Debate Vocabulary

12345678910111213141516
Across
  1. 1. The so-what factor of your claim. Impacts win debates. Explain why every claim is important. Assuming that something is important without proving the impact of it usually loses debates.
  2. 5. Aligning your arguments directly to your opponents’ points. Good debates provide a lot of clash. Debates get very hard to judge when they are two teams making points but not attacking the other teams points as well. Make your points clearly, but attack every argument your opponent makes.
  3. 7. valid quotes and sources that are delivered conversationally. Sometimes referred to as a “card” which refers to the days when debaters cut and pasted their quotes on note cards.
  4. 9. The exact wording of your topic. Good resolutions are clearly worded to imply a clear Pro and Con stance. For example: “Immigration” is not a resolution. “The USFG should pass the immigration reform bill” is a resolution.
  5. 10. A main point or separate argument; a general statement or point you are trying to make.
  6. 11. The cross examination period where you and your opponent take turns asking questions. This period is one versus one. There are two types of questions: clarification and questions of exploitation to set up your future arguments. Be strategic, but polite.
  7. 13. Time: Time allotted to each team that does not count as speaking time. This time (3 minutes per team for you) is used to prepare notes for your next speech and discuss strategy with your partner. It can be used before any of your speeches. It is NOT used before an opponent’s speech or before a crossfire period.
  8. 14. Giving your audience a very basic preview of your speech. Typically: “Judge, I will be attacking our opponents’ case, and defending ours with the time remaining.” This tells the audience you are organized.
  9. 15. The cross examination period where all four debaters are allowed to speak.
  10. 16. The note-taking technique used in debate to track all points and arguments. The flow is separated by speech for organizational purposes. The flow is used to go down each point made to provide an organized clash in debate.
Down
  1. 2. The speeches where you offer your main points following the basic structure we have used in class. A constructive is written word for word and includes at least one valid quote/source for every point made. A constructive includes an introduction, a “framework” weighing mechanism, your main points, and a conclusion. weighing mechanism, your main points, and a conclusion.
  2. 3. posting: Giving your audience a heads up when you change arguments. “Now on my opponents first point,” is an example of sign posting. We now know where to write your upcoming response on our flow. It is very important to tell your judge where to write your arguments. If you don’t, they may not write them down at all.
  3. 4. Speaking time allotted to review arguments and clarify the round. No new arguments are allowed in rebuttals. In Public Forum, rebuttals are called First Speaker Summary and Final Focus.
  4. 6. Using the flow to argue against your opponents’ arguments.
  5. 8. An argument that goes unanswered by your opponent. Dropping an argument will cause you to not be able to address it later. This is bad, very, very bad.
  6. 12. the lens through which you would like your argument viewed. This is used to help the audience weigh your points. For example, a Con gun control case might use “Constitutionality” (the 2nd Amendment) as their framework and offer it as the highest value in the round. A “Pro” gun control case might use “Safety” as the highest value in the round.