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Debate Syllabus 2012-2013
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of
self-satisfaction in knowingyou made the effort to become the best
of which you are capable. Coach JohnWooden
What are the class requirements?
Attend and compete satisfactorily in debate at The Rookie Rumble
debate tournament inOctober and in individual events at one other
tournament
Learn how to properly write and format arguments
Research arguments
Prepare one speech for competition
Learn debate theory and philosophy
Take a few quies and tests
Prepare and research arguments
!ork on spring pro"ects including #ock Trial$ Parliamentary
%ebate$ #odel &nited 'ations$ and(tudent )ongress*
What textbook do we use?The Art of %ebate$ +,th -dition by '*
Andr. )ossette* /ou can use earlier editions of the book atyour own
risk*
What are some goals and objectives of Debate?+* 0ain command of
the fundamental processes of argumentation and debate,* %emonstrate
familiarity with the materials and methods of research1* 2mprove
your ability to think clearly$ critically$ creatively$ and
analytically3* %emonstrate effective oral communication skills4*
&se ethical standards in competition5* 0ain knowledge and
interest in political and social issues6* )reate and organie debate
materials
7* -valuate debates and speeches of peers8* %emonstrate oral
communication that increases self9esteem and enhances
interpersonal
relationships
What do we do all year?+st:uarter ; Proceed through The Art of
%ebate* Learn the followingundamentals of persuasion !riting
=locks
Logical >allacies >lowing
%ebate Topic Analysis )ross9-?amination :uestioning
-vidence and Research =asic Rebuttal %ebating
=locking and =riefing Then$ you choose which type ofdebate you
want to do and read
the corresponding chapters*
Take two e?ams< one cumulative e?am and one e?am about
tournament logistics* @ave severalgraded practice debates to get
ready for the first competition in late October*
,nd:uarter ; )ontinue practicing debate* Research and write more
cases and arguments* %evelopan individual event to compete in by
anuary* Learn )ongressional %ebate*1rd:uarter ; The competitive
season ends in #arch$ so in #arch we work on (pring
Pro"ectsincluding researching for ne?t yearBs topics*3th:uarter ;
(pring Pro"ects< 2ndividual -vents$ Parliamentary %ebate$ #ock
Trial$ (tudent
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)ongress$ #odel &nited 'ations*
Some frequently asked questions . . .
Debate is just about arguing, right? I should be good at that
because Iargue with my parents all the time
!es and "o< 2n %ebate$ we donBt "ust "ump up and argue* !e
have to learn some techniques ofspeaking$ logical thinking$ asking
cross9e?amination questions$ researching and writing arguments$and
answering arguments* T@-'$ we are ready to "ump up and debate
well*
What do we debate about?!e start off by debating topics that the
students write* Then$ we prepare to debate the 'ational>orensic
League national debate topics* 2n the (pokane area$ debate
tournaments offer two maintypes of debate* 2n one type of debate$
the students argue about the same topic all year< this
yearBstopic is about renewable energy policies* 2n another type of
debate$ students argue about moral$ethical$ and philosophical
topics* The topic for this type of debate changes every two months$
andthe first topic hasnBt been released yet*
Do we debate against other schools?!es$ most of the high schools
have debate programs* !e prepare our arguments and thencompete
against the other high schools in weekend9long debate tournaments*
!e havetournaments throughout the year$ but you are only required
to attend the Rookie Rumble
Tournament in October and then another one of your choice* The
best debaters get invited to beon the traveling squad and compete
in tournaments around the 'orthwest and nationwide andeven )anada*
@owever$ some students "ust choose to do the two required
tournaments*
Does winning and losing count in the grade?"o /our effort at the
tournament counts toward your grade* The debate contests are
"udged$ and2 look at the "udgesB comments on the ballots to see how
well you did*
I heard Debate looks good for colleges Is that true?
#pparently so (everal of our debaters have been accepted into
the two top universities in theworld< @arvard and Princeton* The
@arvard student said that debate helped him because he wasable to
list all of his debate awards on his college application$ and
during the college interview$ hewas able to speak eloquently about
a deep philosophical concept* )olleges like debaters
becausedebaters know how to organie their thoughts in written and
spoken form and know how toresearch* )olleges also know that
debaters tend to be good leaders* /ou can even getscholarships in
debate*
$an I play sports and be in Debate?!es!eCve had varsity sports
athletes of all kinds* %ebate is primarily a winter sport$ so we
mighthave to get creative to work around some winter school sports
conflicts* /ou will need to sacrificeone >riday and (aturday in
October and another weekend between 'ovember and
>ebruary$though*
What kind of students make the best debaters?%ardworking,
smartstudents make the best debaters* Lay$ bright underachievers
are theworst debaters because they are smart enough to think they
know what they are doing$ so theydonBt listen anddonBt do the work*
(o$ if you typically donBt do your homework$ get bad grades
ontests$ and donBt study$ you and 2 will both be frustrated with
your performance$ so go to yourcounselor and request to change your
schedule and go into a different$ easier fine art* %ebate isthe
most academic fine art< we have homework and assignments$ but it
wonCt have morehomework than -nglish$ #ath$ or !orld @istory* Let
me emphasie this< to debate well requires
