EVALUACION CONTINUA

55 marks total
(33 marks to pass the section)

What is debating?
A debate is a structured argument.  Two sides speak alternately for and against a
resolution (particular point of argument usually based on a topical issue). 

Unlike the arguments you might have with your family or friends however, each
person is allocated a time they are allowed to speak for and any interjections are
carefully controlled. 

The subject of the debate for each group (usually 6 students) will be announced
a week before. You will probably find yourself having to defend or argue against
opinions with which you do not normally agree!!

Why debate?
It is an excellent way of improving both your speaking skills and in providing
experience developing a convincing argument. Those of you who are forced to argue
against your natural point of view realize that arguments, like coins, always have at
least two sides.

Each student will PRESENT in the debate at least once and PARTICIPATE twice or
three times.

****

DEBATE PROCEDURE - 45 minutes

1. The FIRST PRESENTER gives arguments in support of the resolution. (5 MINUTES)
2. The SECOND PRESENTER gives arguments against the resolution and identifies areas
of conflict with the first presenter (5 MINUTES)
3. The FIRST presenter responds to the arguments of the SECOND presenter and then
vice-versa (10 MINUTES)
4. The PARTICIPANTS then ask ONE pre-prepared question each of EACH PRESENTER
and DEBATE with the PRESENTER about his or her answer (20 MINUTES)
5. The PARTICIPANTS can decide which argument they think came over as MOST
CONVINCING (5 MINUTES)
 PRESENTER ROLE
Five minutes speaking

Use of notes and eye contact

Notes are essential, but they must be brief and well organized to be effective – not a
memorized speech!!!.  There is absolutely no point in trying to speak without notes. Of
course, notes should never become obtrusive and damage your contact with the
audience, nor should they ever be read from verbatim.  Most people sketch out the
main headings of their speech, with brief notes under each.  

When BOTH PRESENTERS have finished

speaking, you will have to discuss a question
each asked by other members in your group
and debate with them about these questions.
Your evaluation is out of 25 marks:
Defence and arguments presented for or against the
resolution: 10
Use of English: 5
Pronunciation of individual sounds: 5
Pronunciation of word and sentence stress: 5

GROUP PARTICIPANTS’ ROLE

Before the debate
1. You will be told a week before the debate what
argument each presenter is going to defend (For- or
against- the resolution).
 2. You should prepare ONE QUESTION you will
ask of each presenter. Make sure that question is
one which requires the presenter to answer NOT
with a yes/no reply but makes the presenter have to
involve you in a discussion
During the debate
3. As you listen to the Presenter’s arguments, Make
notes on what he or she says and prepare a few
arguments to argue AGAINST what he or she is
saying (NOT to agree!!)
4.

Your evaluation is out of 15 marks per seminar

and 2 seminars (=30):

Participation during debate: 5

Use of English: 5
Pronunciation: 5

Counterarguments
A counterargument involves acknowledging standpoints that go against
your argument and then re-affirming your argument. This is typically done
by stating the opposing side’s argument, and then ultimately presenting
your argument as the most logical solution. The counterargument is a
standard academic move that is used in argumentative essays because it
shows the reader that you are capable of understanding and respecting
multiple sides of an argument.
Counterargument in two steps

1. Respectfully acknowledge evidence or standpoints that differ from

your argument.
2. Refute the stance of opposing arguments, typically utilizing words like
“although” or “however.”
0. In the refutation, you want to show the reader why your position
is more correct than the opposing idea.

Where to put a counterargument

 Can be placed within the introductory paragraph to create a contrast

for the thesis statement.
 May consist of a whole paragraph that acknowledges the opposing
view and then refutes it.
 Can be one sentence acknowledgements of other opinions followed
by a refutation.
Why use a counterargument?

Some students worry that using a counterargument will take away from
their overall argument, but a counterargument may make an essay more
persuasive because it shows that the writer has considered multiple sides
of the issue. Barnet and Bedau (2005) propose that critical thinking is
enhanced through imagining both sides of an argument. Ultimately, an
argument is strengthened through a counterargument.

Examples of the counterargument structure

 Argument against smoking on campus: Admittedly, many

students would like to smoke on campus. Some people may rightly
argue that if smoking on campus is not illegal, then it should be
permitted; however, second-hand smoke may cause harm to those
who have health issues like asthma, possibly putting them at risk.
 Argument against animal testing: Some people argue that using
animals as test subjects for health products is justifiable. To be fair,
animal testing has been used in the past to aid the development of
several vaccines, such as small pox and rabies. However, animal
testing for beauty products causes unneeded pain to animals. There
are alternatives to animal testing. Instead of using animals, it is
possible to use human volunteers. Additionally, Carl Westmoreland
(2006) suggests that alternative methods to animal research are
being developed; for example, researchers are able to use skin
constructed from cells to test cosmetics. If alternatives to animal
testing exist, then the practice causes unnecessary animal suffering
and should not be used.
The Basic Debating Skills
Style 

Style is the manner in which you communicate your arguments.  This is the most basic
part of debating to master.  Content and strategy are worth little unless you deliver your
material in a confident and persuasive way.

Speed

It is vital to talk at a pace which is fast enough to sound intelligent and allow you time to
say what you want, but slow enough to be easily understood.  

Tone

Varying tone is what makes you sound interesting.  Listening to one tone for an entire
presentation is boring.

Volume

Speaking quite loudly is sometimes a necessity, but it is by no means necessary to shout

through every debate regardless of context.  There is absolutely no need speak any
more loudly than the volume at which everyone in the room can comfortably hear you. 
Shouting does not win debates.  Speaking too quietly is clearly disastrous since no one
will be able to hear you.

Clarity

The ability to concisely and clearly express complex issues is what debating is all about. 
The main reason people begin to sound unclear is usually because they lose the “stream
of thought” which is keeping them going. It is also important to keep it simple. While
long words may make you sound clever, they may also make you incomprehensible.  

Use of notes and eye contact

Notes are essential, but they must be brief and well organized to be effective.  There is
absolutely no point in trying to speak without notes. Of course, notes should never
become obtrusive and damage your contact with the audience, nor should they ever be
read from verbatim.  Most people sketch out the main headings of their speech, with
brief notes under each.  

When writing notes for rebuttal during the debate, it is usually better to use a separate
sheet of paper so you can take down the details of what the other speakers have said
and then transfer a rough outline onto the notes you will actually be using.  

Eye contact with the audience is very important, but keep shifting your gaze. No one
likes to be stared at. 

 
Content
Content is what you actually say in the debate. The arguments used to develop your own
side’s case and rebut the opposite side’s. The information on content provided below is a
general overview of what will be expected when you debate. The final logistics of how
long you will be debating, how many people will be in your group, and how the
debate will unfold (ie: which team speaks first etc.), will all be decided by your
tutorial leader.

Case (argument)- the whole

Introduction - The case your group is making must be outlined in the introduction.  This
involves stating your main arguments and explaining the general thrust of your case. 
This must be done briefly since the most important thing is to get on and actually argue
it. It is also a good idea to indicate the aspects of the subject to be discussed by each of
the team members. 

Conclusion - At the end, once everyone has spoken, it is useful to briefly summarize
what your group has said and why.

Case (argument)- the parts

Having outlined the whole of your argument, you must then begin to build a case (the
parts).  The best way to do this is to divide your case into between two and four
arguments (or divide your case based on the number of people in your group).  You
must justify your arguments with basic logic, worked examples, statistics, and quotes. 
Debating is all about the strategy of “proof”. Proof, or evidence, supporting your
assertion is what makes it an argument. There are a number of ways of dividing up
cases according to groups of arguments (eg political/economic/social or
moral/practical or international/regional etc.) or just according to individual arguments if
you can’t group any together.  Under each of these basic headings you should then
explain the reasoning behind the argument and justify it using the methods outlined
above.  It is usually best to put the most important arguments first.  Here is an example
of a case outline:

   “The media exert more influence over what people think than the government does. 
This is true for three reasons.  Firstly, most people base their votes on what they see
and hear in the media. Secondly, the media can set the political agenda between
elections by deciding what issues to report and in how much detail.  Thirdly, the media
have successfully demonized politicians over the last ten years so that now people are
more likely to believe journalists than politicians.”   

All of the arguments in this case outline are debatable (almost immediately you can see
the counter-arguments), but they give the case a wide range which cover all kinds of
issues.  The trick is not to come up with a watertight case, but a well argued one. 
Think: “Can I argue that?” 

Rebuttal – the parts

Arguments can be factually, morally or logically flawed. They may be misinterpretations

or they may also be unimportant or irrelevant.  A team may also contradict one another
or fail to complete the tasks they set themselves.  These are the basics of rebuttal and
almost every argument can be found wanting in at least one of these respects.  Here are
a few examples:

1.   “Compulsory euthanasia at age 70 would save the country money in pensions and
healthcare.”  This is true, but is morally flawed.

2.  “Banning cigarette product placement in films will cause more young people to smoke
because it will make smoking more mysterious and taboo.”  This is logically flawed, the
ban would be more likely to stop the steady stream of images which make smoking
seem attractive and glamorous and actually reduce the number of young people
smoking.

3.   “My partner will then look at the economic issues...”  “Blah..blah..blah...(5 minutes
later and still no mention of the economic issues)”  This is a clear failure to explain a
major part of the case and attention should be drawn to it.  Even better is when a
speaker starts with, “to win this debate there are three things I must do…”.  If the
speaker fails to do any of those things you can then hang her or him by the noose by
repeating their exact words – by his or her own admission he or she cannot have won
the debate.

Rebuttal – the whole:

It is very important to have a good perspective of the debate and to identify what the
key arguments are.  It isn’t enough to rebut a few random arguments here and there. 
Of course the techniques used above are invaluable but they must be used
appropriately.  There are a number of things you should do to systematically break down
a team’s case:  

1.  Ask yourself how the other side have approached the case. Is their methodology
flawed? 

2.  Consider what tasks the other side set themselves (if any) and whether they have in
fact addressed these.  

3.  Consider what the general emphasis of the case is and what assumptions it makes.
Try to refute these.  

4.  Take the main arguments and do the same thing.  It is not worth repeating a point of
rebuttal that has been used by someone else already, but you can refer to it to show
that the argument has not stood up.  It is not necessary to correct every example used. 
You won’t have time and your aim is to show the other side’s case to be flawed in the
key areas. 
Social and Political Issues Debate Topics

 All people should have the right to own guns.

 The death penalty should be abolished.
 Human cloning should be legalized.
 All drugs should be legalized.
 Animal testing should be banned.
 Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity today.
 Violent video games should be banned.
 The minimum wage should be 20€ per hour.
 All people should have Universal Basic Income.
 Every citizen should be obliged to perform national public service.
 Plastic bags should be banned.

Education Debate Topics

 Homework should be banned.

 Schools should block sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram on their
computers.
 School uniforms should be required.
 All students should be offered an after-school job or internship.
 School should be in session all year round.
 Homeschooling is better than traditional schooling.
 All schools should have armed security guards.
 All schools should be private schools.
 Sexual education should be mandatory in schools.
 Public college should be tuition free.
 All students should loaned an Ipad at university
 Cell phones should be banned in schools.
 College should be free for everyone.
 Education should focus on maths and science rather than music and art.
 Fast food should be banned in schools.
 Homeschooling is better than traditional schooling.
 Religion should be taught in schools.
 Studying a second language should be compulsory.
Health Debate Topics
 Smoking should be banned in all public places.
 People should be legally required to get vaccines.
 Obesity should be labeled a disease.
 The sale of human organs should be legalized.