Because each debate round will be full of arguments, you should be aware of the key pieces of the argument: the Claims, the Warrants, and the Impacts. The three pieces are necessary to build an argument that does more than just get written down and forgotten - your arguments will be remembered and applied!
This week's lesson is available on the Great Debate's youtube page. It is also available on the Great Debate website in embedded format. Finally, you can see the videos right here:
If you haven't already, be sure to visit The Great Debate website to request your free packet of outlines. If you are a student, you can request the student packet and coaches can request a coach packet with additional resources including a syllabus and answer keys.
As a drill to see if you understand what we're doing here, try another "fun debate." Pick a different topic than the one you picked last week. I like to use these topics: "Resolved: flip-flops are better than tennis shoes." "Resolved: Reeses Pieces are better than M&M's." Or "Resolved: chicken is better than steak." Divide into two teams, an affirmative and a negative. Write down 10 "arguments" for you position (this means claims, warrants, and impacts). Take 10 minutes to collaborate with your teammates and make sure you each have at least 3-5 good arguments so the debate can last for a little while. For this round, I usually say it is acceptable to make up your own evidence. For example, my favorite "fake expert" is Dr. Pepper. I have Dr. Pepper say things like "Flip flops have been involved in 100 deaths in the last 2 years." When you are in a real debate round making up evidence is an ethical violation and should never be done. However, for this round we are just learning to put together arguments for trivial topics and so we can make up the evidence for this excercise.
It is now time to begin the debate. Just like last time, the affirmative team will go first, one speaker will provide 2 reasons in favor of the resolution. The negative team will send their first speaker to provide 2 reasons against the resolution and respond to one of the arguments from the affirmative. The affirmative sends their second speaker to provide two new reasons and respond to the arguments of the negative. The debate continues for roughly 20 minutes or until you are all satisfied with how you have represented your positions.
After you watch the video, be sure you download Coach Marko Djuranovic's Ultimate LD Handbook. Read pages 13-15 and 19-28 before next week's lecture.
Finally, as homework, read the current resolution for your league. Take your list of 3 reasons from last week and form them into arguments including claim, warrant, and impact. If you have time, look online for evidence to support your three claims and use that evidence as your warrant.
Have a great week and we'll see you next week for our third debate lesson, "Value Statements & Definitions" as well as "Research Basics"
If you are interested in learning a form of debate other than Lincoln-Douglas value debate, The Great Debate is a wonderful textbook for policy debate written by the teacher in these videos. The Great Debate provides training in the basics of debate and includes information for debaters who have already learned the fundamentals and are looking for more intermediate level training. The Great Debate has a teacher's guide which includes lesson plans and additional material for coaches. For more information about The Great Debate, visit our website. We also have produced a video training series for Public Forum Debate. The public forum series is another free resource from The Great Debate.
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