Public Forum Debate Vocabulary

6. this means to take an argument made by one debater or team and use it against them.
9. an unscripted speech where each debater attacks their opponent's points and, if time permits, defends their own.
10. a bank of time each team can use to prepare for their next speech.
11. this means to take all arguments use in the first half of a debate round and boil them down to key issues and parts.
12. this means to give rationale to a judge as to how they should consider one argument over another argument when making a final decision.
15. a prewritten, evidence-based speech that outlines two or three reasons to vote for Pro or Con.

1. this establishes why the claim the debater made is true. It may contain data or evidence.
2. a chance to ask your opponent questions about the speech just delivered.
3. this is how the judge should "view" the round. It places any limits on the round, sets definitions, etc.
4. this means to respond to a speech in the same order in which it was originally presented.
5. where a judge physically makes comments for each team and decides the winning team.
7. the topic sentence for an argument and is atop a piece of evidence.
8. these are the key issues or reasons why a team should be voted for.
13. this is short for implications and are the reasons why an argument matters.
14. this means to strategically (or perhaps purposefully) not address an opponent's arguments.