1. The Debate Project Constructive Speech Rebuttal Cross-examination

2. Example of a Constructive Speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKNDZkE6 R5I&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=P L867A55169F0811D1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKNDZkE6 R5I&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=P L867A55169F0811D1 Proposition: The Federal Government should illegalize smoking. How does the first affirmative speech support this proposition?

3. 1) The debater mentions measures taken by the government to fight other health threats: February 9 th, 2010 - “Let's Move campaign” initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama to end childhood obesity in the USA. April 22nd, 209 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention activated its Emergency Operations Center to combat the H1N1 virus. 2) He shows that such measures are in accordance with the American Constitution: “Our founding fathers wrote that they intended to provide for the general Welfare” 3) He concludes that if smoking is one of the most serious threats to public health, more serious than obesity or the swine flu, then “the United States Federal Government must take serious actions to end that threat. It must illegalize smoking throughout the United States.”

4. 5) To support his statement about how harmful smoking is, he provides some facts: According to the CDC, smoking causes approximately 443.000 deaths in the United States every year. Smoking increases the risk of heart diseases and stroke two to four times, and increases the risk of lung cancer in men 23 times, and in women 13 times. Smokers are more likely to die of chronic diseases Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body. Second-hand smoke increases the risk of heart diseases and lung cancer. Second-hand smoke causes deaths among adults. Second-hand smoke cause serious diseases in innocent children (bronchitis and pneumonia) Smoking is killing women, young and old.

5. 6) To close his constructive speech, the debater: a) Appeals to the audience: “You can stop it”. b) Mentions the drop in smoking rates in states that have adopted smoking bans. c) Impacts his speech by making a comparison between smoking related deaths and deaths cause by terrorist attacks: “If we illegalize smoking throughout the nation, our work will come one step closer to stopping this health menace that has killed more than any terrorist attack ever could. Not only should we do this, but we must.”

6. Example of a Rebuttal Discuss the effectiveness of the sample rebuttal considering the steps of refutation and the ways of refuting an argument learnt last class.

7. Steps of refutation 1) Identify your opponents argument. 2) State your team’s response. 3) Provide support. 4) Impact your response. Ways of refuting an argument 1) OPPOSING - a debater contradicts a claim made by the opposition and provides reasons. 2) MINIMAZING - a team does not deny the validity of the claim but reduces the argument’s significance. 3) OUTWEIGHING- a debater agrees with the opposition but presents arguments that outweigh the opponent’s argument. 4) TURN AROUND- a student uses the reasoning provided by the opposition to prove his/her point. 5) EXPOSING IRRELEVENT ARGUMENTS 6) EXPOSING INCONSISTENCIES 7) QUESTIONING FACTS/EXAMPLES 8) QUESTIONING AUTHORITY