Lincoln Douglas Debate: An Introduction

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1 Lincoln DouglasDebate:AnIntroduction CreatedbyJoshRoberts Abstract:AreyounewtoLDandwonderingwhatthisactivityisallabout?Thepurposeofthisarticle istohelpexplainthebackgroundandbasicsoflincoln DouglasDebatesothatyoumayprepareto competitivelyparticipateintheactivity.thisisagreatstartingpointforanyoneinterestedin learningaboutld beitteacherswhowanttoaddthiseventtotheirsquad,orstudentslookingto compete. AHistoryofLDDebate:HowDiditallBegin? In1858,therewasaSenateRaceinIllinoisbetweenAbrahamLincolnandStephenDouglas.Atthetime, StephenDouglaswastheincumbent,butinanattempttotakeDouglas sseat,lincolnchallengeddouglasto aseriesofdebates.althoughtheexactformatofthedebateswasslightlydifferentthanthelincoln Douglas oftoday(backthen,thefirstspeakerspokefor60minutes,thesecondspeakerhada90 minuterebuttal, andthenthefirstspeakerhada30 minuterebuttal/timeforclosingarguments)theadversarialnatureof thedebateswassimilar. WhatisLincoln DouglasDebateNow? Lincoln Douglasdebate(morecommonlyreferredtoasLD)isacompetitivespeakingactivitythatinvolves twodebatersarguingforandagainstaresolutionthatisselectedbythenfl(nationalforensicsleague)and votedonbycoaches.today,somewhatliketheolddebates,ldfocusesontheconflictingvaluesofsocial andphilosophicalissues,forexample,byexaminingquestionsofmorality,justice,democracy,etc.typically, LDdebatesconcernthemselveswithdecidingwhetherornotcertainactions,orstatesofaffairs,aregoodor bad,rightorwrong,moralorimmoral. WhatDoWeDebateandWhoDebates? LDdebatersdebatepredeterminedtopicsorresolutions.EveryyearonAugust15,thefirsttopicforthe seasonisannounced.thisgivesdebatersuntilearlyseptembertobeginresearchonthetopic.inld,topics changeeverytwomonths,withthenexttopicbeingannouncedonemonthpriortoitbeingdebater.so,the September/OctobertopicisannouncedAugust15,theNovember Decembertopicisannouncedon November1,theJanuary/FebruarytopicisannouncedDecember1,andsoon. Butwhatisaresolution?Aresolutionisastatementoranassertionthatplacestwosidesinconflict.For example, Resolved:Inademocraticsociety,felonsoughttoretaintherighttovote. Asevidencedbytheadversarialnatureofdebate,therearetwosidestoeachdebate,andtheseareknown astheaffirmativeandthenegative.theaffirmativedebaterupholds,affirms,oragreeswiththeresolution. 125 Watson Street, PO Box 38, Ripon, WI (920)

2 Hisorherjobistopresentargumentsinordertopersuadethejudgethattheresolutionistrue.The negativedebater,ontheotherhand,disagreeswiththeresolutionandpresentsargumentstopersuadethe judgethattheresolutionisfalse. Eachdebaterisresponsibleforarguing,oradvocating,forhisorhersideoftheresolutioninfrontofajudge whodecideswhichsideoftheresolutions/hewillvotefor,basedontheargumentspresentedinthedebate round.debate smostimportantconceptisforcedchoice,whichisalsoknownasclash.thismeansthatthe judgeisrequiredtoselect(vote)betweentwomutuallyexclusivepropositions.forexample,ifyouare forcedtochoosebetweenbuyingasodaandkeepingyourdollar,youcanonlychooseoneofthoseoptions. Ifyouarehavingtroublefiguringouttheconflictscenariointheresolution,addtheword NOT intothe texttogiveyouanideaastowhatthenegativemustdefend. Resolved:Inademocraticsociety,felons oughtnotretaintherighttovote. Thiswillalsohelpyouwithotherresolutions,assomeofthemwillbe negativelyworded. HowDoesLDDebateWork? Ineachpreliminaryround,onedebaterisassignedtodefendtheaffirmative,andtheotherdebateris assignedtodefendthenegative.duringthecourseofthetournament,youwillbeforcedtodefendboththe affirmativesideandthenegativesidemanytimes.ineachround,youwillbeassignedaflight(1stor2nd),a room,anopponent,andajudge. Inthedebate,youwillpresentacasethatyouhavepreparedbeforethetournamentdefendingyoursideof theresolution,makeargumentsagainstthecaseyouropponentpresents,andanswertheargumentsthat youropponentmakesagainstyourcase.basedonthestrengthofyourarguments,howpersuasiveyouare, andotherfactors,youwillbeawardedwitheitherawinoraloss.judgeswillalsogiveyouspeakerpoints (onascaleof1 30)basedonhowwellyoudebatedandspoke. Thestructureoftournamentsisasfollows:thefirstfewrounds,anywherefrom3to8,willbepreliminary rounds.thepurposeoftheseroundsistodeveloparankingwithinthetournamentthatwilldeterminewho proceedstoeliminationrounds.tournamentswill break 1 anywherefromthetop64tothetop4debaters (dependingonthesize)toeliminationrounds.thosedebatersthatwillcompeteintheseroundsarethe debatersthathadthebestoverallrecordandspeakerpointsfromtheprelimrounds. Ifyoumakeittoeliminationrounds,thenyoucontinuetodebateaslongasyouwin.Atmosttournaments, youreliminationroundswillcontainthreejudges(knownasapanel)insteadofonejudgelikeprelims. Typically,tournamentsgiveouttrophiesforthosewhoplacewellandforthosewhohavegoodspeaker points.speakerpointsarenotonlyawaytowintrophies,butalsoplayaveryimportantrolein seeding 2 debatersforeliminationrounds. 1 To break means,simply,toadvancepasteliminationrounds. 2 MuchliketheNCAAtournament,debatetournamentsdeterminewhichdebatersdeservetobeatthetopofthe bracketbasedonthenumberofwinsthatdebateraccumulatesinprelims,andbasedontheirspeakerpoints(or speaks).so,ifyouwin4ofyour5prelimsandaveragea28.5everyround,youwillbeseededhigherthananother debaterwhowins4prelimsbutonlyaveragesa28.higherseedswilldebaterlowerseedsineliminationrounds, givingyouastrongincentivetogetashighofspeaksaspossible. CreatedbyJoshRoberts

3 WhatSkillsareNecessarytobeaGoodLDDebater? TobeaneffectiveLDdebateratanylevel,youneedtopossessafewskills.First,andforemost,theabilityto communicateiscrucial.ifyouhavegreatargumentstomake,butlacktheabilitytoexplainthemtoajudge whomayverywellknownothingaboutthetopicyouaredebating,thenyouwon twinverymanyrounds. Yourjobistoconvincethejudgethatwhatyouaredefendingistrue,whichrequirestheabilitytoconnect withthemandexplainargumentsinawaythatmakessensetothem. BeingagoodcommunicatormaybethemostimportantskillthatyoucanpossessinLD,andisonethatwill serveyouwellthroughoutyourlife.youneedtobeabletotakeacomplexmessageandbeabletoexplain yourargumentinawaythatsomeonewithnoexperienceonthetopiccanunderstandandagreewithyour point.youalsoneedtobeabletocommunicateclearlyinawrittenmanner.whatimeanbythisisthatyou needtheabilitytowriteclearlyandconciselyinordertocommunicate(incaseform)yourargumentstothe judge. Youmustalsohavegreatlisteningskills.Theseareimportantbecausethereisanotherdebaterintheround tryingtodisprovewhatyouaresaying,soifyouarenotlisteningtowhatheorshehastosay,youwillbeillpreparedtoanswertheargumentsandeffectivelydefendyourposition. OneofthemostundervaluedskillsinLDistheabilitytoefficientlyresearch.Theargumentsthatyoupresent inroundwillveryrarelybeyourownthoughtsoropinions.instead,yourjobinthetimeleadinguptothe tournamentistoresearchandbecomeanexpertonthetopic.youneedtobeabletofindarticles,read them,andpullevidencefromthemtobuildsupportforyoursideoftheresolution.thesearticlesshould almostalwayscomefromreputablenewssources,expertsinthefield,and/orlawjournalsthathavearticles relatingtoyourtopic. Morethanbeingabletocommunicateclearly,youneedtobeabletopresentyourargumentseffectively. Thismeansthatyoushouldpracticespeakingfluently,persuasively,andsometimesatdifferentratesof speed. AnotherpartofLDdebatetodayiscross examination(refertothebottomofthearticleforanoutlineofthe structureofldrounds).incross examination,youneedtobeabletoaskquestionsaboutyouropponent s caseandargumentsinordertoexposeweaknesses,set upargumentsyouwanttomake,andgainclarityor understandingofwhatyouropponentissaying. HowDoIKeepTrackoftheArgumentsMyOpponentMakes? Thewaythatdebaterskeeptrackofwhatargumentshavebeenmadeintheroundisthroughamethod knownas flowing. Flowingis,essentially,aglorifiedwayoftakingnotes.Flowingiskeytoensuringthat yousuccessfullyrespond,orrefute,youropponentscaseandargumentstheymakeagainstyourcase. Flowingentailsoutliningthemainpointsofeachspeechinthedebate.However,unliketraditionalnotetakingwhereyouwritenotesacrossanentiresheetofpaper,youshouldusealegalpad,printerpaper,legal paper,cardstock(withflowing,it sabitofa whateverfloatsyourboat mentality)andseparateitintofive columnsonthesheetofpaperyourflowingtheaffirmativecase,andfourcolumnsonthesheetofpaper thatyouareflowingthenegativecase.thismeansthatyoushouldalwayshave,attheveryleast,two CreatedbyJoshRoberts

4 CreatedbyJoshRoberts sheetsofpaperpreparedonwhichtoflow.ineachofthesecolumns,youwillflowtheargumentsvertically, leavingspaceinbetweeneachuniqueargumentthatyouneedtoanswer. Example Resolved:BurgerKingisbetterthanMcDonald s. AffirmativeCase 1stNegative Rebuttal(alsopartof thenegative Construction) 1stAffirmative Rebuttal 2ndNegative Rebuttal(also referredtoasthe 1NR) 2ndAffirmative Rebuttal BurgerKingisbetter thanmcdonald s becausethe Whopperismade withbetterquality meat. Actually,McDonald s meatisofbetter qualitybecauseit isn tfrozenfor weeksbefore cooked(probably almostcertainly false,but regardless). BurgerKing smeat isn tfrozenany longerthan McDonald s,and theirpattiesare madewithahigher qualitymeat. McDonald sand BurgerKinggettheir meatfromthesame source,whichmeans thatthisargumentis neitherareasonto voteaffirmativeor negativesinceit doesn toffera uniquejustification toeatatburger King. BurgerKing smeatis stillofhigherquality thanmcdonald s becauseburgerking takesmorestepsto ensurethattheir burgersarekeptin environmentsthat keepthemeatas freshaspossible. BurgerKingisbetter thanmcdonald s becausetheirvalue menuisamorecost effectivechoicefor customers. McDonald soffers customersawider varietyofoptionson theirmenu,making itamoreattractive optionfor customers. McDonald svalue menu,evenifitdoes haveawidervariety ofoptions,doesnot givecustomersthe sameamountof food,sotheirmoney isbetterspentat BurgerKing. Actually,McDonald s valuemenugives customersthe choiceofpurchasing adouble cheeseburgerwith 25%moremeat, accordingtoastudy presentedinthefirst negative construction. Thisargumentis false;thenegative didnotrespondto myanswertothis studythatitwas basedonhow McDonald susedto maketheirburgers nothowthey currentlymake them.

5 Thisshouldgiveyouanideaastohowyoushouldbeflowingarguments.Eachargumentisinitsownpartof theflow,andyoushouldflowyouropponents answers,aswellasyourresponsestotheiranswers,nextto theoriginalargumentsothatyoucanalwayshaveanideaofwhatargumentsyoudoordonothaveto answer. Yourflowforthenegativeshouldlookidentical,exceptthatyouwon tflowtheaffirmativecaseonthe negativeflow,soyouwillhaveonelesscolumn.(ifwritingatthetopofthecolumnwhatspeechbelongs therewillhelp,iencourageyoutodothat.)forthenegativeflow,itshouldlooklike: Negative Constructive/Case(also partofthe1stnegative Rebuttal) 1stAffirmativeRebuttal 2ndNegativeRebuttal (1NR) 2ndAffirmativeRebuttal FlowingBasics Whenyouflow,youshouldusetwodifferentcolorsofpens,onecolorfortheaffirmative,andoneforthe negative.thiswillhelpyouidentifyeachside sargumentsonyourflowbecauseyouwillrecognizethat,for example,redargumentsarethenegative sarguments,andblackaretheaffirmative sarguments. Conclusion LDDebateisagreatactivityinthatitenhancesyourabilitytocommunicateeffectively,thinkcritically,and researchargumentsjustastheydointheacademicrealm.butbeforeyouarereadytodelveintothe incredibleintricaciesoflddebate,it scrucialthatyoubecomeanexpertonthefundamentals.thisarticle shouldgiveyouasolidstartingpointforunderstandinghowlddebateworks,andwhatyoushouldexpect toseeatanygiventournament. CreatedbyJoshRoberts

6 CreatedbyJoshRoberts LINCOLN DOUGLASDEBATESPEAKINGFORMAT ThespeakingorderandtimesinLDDebateareasfollows: AffirmativeConstructive(AC) 6minutes Cross ExaminationoftheAffirmativebytheNegative 3minutes NegativeConstructive(NC) 7minutes Cross ExaminationoftheNegativebytheAffirmative 3minutes 1stAffirmativeRebuttal(1AR) 4minutes NegativeRebuttal(NR) 6minutes 2ndAffirmativeRebuttal(2AR) 3minutes PreparationTime Preparationtimeisthetimeyougetinbetweenspeeches/crossexaminationtoprepare arebuttalagainstyouropponentandadefenseofyourarguments. PrepTime:4minutes RecommendedAllocationofPrepTime Affirmative Negative AC use0minutes 1AR use2minutes 2AR use2minutes TOTALPREPUSED:4MINUTES 1NC use2minutes 1NR use2minutes TOTALPREPUSED:4MINUTES