Debating in the World Schools Style: a Guide Debating in the World Schools Style: a Guide
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Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide SIMON QUINN international debate education association New York • Amsterdam • Brussels Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide SIMON QUINN international debate education association New York • Amsterdam • Brussels Published by: International Debate Education Association 400 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 Copyright © 2009 Simon Quinn This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en_US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Quinn, Simon, 1981- Debating in the World Schools style : a guide / Simon Quinn. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-932716-55-9 1. Debates and debating. I. Title. PN4181.Q56 2009 808.53--dc22 2009017812 Design by Kathleen Hayes Printed in the USA This book is dedicated to Andrew Denby, who repeatedly encouraged me to start writing it. He was a good friend and a really nice guy. First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me. German Protestant Pastor Martin Niemoeller Every idea is an incitement. It offers itself to belief and if believed is acted upon unless some other belief outweighs it or some failure of energy stifles the movement at its birth. The only difference between the expression of an opinion and an incitement in the narrowest sense is the speaker’s enthusiasm for the result; eloquence may set fire to reason. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, dissenting in Gitlow v The State of New York (1925) 268 US 652 Free speech is life itself. Salman Rushdie Contents Acknowledgements . xvii Introduction . 1 How to Use This Book . 2 Debating: A Basic Introduction . 4 Chapter One: Preparation . 9 The Big Picture . 9 Step 1: The Issue and Definition . 10 Finding the Battleground . 10 Finding the Issue . 10 The Definition . 13 What Is the Definition? . 13 How to Define a Motion . 13 Limiting Motions by Definition . 15 The Need for a Neutral Definition . 17 The Right of Definition . 20 No Exclusive Right . 20 More Reasonable . 21 Closer to the Real Issue of the Motion . 21 The Exclusive Right . 23 Triggers . 24 Triggers for What Your Team Needs to Prove . 25 Should . 25 Too . 28 Failed . 29 Big, Red Ball Motions . 31 Triggers for the Degree to Which Your Team Needs to Prove Its Argument . 33 General Truth . 33 Absolutes . 35 “Justify” Motions . 36 The Confusing Words “We” and “Our” . 38 Triggers for Developing Your Case . 39 Comparison Debates . 39 Debates About a Particular Age or Generation . 41 Triggers for Disclaimers . 42 Speculative Debates . 43 Sensitivities . 43 Step 2: The Case Approach . 45 The Theme or Caseline . 45 How Often Should the Theme Be Used? . 47 How Should the Theme Be Presented? . 48 The Team Stance . 49 A Model . 50 How Specific Does the Model Need to Be? . 51 An Alternative from the Opposition . 52 Is the Alternative Really Necessary? . 53 Is the Alternative Mutually Exclusive to the Motion? . 56 The Invalid Opposition . 57 Drawing a Line in the Sand . 57 A Stance on Associated Issues . 61 x Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide Ignoring Your Model or Stance . 63 How Not to Rebut Models . 64 The Strategy of Case Development . 65 Debating: A Game . 66 Playing Hardball . 66 Fear Complexity, Not Controversy . 70 Playing Hardball Is a Whole Case Approach . 74 Arguing Too Much . 76 Criteria . 80 What Are Criteria in Debating? . 80 Using Criteria . 82 Taking Criteria Too Far . 84 Criteria—A Loaded Term . 86 Criteria—Key Points . 86 Step 3: The Arguments . 87 The Basic Approach . 87 What Do We Mean by an “Argument”? . 87 Why Do We Need Distinct Arguments? . 88 The Basic Structure of an Argument . 88 How Many Arguments Do You Need? . 90 Examples . 91 Analysis of Examples . 92 Weak Analysis: A Case Study . 93 Adding More Examples . 96 Statistics . 97 Other Alternatives to Examples . 98 Finding Content . 100 News and Current Affairs . 100 Research . 101 Fabricating Content . 101 Credibility in Presenting Content . 102 Home Turf Examples . 103 Use of Substantiation Elsewhere in Your Case . 105 Contents xi Sophistication in Explanation . 106 Testing Your Arguments . 107 Specific Weaknesses . 108 Inconsistency . 108 Insignificance . 109 Arguments That Are Too General . 110 Irrelevance . 110 Dependent Arguments . 111 Conclusion to Step 3 . 112 Step 4: The Split . 113 The Basic Concept . 113 Choosing the Groupings . 114 A Hung Case . 115 Common Splits . 117 Where to Start? . 118 Content Splits . 120 Step 5: Preparing Individual Speeches . 120 The Need for Structure . 121 Speaker Roles . 121 First Speakers . 121 Second Speakers . 122 Third Speakers . 123 Signposting . 123 A Formal Introduction . 124 A Brief Introduction . 124 Setting Up Your Team’s Approach . 125 A Brief Link to the Team Case . 126 The Outline and Summary . 126 A Conclusion . 127 Timing . 128 Teamwork in Preparation . 129 Introduction . 129 xii Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide The Basics . 130 Basic Steps . 130 Brainstorming . 130 Feeding Back . 131 Case Development . 132 Writing Speeches . 133 Final Discussions . 133 Resolving Differences of Opinion . 134 Short Preparation Before the Debate . 135 The Basic Timing . 136 Hastening Slowly . 137 Leadership . 137 “Oh &@!#$^@ !!!” (or Short Preparation during the Debate) . 139 Deciding to Abandon Your Case . 140 Start with the Big Picture . 141 Chapter Two: Rebuttal . 143 The Importance of Rebuttal . 143 What Should You Rebut? . 144 Rebutting Your Opposition’s Theme . 145 Rebutting Examples and Statistics . 146 Rebutting Rebuttal . 146 The Importance of Being Thorough . 147 Preparing for Rebuttal . 148 Definitional Rebuttal . 149 Definitional Rules Revisited . 150 Deciding to Rebut Your Opposition’s Definition . 151 How to Rebut the Definition . 153 Definitional Challenges and Their Impact on the Debate as a Whole . 154 Contents xiii The Definitional “Even If” . 157 Dealing with an Unreasonable Definition . 159 Parallel Cases: A Special Issue . 160 The Internal Structure of a Rebuttal Point . 161 The Overall Structure of Rebuttal . 163 Starting Your Rebuttal . 163 Strategic Allocation of Rebuttal Time . 164 First and Second Speaker Structure . 165 Third Speaker Structure . 166 Key Grounds for Rebuttal . 169 Logical Irrelevance . 170 Insignificance . 171 Factual Inaccuracy . 172 Unsubstantiated Assertions . 174 Underlying Assumptions . 175 Causation . 176 Contradictions . 177 Misrepresentation . 179 Cumulative Rebuttal . 180 Conclusion . 182 Chapter Three: Style . 183 Introduction . 183 Being Yourself . 183 Visual Presentation . 184 Start from the Very Beginning . 185 Eye Contact . 185 Gesture . 186 xiv Debating in the World Schools Style: A Guide Stance . 187 Mannerisms . 188 Vocal Presentation . 188 Speed . 188 Volume . 189 Variation . 190 Verbal Presentation . 191 The Importance of Clarity . 191 Clever Verbal Techniques . 193 Humor . 193 General Pointers . 195 Using Note Cards Effectively . 195 The Importance of Context . 197 Chapter Four: Points of Information and Reply Speeches . 199 Introduction . 199 Points of Information . 200 What Are Points of Information? . 200 Offering Points of Information . 201 How Many Points Should You Offer? . 201 When Should.