Competitive Debate: An Introduction Essential Question – What are the different events available in competitive debate?

Speech and Debate Events are split into two types Debate – attacking and defending a certain topic or various topics Policy, LD, PF, Congress Individual Events – Speech/Performance based competition versus others US/International Extemporaneous, Dramatic/Humorous/Oral/Duo Interpretation, Original Oratory

Policy Debate – “Team Debate” One pair of debaters face off a second pair of debaters Affirmative – agrees with resolution Negative – Agrees with status quo Aff must come up with plan to solve for problems given in arguments Use evidence and statistics to prove side is correct Strict time limits – cannot go over time! Incredibly demanding and fast-paced

Policy Debate Affirmative must present prima facie case – must make sense to everyday person Negative must poke holes in Aff. case to show it is not as concrete as it seems Aff. – burden of proof; Neg. – burden of rejoinder Topic same all year round

Policy Debate Topic RESOLVED – The United States federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth’s oceans.

Lincoln–Douglas Debate – “LD” One debater faces off against another individual Topics involve logic, philosophy, ethics, and morality Value Premise – the value which the debater wants all arguments to be considered Value Criterion – how to measure the VP

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Aff. – agrees with the resolution; Neg. – agrees with status quo Strict time limit Not as intense as policy, but more focused on philosophy Winner goes to person able to prove that logically he or she should win Topics change monthly

Lincoln-Douglas Topics – September/October Varsity A just society ought to presume consent for organ procurement of the deceased Novice Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified

Public Forum Debate – “PF” Newest event in competitive debate Team of 2 debaters compete vs. second team Topics are more relevant to everyday person Affirmative may NTO always go first Use a combination of logic, philospophy, evidence and/or statistics to prove case No burden on either side – whoever articulates arguments most effectively wins Very similar to televised debates (i.e. Crossfire) Topics change monthly

Public Forum Topic – September/October RESOLVED: On balance, public subsidies for professional athletic organizations in the United States benefit their local communities

Extemporaneous Speaking – “USX” & “IX” Competitor is given a question at competition He or she will have 30 minutes to research and create a 7-10 minute speech on the topic Using articles and research previously done beforehand Cannot research during competition

Extemporaneous Speaking Event questions are NOT given in advance Competitor must constantly research for most up-to-date information for speeches Student will speak only to judge and/or timekeeper Round is ranked by judge – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking - Topics What do new concerns over lethal injection mean for the future of the death penalty? What explains the US economy’s poor Q1 performance? Is NASA's Curiosity Mars rover delivering on expectations? Is Jeb Bush emerging as the GOP frontrunner? Is Obamacare doing better than expected? Is Barack Obama already a lame duck? Would raising the minimum wage successfully reduce poverty? Should the US continue to cut military spending? How is inequality in K-12 education affecting the United States? Should the NBA force Donald Sterling to sell his team? 

International Extemporaneous - Topics How should Ukraine’s government respond to Russian separatists? Will sanctions against Russia achieve their goal? What is driving China’s problems with internal ethnic conflict? Has the world forgotten about Syria? What does the failure of peace talks with the Palestinians mean for Israel’s future? Will Thailand’s July elections ease or exacerbate political tensions? What is at stake in Iraq’s nationwide parliamentary elections? What are the greatest challenges facing the United States’ foreign policy toward Asia? Why are Dilma Rousseff’s approval ratings slipping? Why is violence overwhelming South Sudan? 

Interpretation – “DI”, “HI”, “OI”, “DUO” Competitor recreates scene or reads literature for a judge Compete in flights – group settings up to 7 in a grouping Judging based on acting and recreation of scene Competitor MAY NOT USE PROPS OR MAKE-UP Movement space restricted to one- step in any direction

Interpretation DI – Dramatic Interpretation; dramatic pieces w/o humor HI – Humorous Interpretation; scenes with humor OI – Oral Interpretation; dramatic or humorous reading of prose AND poetry – dependent on the round DUO – Duo Interpretation; dramatic or humorous scenes with a partner

Rules of Interpretation Time Limit – 7 to 10 minutes Editing extremely important for time restraints OI – Need both prose and poetry; alternate in each round Focus on tone of voice, facial expressions, body movement in small space DI/HI/DUO require memorization of the script; OI may have a folder with story and poem(s) in it Some authors/playwrights are off- limits (ex. – Neil Simon) Stay within time constraints – points can be deducted for going UNDER time Competitors are ranked at end of the round

Original Oratory Competitor competes against a group of other orators Competitor writes an original speech on any topic of his or her choosing Time limit – 7-10 minutes Judging based on content of speech and effectiveness of delivery Competitors ranked at end of round

Student Congress “House” competitors simulate a session of U.S. Congressional proceedings Competitors given a list of potential topics that can be debated in the session Competitor selects one side to argue for – use logic and facts Strict adherence to parliamentary procedure

Student Congress One competitor is selected as presiding officer – oversees the decorum of the chamber Presiding officer selects who will speak in the chamber Competitor can speak as often as the P.O. selects him or her to speak Judging based on effectiveness of speech – NOT ranked against other competitors directly Time limit – 3 minutes End of session – Up to 3 are nominated for best speaker Popular vote determines winner Usually 2 sessions in each chamber (morning/afternoon) MUST FOLLOW PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES LAID OUT IN ROBERT’S RULES OF ORDER

Writing a Bill/resolution Bill – Proposed law with executive force Resolution – Proposed suggestion; something that “should” happen, but has not executive force of law Competitors can submit bills and resolutions to be debated in chamber Writer will always given opportunity to speak first if in chamber After speaker delivers speech, rest of chamber is given opportunity to cross-examine 1 question per competitor Any topic can be “tabled” – put off from debate Must be motioned by chamber and passed by a vote of the chamber If not tabled, debate continues If tabled, move to next topic