Remember: A debate is basically, an argument

Remember: A debate is basically, an argument It is not an undisciplined shouting match between parties that passionately believe in a particular point of view. In fact the opposite is true. Debating has strict rules of conduct and quite sophisticated arguing techniques. There will be times you will have to argue the opposite of what you believe in – which only strengthens your critical thinking skills! If a debate is a form of argument then it logically follows that there must be something to argue about. This is called the TOPIC. The topic changes from debate to debate. They are often about current issues of public import (“That President Obama is overstepping his authority” or about general philosophies or ideas ("That beauty is better than brains").

What are the types of debates? There are thousands but the most common are these four types of debates: Lincoln-Douglas debate (the two person debate) The Rebuttal debate (2 person debate with as many rebuttals as directed or needed.) The One-Rebuttal type of debate – (2 person debate with only one rebuttal allowed) The Oregon-Oxford debate that is also called as the cross-question debate. (two person debate with each person able to ask a question or number of questions) Although there are many variations in these debates with regards to time limits as well as in the sequence of the speakers, the debate’s primary requisites remain intact. We will cover all the basic 4 types of debates with some variations to fit our classroom and students. Next activity is brainstorming both the negative and affirmative of an issue. Each person is going to get an index card and you must think of two topics.

Debate basics continued The idea is for one side of the table to take the negative, the other side will take the affirmative. So tables with six will have 3 affirmative statements and three negative statements Each person has one minute to think of an affirmative or negative depending on which side you are on. The affirmative side starts, then a negative, then an affirmative, etc Next switch to the second topic on the card, and the affirmative for the first issue is now the negative, and the negative on the first issue is now the affirmative. As previously stated there are rules and structure to debate that must be followed, so lets discuss them:

1st General Rule – Identify premises and conclusions The structure of a debate comes in many forms but we will start with a basic structure and short arguments and build on it: Identify premises & conclusions - what are you trying to prove? The conclusion is the statement for which you are giving reasons The statements that give you reasons are your premises Some are obvious, such as this Winston Churchill statement: I am an optimist. It does not seem to be much use being anything else. This is an argument – not just an amusing quip – because Churchill is giving a reason to be an optimist: his premise is that “It does not seem to be much use being anything else.” The conclusion is that he is an optimist. Short arguments come in 1 – 2 paragraphs. Generally you can state your conclusion then follow with your reasons. Churchill example A more common approach – start with your premises and then draw a conclusion. This would not work for the Churchill example.

2nd Rule – Develop your ideas in a natural order Bertrand Russell once argued: “The evils of the world are due to moral defects as well as a lack of intelligence. But the human race has not discovered any method to eradicate moral defects… Intelligence, on the contrary, is easily improved by methods known to every competent educator. Therefore, until some method of teaching virtue has been discovered, progress will have to be sought by improvement of intelligence rather than of morals.” Identify his topic? The evils…lack of intelligence What about his reason(s)? But..educator Conclusion? Therefore..morals And is there a counterargument or rebuttal in there? What about But the..

Rule 3 – Start with reliable premises Your topic, reason(s), conclusion(s) will all be weak if you start with an unreliable premise. Nobody in the world is really happy. Therefore, it seems that human beings are just not made for happiness. Why should we expect what we can never find? What is the premise? Conclusion? Is it really plausible that nobody is happy? In the entire world? One sure way to see if you premise is reliable is to try and research then argue it.

Rule 4 – Be concrete and concise Long elaborations lose people and gives confusion to your facts and points you are trying to make. NO It was an extended period of laborious exertion without the benefit of any trees, hills, mountains or manmade structures. YES We hiked for hours in the sun. Get to your point with concrete (hiked, hours, sun) word choices and place them in a concise manner – 7 words that everyone understands compared to 19 words that some may understand

Rule 5 – Build on substance, not overtone Offer actual reasons, do not play to overtones. Overtones are implications or hints Having played so disgracefully the past year, the Jaguars are now honor bound to reach the playoffs this year. Or Because the Jaguars did not play as well this last year, the jaguars should play better because their more motivated this year. This is suppose to be an argument for supporting the Jaguars. Also, do not use emotionally loaded words or language to make your argument look good or better – stick with your facts and have you presented them. Anyone who is for the death penalty is a murderer and does not believe in God.

Rule 6 – Use consistent terms The premise in short arguments have a single theme or thread – they carry one idea through several steps. Keep the premise clear and carefully chose terms and mark each new step by using those very same terms. NO When you learn about other cultures, you start to realize the variety of human customs. This new understanding of the diversity of social practices may give you new appreciation of other ways of life. Therefore, studying anthropology tends to make you more tolerant. YES When you learn about other cultures, you start to realize the variety of human customs. When you start to realize the variety of human customs, you tend to become more tolerant. Therefore, when you learn about other cultures you tend to become more tolerant. You may want to reach for that Thesaurus but do not – I repeat do not do it!

Rule 7 – Use more than one example Using one example offers little to no support for a generalization. One spectacularly miserable millionaire does not prove all rich people in general are unhappy NO: French fries are unhealthy (high in fat) Therefore, all fast foods are unhealthy YES: French fries, milkshakes, deep-fried chicken, and cheeseburgers are unhealthy (high in fat). Therefore, most if not all fast foods are unhealthy

Rule 8 – Use Representative Examples Everyone in my neighborhood favors Hillary Clinton for President. Therefore, Clinton is sure to win the 2016 Presidential election This argument is weak because single neighborhoods seldom represent the voting population of the entire country. Better: A recent Gallup poll of likely voters for the 2016 Presidential election show Hillary Clinton has a 55%-45% edge over likely Republican candidates.

Rule 9 – Background rates may be crucial To persuade you that I am a first rate archer, it would not be enough to show you a bull’s-eye I have made. How do you know I did not cheat? Even better: How many times did you miss? To evaluate the reliability of any argument featuring a few clear examples, we need to know the ratio involved. In the case of the archer, 10 out of 10 shots hitting the bull’s-eye establishes a first rate archer. 10 out of 4 million shots certainly does not.

Rule 10 – Statistics need a critical eye Some people see numbers in a statement or argument and assume from that fact alone it must be a good argument. Stats have an aura of authority and definiteness After years of colleges graduating less than 25% of student athletes – last year a majority of colleges graduated 50%. Is 50% a good rate? Just because they improved does not make it good or even acceptable. Every year our school wastes 412,067 paper cups. It is time to switch to reusable cups! 412,067 out of what? – 500,000? A million? Where does the paper go – in the garbage? Recycled?

Watch what can happen with STATS • Does everyone know what is happening in Ferguson, MS? • Every year there are twelve million arrests • 99.9% of these arrests occur with no gun involved by the suspect or the police • There were approximately 400 deaths that occurred during an arrest • So when you hear one side say “There is a war on African-American men” is that a true statement? • Now the switch: • 16% of the U.S. population is African-American • Out of the400 shooting deaths that occurred during an arrest 33% of them involved an African-American.

Rule 11 – Sources: cite them, seek impartial sources and cross-check sources Cite your sources – but not all of them! Do you have to prove there are 50 states? NO: I read that there are cultures in which makeup and clothes are mostly men’s business and not for women. YES: According to anthropologist Carol Beck, she wrote in National Geographic that among West African Fulani people such as the Wadhabe, makeup and clothes are mostly men’s business. Impartial websites provide both sides of the issue. There are times when using a very bias website can help with your debate but very rare and you must be careful of the stats, facts they provide Cross checking simply means to look at two more websites to check if the fact is consistent.

Rule 12 – Use the web with care A few keywords and you will get thousands of hits. Reliability is quite another matter than should trim that thousands to a few. Only rely on website that are identifiable and independently reputable sources. What cites are not accept? Ehow, wikipedia. Yahooanswers, etc Why?

Your first assignment You are going to be presented with a topic. You must complete two paragraphs for the topic. The first paragraph will be the affirmative, the second paragraph will be the negative. Each paragraph must have the following six sentences: An opening – commonly referred to as a hook. Use a quote, statistic or even a cliché. Use a rhetoric question. Use a analogy or metaphor. But make sure it fits and aligns with your topic!! A topic – commonly referred to as your thesis statement First reason to support your topic (or argument) Second reason to support your topic (or argument) Third reason to support your topic (or argument) A concluding sentence – end your argument.

Remember: A debate is basically, an argument