Debate Step By Step Speech and Debate Butler

Debate Step By Step Speech and Debate Butler 2018 -2019

Step 1: Understand Basic Elements of Trivium Debate

Step 2: Pick Teams and Determine Roles Team Roles • Captain – leads team, makes decisions • Presenter – gives the opening speech that establishes the “case” • Defender – Sits at the defense table and responds to attacker questions, defending the team’s “case” • Attacker – attacks other teams’ topics Rules • The captain must also play one other role. • No team member can be both an attacker AND a defender. • The team can have 1 -3 defenders or 1 -3 attackers.

Step 3: Pick a Topic to Defend Sample Topics Racism – It should be illegal for any group that openly expresses hatred or disenfranchisement of another group to publicly protest or publish (revoke freedom of speech/assembly. ) Racism and History – All public statues and memorials are a part of our history and it should be illegal for anyone to remove or deface them. The Homeless – The government should provide housing for all homeless people. The Homeless – Homeless people who spend more than 8 hours on any piece of public property should be thrown in jail. Athlete Salaries – All athletes making over 2 million dollars a year have to pay a 50% tax on the rest of their income. Athlete Safety – Athletes risk and damage their bodies more than the rest of us. They should be given free health care by the government. Video Games – Competitive Video Gaming should be an Olympic Sport. Video Games – Video games are addictive and should be illegal for anyone under 16 years of age. Illegal Immigration – All illegal immigrants in the US should be given amnesty and immediately made citizens. Plus, America should open its borders to all immigrants. Illegal Immigration - All illegal immigrants in the United States should be deported and a wall should be built along our border with Mexico to keep immigrants out. Tips • Whoever your defenders, they should have the final say on the topic they will defend. • Choose a topic that has a lot of easy to understand arguments and support facts. • All of the topics should be focused on how America should deal with the issue.

Step 4: Determine Your Defense Topic and Debate Day TEAM/CAPTAIN DEFENSE TOPIC DEBATE DAY Washington/ CJ Video Games Addiction Day #1/ First Defense Monroe/ Meghana Government Health Care Day #1/Second Defense J. Q. Adams/ Yanda Death Penalty Day #1/Third Defense Jackson/ Henry Immigration Day #1/Fourth Defense Adams/ Ahbinav Video Games and Violence Day #2/First Defense Van Buren/ Ananya G College Tuition Day #2/Second Defense Madison/ Ximena Abortion Day #2/Third Defense Jefferson/ Trisha Gun Control Day #2/Fourth Defense

Step 5: Defenders Should Clarify Definitions and Status Quo DEFINITION of KEY TERMS Ø Immigration Ø ICE/Border Patrol Ø 14 th Amendment Ø Visas Ø Anchor Babies Ø The “Caravan” Ø Green Cards Ø E-verify Program Ø Deported Ø The “Lottery” STATUS QUO Ø Current Law states that any person born within the borders of the US or its territories is a citizen. Ø Current law states that any person born to parents who are US citizens is also a citizen Ø People can get different types of visas that allow them to be in the country legally (student, work, etc. ) Ø Immigration is the responsibility of the FEDERAL government. States are not allowed to make immigration laws

Step 6: Attackers Need to Prepare to Attack BOTH Sides The Defense Goes “Pro” Abortion: Women should have the freedom to choose to have an abortion The Defense Goes “Con” Abortion: Every baby has a right to life. Aborting a baby is illegal. Then Attackers Must Go “Con” Every baby has a right to life. Aborting a baby is illegal. Women should have the freedom to choose to have an abortion

Step 7: Research, Research!! Form Arguments An argument is a strong opinion that persuades listeners that you are right. Support with Facts Use facts such as statistics, expert quotes, descriptions, events, etc. to support your arguments.