Midterm Debate Audio Files
Sorry for the delay — I had some trouble encoding the files with decent sound and small enough size to upload here. I think it’s solved now. Please download the file and use it in your self-evaluation. Also, please listen to all the debates and see if you can find a “Tipping Point” in each one (a moment when the debate is won or lost because of a specific argument, rebuttal, or other action).
Night Debate Midterm Exam MP3
Rebuttal sheet Exercise
Here’s a two-page explanation and example of the rebuttal sheet I asked you to prepare. Two sheets (one pro, one con) will be due from each group. Work as a group when you prepare these things, okay?
See you next week!
Debates
Long time, no update.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been discussing:
How to build a position for a debate:
A position is a strong opinion on the subject of a debate. Because it is an opinion, it involves something subjective, such as an ethical opinion (is wrong, is right, is unacceptable) or an opinion on policy (we should, the government should not, everyone must). It’s good to be specific about your terms in your position.
Strong positions:
- Teachers should not give more than two hours of homework a week.
- Governments that tax over 20% of income are unacceptable because of their effect on the lower and middle classes.
Weak Positions:
- Teachers shouldn’t give too much homework.
- Big tax is unacceptable.
How to prepare arguments to support your debate
In debaters’ arguments, people look for the following:
- Logic — you want to be logical and reasonable. Avoid fallacies like the strawman, ad hominem attacks, appeals to tradition, or hasty generalizations. Consider the connections between your different arguments and present them logically.
- Evidence — you want it to be credible. Avoid using anecdotal evidence, as it is weak, and rely on examples and on statistical information. Be wary of skewed statistics, or incredible (unbelievable) interpretations of statistics (ie. lies, damned lies, and statistics).
- Emotion — you want to be sympathetic: appeal to your listeners on an emotional level, but don’t overdo it, or you’ll slip into melodrama and your opponent can use it against you.
How to respond to and make rebuttals to others’ arguments, and prepare for both sides of a debate
You can attack your opponents arguments by:
- pointing out logical flaws in his or her argument, such as a strawman, ad hominem attacks, appeals to tradition, or hasty generalizations.
- providing contrary evidence that contradicts the evidence your opponent offers: counterexamples, or different interpretations of statistics
- engaging in a counter-appeal for your audience’s sympathies, and/or criticizing the emotionality of your opponent’s argument and calling for reasoned discussion
We also discussed how to prepare for a major debate by exploring all of the possible arguments and rebuttals (and rebuttals to the rebuttals), and preparing a chart of those rebuttals for quick reference during a debate. Your homework was to prepare a page containing short summaries of all the arguments and rebuttals you could imagine for the debate topic that your group was assigned.
That brings us to this week.
Website working…
I’ve heard from some students that this website was not loading over the weekend. I didn’t notice, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t working. Maybe something happened in Hong Kong? The last time I had problems, it was because an underwater cable line was cut in Hong Kong. (That’s where the server for this site is located.)
Anyway, the site seems to be up again now, and working fine. Cross your fingers!
Welcome to the Debate course!
Welcome to the Fall semester 2007. I am teaching two sections of the Debate course, one at night (pending sufficient enrollment) and one during the day. There are two separate pages for the two different classes, although sometimes posts will appear on both pages (like this one). Make sure you’re reading the right page so you don’t get the wrong information by mistake!
Right now there’s not much for me to say, except that you will be filling out this form and giving it to me. I’ll be giving you a copy in class, so don’t worry about printing it, but it’s always handy to have a spare.
Also, here’s a copy of the syllabus I wrote up for this class. It looks a lot nicer than the one the secretaries printed up, but I’m not going to waste paper giving you copies of this. You can print it yourself if you like, however.