6in addition to the unreasonable definitions of the ?pening Government

and ?pening ?pposition( the *losing ?pposition may $hallenge the definition of the

*losing Government and substitute an alternative definition.

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World Championships Criteria

World niversities ebating .ham$ionshi$

World "arliamentar ebating ules

a .ru

"art 1 4ntroduction

1,1 The *ormat o* the debate

111 The debate will $onsist of four teams of two persons 6persons will be .nown as

=members=8( a $hairperson 6.nown as the =+pea.er of the @ouse= or =7ister;7adame

+pea.er= and an ad#udi$ator or panel of ad#udi$ators

112 Teams will $onsist of the following members:

?pening Government:

=Prime 7inister= or =Cirst Government member= and

=Deputy Prime 7inister= or =+e$ond Government member=H

?pening ?pposition:

=eader of the ?pposition= or =Cirst ?pposition member= and

=Deputy eader of the ?pposition= or =+e$ond ?pposition member=H

*losing Government:

=7ember for the Government= or =Third Government member= and

=Government )hip= or =Courth ?pposition member=H

*losing ?pposition:

=7ember for the ?pposition= or =Third ?pposition member= and

=?pposition )hip= or =Courth ?pposition member=

113 7embers will deliver substantive spee$hes in the following order:

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618 Prime 7inisterH

628 ?pposition eaderH

638 Deputy Prime 7inisterH

68 Deputy ?pposition eaderH

68 7ember for the GovernmentH

608 7ember for the ?ppositionH

68 Government )hipH

6A8 ?pposition )hip

11 7embers will deliver a substantive spee$h of seven minutes duration and should

offer points of information while members of the opposing teams are spea.ing

1,2 The motion

121 The motion should be unambiguously worded

122 The motion should refle$t that the )orld niversities Debating *hampionship

is an international tournament

123 The members should debate the motion in the spirit of the motion and thetournament

1,3 "re$aration

131 The debate should $ommen$e 1 minutes after the motion is announ$ed

132 Teams should arrive at their debate within five minutes of the s$heduled starting

time for that debate

133 7embers are permitted to use printed or written material during preparation and

during the debate Printed material in$ludes boo.s( #ournals( newspapers and othersimilar materials The use of ele$troni$ e>uipment is prohibited during preparation

and in the debate

1,5 "oints o* 4n*ormation

11 Points of !nformation 6>uestions dire$ted to the member spea.ing8 may be as.ed

between first minute mar. and the si/ minute mar. of the members spee$hes

6spee$hes are of seven minutes duration8

12 To as. a Point of !nformation( a member should stand( pla$e one hand on his or

her head and e/tend the other towards the member spea.ing The member may

announ$e that they would li.e to as. a =Point of !nformation= or use other words to

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this effe$t

13 The member who is spea.ing may a$$ept or de$line to answer the Point of

!nformation

1 Points of !nformation should not e/$eed 1 se$onds in length

1 The member who is spea.ing may as. the person offering the Point of

!nformation to sit down where the offeror has had a reasonable opportunity to be

heard and understood

10 7embers should attempt to answer at least two Points of !nformation during

their spee$h 7embers should also offer Points of !nformation

1 Points of !nformation should be assessed in a$$ordan$e with $lause 33 of

these rules

1A Points of ?rder and Points of Personal Privilege are not permitted

1,6 Timing o* the s$eeches

11 +pee$hes should be seven minutes in duration 6this should be signalled by two

stri.es of the gavel8 +pee$hes over seven minutes and 1 se$onds may be penalised

12 Points of !nformation may only be offered between the first minute mar. and the

si/ minute mar. of the spee$h 6this period should be signalled by one stri.e of thegavel at the first minute and one stri.e at the si/th minute8

13 !t is the duty of the +pea.er of the @ouse to time spee$hes

1 !n the absen$e of the +pea.er of the @ouse( it is the duty of the *hair of the


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211 The definition should state the issue 6or issues8 for debate arising out of the motion and state themeaning of any terms in the motion whi$h re>uire interpretation

212 The Prime 7inister should provide the definition at the beginning of his or her spee$h

213 The definition must:

6a8 have a $lear and logi$al lin. to the motion 5 this means that an average reasonable person would

a$$ept the lin. made by the member between the motion and the definition 6where there is no su$h lin.the definition is sometimes referred to as a =s>uirrel=8H

6b8 not be self5proving 5 a definition is self5proving when the $ase is that something should or should

not be done and there is no reasonable rebuttal < definition is may also be self5proving when the $aseis that a $ertain state of affairs e/ists or does not e/ist and there is no reasonable rebuttal 6these

definitions are sometimes referred to as =truisms=8

6$8 not be time set 5 this means that the debate must ta.e pla$e in the present and that the definition

$annot set the debate in the past or the futureH and

6d8 not be pla$e set unfairly 5 this means that the definition $annot restri$t the debate so narrowly to a

parti$ular geographi$al or politi$al lo$ation that a parti$ipant of the tournament $ould not reasonably bee/pe$ted to have .nowledge of the pla$e

2,2 .hallenging the de*inition

221 The eader of the ?pposition may $hallenge the definition if it violates $lause 213 of these

rules The eader of the ?pposition should $learly state that he or she is $hallenging the definition

222 The eader of the ?pposition should substitute an alternative definition after $hallenging the

definition of the Prime 7inister

2,3 8ssessing the de*initional challenge

231 The ad#udi$ator should determine the definition to be Ounreasonable where it violates $lause

213 of these rules

232 The onus to establish that the definition is unreasonable is on the members asserting that the

definition is unreasonable

233 )here the definition is unreasonable( the opposition should substitute an alternative definition

that should be a$$epted by the ad#udi$ator provided it is not unreasonable

23 )here the definition of the ?pening Government is unreasonable and an alternative definition issubstituted by the ?pening ?pposition( the *losing Government may introdu$e matter whi$h is

in$onsistent with the matter presented by the ?pening Government and $onsistent with the definition of

the ?pening ?pposition

23 !f the ?pening ?pposition has substitued a definition that is also unreasonable( the *losing

Government may $hallenge the definition of the ?pening ?pposition and substitute an alternativedefinition

230 !f the *losing Government has substitued a definition that is also unreasonable 6in addition to theunreasonable definitions of the ?pening Government and ?pening ?pposition( the *losing ?pposition

may $hallenge the definition of the *losing Government and substitute an alternative definition

"art 3 Matter

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3,1 The de*inition o* matter

311 7atter is the $ontent of the spee$h !t is the arguments a debater uses to further his or her $ase and

persuade the audien$e

312 7atter in$ludes arguments and reasoning( e/amples( $ase studies( fa$ts and any other material

that attempts to further the $ase

313 7atter in$ludes positive 6or substantive8 material and rebuttal 6arguments spe$ifi$ally aimed torefute the arguments of the opposing team6s88 7atter in$ludes Points of !nformation

3,2 The elements o* matter

321 7atter should be relevant( logi$al and $onsistent

322 7atter should be relevant !t should relate to the issues of the debate: positive material shouldsupport the $ase being presented and rebuttal should refute the material being presented by the

opposing team6s8 The 7ember should appropriately prioritise and apportion time to the dynami$issues of the debate

323 7atter should be logi$al


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11 7anner is the presentation of the spee$h !t is the style and stru$ture a member uses to further hisor her $ase and persuade the audien$e

12 7anner is $omprised of many separate elements +ome( but not all( of these elements are listedbelow

5,2 The elements o* stle

21 The elements of style in$lude eye $onta$t( voi$e modulation( hand gestures( language( the use ofnotes and any other element whi$h may affe$t the effe$tiveness of the presentation of the member

22 %ye $onta$t will generally assist a member to persuade an audien$e as it allows the member toappear more sin$ere

23 ,oi$e modulation will generally assist a member to persuade an audien$e as the debater mayemphasise important arguments and .eep the attention of the audien$e This in$ludes the pit$h( tone(

and volume of the members voi$e and the use of pauses

2 @and gestures will generally assist a member to emphasise important arguments %/$essive hand

movements may however be distra$ting and redu$e the attentiveness of the audien$e to the arguments

2 anguage should be $lear and simple 7embers who use language whi$h is too verbose or

$onfusing may detra$t from the argument if they lose the attention of the audien$e

20 The use of notes is permitted( but members should be $areful that they do not rely on their notestoo mu$h and detra$t from the other elements of manner

5,3 The elements o* structure

31 The elements of stru$ture in$lude the stru$ture of the spee$h of the member and the stru$ture of

the spee$h of the team

32 The matter of the spee$h of ea$h member must be stru$tured The member should organise his or

her matter to improve the effe$tiveness of their presentation The substantive spee$h of ea$h membersshould:

6a8 in$lude:an introdu$tion( $on$lusion and a series of argumentsH and

6b8 be well5timed in a$$ordan$e with the time limitations and the need to prioritise and apportion time

to matter

33 The matter of the team must be stru$tured The team should organise their matter to improve the

effe$tiveness of their presentation The team should:

6a8 $ontain a $onsistent approa$h to the issues being debatedH and

6b8 allo$ate positive matter to ea$h member where both members of the team are introdu$ing positive

matterH and

5,5 8ssessing manner

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appropriate( and that they should not dis$riminate against a member simply be$ause the manner wouldbe deemed Oinappropriate Parliamentary debating in their own $ountry

3


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agree upon the team grades and may $omplete their s$oresheet at their own dis$retion

32 Team grades and mar.s should be given the following interpretation:

Grade Marks Meaning

< 1A45244 9cellent to *la;less,The standard you would e/pe$tto see from a team at the +emi Cinal ; Grand Cinal

level of the tournament The team has many strengthsand few( if any( wea.nesses

' 10451B 8bove average to ver good,The standard you

would e/pe$t to see from a team at the finals level orin $ontention to ma.e to the finals The team has $lear

strengths and some minor wea.nesses

* 1451B 8verage,The team has strengths and wea.nesses inroughly e>ual proportions

D 124513B "oor to belo; average,The team has $lear problems

and some minor strengths

% 144511B


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' A45AB 8bove average to ver good,The standard you would

e/pe$t to see from a spea.er at the finals level or in$ontention to ma.e to the finals This spea.er has $lear


* 45B 8verage,The spea.er has strengths and wea.nessesand roughly e>ual proportions

D 0450B 8verage,The spea.er has strengths and wea.nesses

and roughly e>ual proportions

% 45B


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Tab Sheets What the judges get

7eanings of Grades & 7ar.s

Page 1

$rade %ar&s %eaning

< B45144 9cellent to *la;less,The standard of spee$h

you would e/pe$t to see from a spea.er at the

Grand Cinal level of the tournament This

spea.er has many strengths and few( if any(

wea.nesses

' A45AB 8bove average to ver good,The standard

you would e/pe$t to see from a spea.er at the

semi5finals level or in $ontention to ma.e tothe semi5finals This spea.er has $lear


* 45B 8verage,The spea.er has strengths and

wea.nesses and roughly e>ual proportions

D 0450B 8verage,The spea.er has strengths and

wea.nesses and roughly e>ual proportions

% 45B


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Page 2

4ntervarsit) S$eed 0allot

/ound:


43/47

Page 3


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Some Motions

List of Past motionsSdne 00

=inal

This house believes 7ar/ would have approved of the internet

M8>4'8 ??

=irst ounds

1 This house supports the bombing of !ra>

2 This house believes globaliFation marginalises the poor

3 This house believes the father should be present at $on$eption

This house believes


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This house believes that the + is more sinned against than sinning

This house would let the information superhighway run free

0 This house believes that fanati$ism wor.s

This house would allow same5se/ $ouples to adopt $hildren

A This house will regret the trade blo$

B This house believes that the Truth and Re$on$iliation *ommission is a wea.response

#cto =inal:This house supports privatiFation

@tr =inal: This house would adopt >uotas

Semi =inal: This house believes that one man"s terrorist is another man"s freedom

fighter

=inal: This house would legaliFe all drugs

.#C ?

=irst ounds

1This house would put pragmatism before its prin$iples

2 This house would test nu$lear weapons3 This house would rebuild the 'erlin )all

This house would sa$rifi$e e$onomi$ growth for the good of the environment

This house would give ra$ists a platform

0 This house would ma.e the blood of the patriar$hy run in the streets 6enfor$ed

humour round8

This house would heed its priests

A This house believes that developing nations should adopt )estern feminism

B This house would in trial by #ury

#cto =inal:This house would re#e$t big government

@tr =inal:This house believes that the melting pot has failedSemi =inal: This house would let the language die

=inal: This house believes that strong di$tatorship is better than wea. demo$ra$y

"4>.9T#> ?6

=irst ounds

1 This @ouse would plan for pea$e by preparing for war

2 This @ouse has more to fear than to hope from geneti$ engineering

3 This @ouse would open its doors to the world

This @ouse believes that the separation of $hur$h and state has gone too far

This @ouse believes that the nited -ations belongs on the ash5heap of history

0 This @ouse believes that


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This @ouse believes that !slam has had a bad press

This @ouse believes that the blood of %ast Timor is on


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+ummary

+o after all that how do you apply it in 1 min to prepare your spee$h

e "re$ared@ave a broad general .nowledge of events issues et$ 'T be sure to prepare 3 or

$ases in advan$e for when you are defining K?penL motions This should give you an

edge in the debate as you will be tal.ing about something you .now well

Aave an argumentDont base your $ase on loads of fa$ts and try to wor. towards an argument Thin. of

the argument;*ore5team5line first( then 3 main points to ba$. it up and then the fa$ts

to ba$. those up

! a c t ! a c t

P o i n t *

& e . g . * P r o b l e m - $ a u s e (

& e . g . P o l i t i c a l (

! a c t ! a c t

P o i n t

& e . g . S o l u t i o n (

& e . g . S o c i a l (

! a c t ! a c t

P o i n t /

& e . g . / 0 f f e c t (

& e . g . 0 c o n o m i c (

" r g u m e n t

8nalse oursel* D others6Than.s to 7ar. Dowling for this8

+ov .ase (5 ste$s) #$$ .ase ($ic% one D attac%)

"roblem There is a problem The problem doesn"t e/ist

.ause This is the $ause That"s not the right $ause

Solution @ere is our solution The solution isn"t wor.able

9**ect

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