The Code of the Debater - International Debate Education Association

222 Pages·2008·0.51 MB·English

The Code of the Debater

The Code of the Debater
InTroDuCTIon To PolICy DebaTIng
Alfred C. Snider
international debate education association
New York - Amsterdam - Brussels
Published by:
International Debate Education Association
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
© 2008 International Debate Education Association
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Snider, Alfred.
The code of the debater : introduction to policy debating / Alfred C. Snider.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-932716-41-2
1. Debates and debating. I. Title.
PN4181.S65 2008
808.53--dc22
2008020463
Design by Kathleen Hayes
Printed in the USA
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
What Is Debate? xiii
Why Debate? xiii
PArt one: InItIAtIon
Chapter 1. Policy Debate 3
The Policy Debate Experience 3
The Debate Tournament 4
The Resolution 5
Speech Order and Responsibilities 6
Judges 10
The Affirmative Stock Issues: Upholding the Resolution 11
The Negative Stock Issues: Refuting the Resolution or Case 12
Exercises 14
The Code of the Debater 16
PArt two: BASIC KnowLeDGe
Chapter 2. the Affirmative Case 19
Affirmative Advantages 19
Selecting an Affirmative Case 20
Preparing an Affirmative Case 21
Constructing Your Affirmative Case—The First Affirmative Speech 23
Briefing/Frontlines—Preparation Before the Debate 28
Exercises 30
Chapter 3. the negative Attacks the Affirmative Case 31
General Considerations 31
Organizational Guidelines for Attacking the Case 32
Specific Techniques for Attacking the Affirmative Case 33
Utilizing Challenges 33
Indicting Affirmative Evidence 34
Strategic Willingness to Concede Portions of Case 35
Techniques for Dealing with Stock Issues 36
Clashing with Affirmative Inherency 36
Clashing with Affirmative Impact Claims 37
Attacking Affirmative Solvency 41
Conclusion 42
Exercises 42
Chapter 4. the Disadvantage 44
Components 44
Types of Disadvantage Scenarios 45
Threshold Scenario 46
Linear Scenario 47
Structure of a Sample Disadvantage Argument 48
Other Concepts You Might Find Useful 48
Time Frame 49
Preemptions 49
Advice to Affirmatives: How to Answer a Disadvantage 49
Winning Disadvantages on the Negative 52
Kicking Out of Disadvantages 52
Exercises 53
Chapter 5. the Counterplan 55
Criteria 55
Answering Counterplans 58
Exercises 59
Chapter 6. the Process of Critique 61
Why Are Critiques Valuable? 64
Types of Critiques 66
Answering Critiques 68
Exercises 70
Chapter 7. the topicality Argument 71
Arguing about Definitions 72
Winning with Topicality 72
Making a Topicality Argument 73
Reasons to Prefer the Negative Definition(s) 74
Topicality Can Help with Other Arguments 75
vi The Code of the Debater
Answering Topicality 75
Affirmative Topicality Tips 76
Common Responses to Topicality Arguments 77
Reasons Why Topicality Is Not a Voting Issue 78
Exercises 79
Chapter 8. Debate Steps 80
First Affirmative Constructive (1AC) 80
First Negative Constructive (1NC) 81
Second Affirmative Constructive (2AC) 82
Second Negative Constructive (2NC) 84
First Negative Rebuttal (1NR) 86
First Affirmative Rebuttal (1AR) 86
Second Negative Rebuttal (2NR) 88
Second Affirmative Rebuttal (2AR) 91
Timeline for a Policy Debate 93
Before the Round 93
During the Debate 93
After the Round 98
PArt three: DeBAterS hAve SKILLS
Chapter 9. Speaking 101
Goals 102
The Dynamic Speaker 102
Applying Dynamism Factors to Delivery 103
Voice 103
Face 104
Eye Contact 104
Body Movement 104
Gestures 105
The Physical Elements of Speech 105
Parts of Your Speech System 106
Caring for Your Speech System 107
Giving a Good First Impression 107
Speaking Drills 108
Breathing Problems 108
Enunciation Problems 109
Contents vii
Pitch Problems 109
Monotone or Singsong Delivery 109
Volume Problems 110
Other Delivery Problems 110
Other Drills to Improve Speaking 111
Chapter 10. Flowing 113
The Basics 113
Materials 113
Organizing the Flowsheets 114
Using Symbolic Vocabulary 115
Flowing Speech by Speech 117
Helpful Tips for Flowing 117
Chapter 11. organizing Arguments 119
Learn to Build an Outline 119
Structure Beyond the Outline 121
Building a Single Argument—The A-R-E Model 122
Put Them Together with Notation 123
Signposting—Staying Organized during Your Speech 123
Organizing Your Refutation 125
Chapter 12. Preparing as a team 127
Partnerships 127
How to Prepare on the Affirmative 128
How to Prepare on the Negative 129
Chapter 13. Cross-examination 131
Objectives of Cross-Examination 131
Guidelines for Asking Questions 132
Guidelines for Answering Questions 133
Tactics for Specific Cross-Examination Situations 135
Chapter 14. research 137
The Importance of Research 137
A Debate Research Plan 138
Library Resources 139
Gaining Access 139
Reference Materials 140
viii The Code of the Debater
Online Resources 140
Books 142
Government Documents 142
Internet Research 142
Chapter 15. evidence 145
Creating Evidence Cards 145
Simple Guidelines for Evidence Citation 146
Evaluating Evidence 147
Evidence Drills 148
Chapter 16. Briefing 149
Titles and Tagging of Briefs 150
Writing Briefs and Taglines 150
Format of Brief Pages 150
Taping Briefs 151
Strategic Considerations—Or How to Make Your Work 152
More Useful
Analytical Arguments 152
Analysis Drills 153
Chapter 17. rebuttals 154
Chapter 18. Adapting to Judges and Audiences 157
Collecting and Using Information on the Judge 157
Types of Judges 158
Adapting to Specific Judge Types 159
Type B Adaptations 159
Type C Adaptations 161
PArt Four: enDLeSS Journey
Chapter 19. the Better Debater? 165
The “Better” Debater 165
The “Not Better” Debater 166
Chapter 20. how the Decision Gets Made 167
Tuna’s Equation 168
Aunt Bluebell’s Scales 170
Contents ix
Chapter 21. Cross-Application of Ideas 173
Chapter 22. evolving Arguments: Strategic handling of Disadvantages 177
Evolving Disadvantages 177
APPenDIxeS
Appendix 1: videos and web Sites 187
Videos 187
Videos for Policy Debaters 187
Sample Policy Debate (free) 187
Policy Debate Instruction Videos (free) 188
Training Resources (for purchase) 188
Classroom Lecture Series: Critical Advocacy (free) 188
Web Sites for Policy Debate 189
Appendix 2: Sample Flowsheet 191
Appendix 3: Sample Brief 192
Democracy Is Not So Good [Frontline] 192
Glossary 195
x The Code of the Debater