Lincoln-Douglas Debate is a VALUE debate, meaning it is a debate about what ought to be
rather than specific policy. It is usually a topic regarding the conflict between the rights of the
individual opposed to the rights of the larger society. The topic changes every two months;
it is chosen by the National Forensic League.A round of Lincoln-Douglas Debate is the debate of one person from one school
arguing against a person from a different school. At a debate tournament, each student will debate at least four times. The larger the tournament, the more rounds will be guaranteed.During a typical tournament, debaters will argue both sides of the topic.
Usually, each debater will be assigned the affirmative side for two rounds
and the negative side on two other rounds.
A Lincoln-Douglas debate round lasts about 45 minutes. The times for the various
speeches are very structured, as are the purposes of the speeches.6 minute Affirmative Constructive (AC)3 minute Negative Cross Examination
7 minute Negative Constructive/Rebuttal (NC)
3 minute Affirmative Cross Examination (questions/answers)
4 minute Affirmative Reconstructive/Rebuttal (1AR)
6 minute Negataive Reconstructive/Rebuttal (NR)
3 minute Affirmative Reconstructive/Rebuttal/Crystallization (2AR)
It helps to memorize: "6 - 3 - 7 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 3"
Now let's examine these speeches more closely:
Purposes of the Speeches:
6 minute Affirmative Constructive. This speech is prepared
ahead, rehearsed and should be perfectly timed. It is a
presentation of the affirmative's position and establishes his/her stance.3 minute Negative Cross Examination. The Negative asks
for clarification, asks for repetition of certain points, and tries to
set up the affirmative to admit damaging information.7 minute Negative Constructive/Rebuttal. This speech really
has two parts: The first part is a written, rehearsed speech that
builds the negative case and is about four minutes long. In the
second part, the negative must attack his/her opponent's points.
The attack takes the last three minutes.3 minute Affirmative Cross Examination. Now it's the
affirmative's turn to question the negative, asking for clarification
and trying to lead him/her down an ivy-covered path to destruction.4 minute Affirmative Reconstructive/Rebuttal. The
affirmative doesn't have much time here, so she/he has to talk fast.
She/he must go down the flow (outline) of the argumentation,
hitting any arguments against her/his own case and then attacking
each of her/his opponent's arguments. Again, two parts:
Rebuild and Attack.6 minute Negative Reconstructive/Rebuttal. This speech
has three parts: Rebuild, Attack and Crystallize:
about two minutes to rebuild any arguments against the
negative's own case; two minutes to attack the affirmative; and two
minutes to summarize the voting issues for the judge.3 minute Affirmative Reconstructive/Rebuttal. This is
a very short speech--time only to argue the most important points,
attack the negative's voting issues,
and crystallize the affirmative's own voting points.
Now let's take a look at sources of information:
Sources for Writing Debate Cases:
Our team purchases sets of study materials for each new topic,
called briefs. These are the most immediate and practical
sources of our information.
A xeroxed set of briefs is given to each debater.We have an entire bookcase filled with study books and tapes.
Additionally, there is always the library. :)
You will need to write TWO speeches: the affirmative (6 min.)
that says that the resolution is true and the negative (3-4 min)
that says that the resolution is false. You will use your
affirmative speech in two of your debates and your negative
speech in the other two debates.Formulating Debate Cases:
Step One: The Resolution. The resolution is a statement
of the topic of the debate.
The entire debate is a test of the validity of this statement.
Therefore, wording and semantics are crucial.
Each important word must be defined from different angles.
After a brief opening paragraph using the resolution
as the thesis statement,
or in the case of the negative, its antithesis,
you will state your definitions.Step Two: The Value Premise.
Remember that we said that Lincoln-Douglas Debate is a
VALUE debate about what ought to be, right?
Each debate speech will center on a value that you
choose as the cornerstone of your position.
I know this seems very, very vague.
Let me clarify using a simple analogy:Pretend the debate is:
Resolved: A cheeseburger ought to be valued above spaghetti.
VS.
Before you can start arguing about which of these two
yummies is the more valuable, you need to figure out
what yardstick to use to measure them: Is it
Good Taste? Nutritional Value? Ease of Preparation?
Aesthetic Presentation?
The yardstick you choose is called your
Value Premise. Naturally, you will choose the yardstick
that you think will help you win!
If you're debating for the
"Good Taste" as
the most important value; if you're taking the side of
by which to measure foods. In this debate,
the affirmative might claim that if food doesn't taste good,
no one will eat it. The negative might claim that nutrition is prime
and that if it's not good for the body, it's
not good food. From this example, you can see
that the debate should go back and forth.The value is achieved through certain Criteria.
After you state your value premise, you will name the
criterion or criteria that you will use to achieve the value. For
example, for the value of Nutrition, your criterion might be
the Four Food Groups as set up by the U.S. Dept of Health,
Education and Welfare.Step Three: State arguments as main points.
You will need two or three main points.The cheeseburger
Value: Common Good
Criterion: Quality of Life
Contention One: The cheeseburger provides one of
the basic needs of mankind, according to Maslow's
hierarchy of basic needs.
Contention Two: The cheeseburger provides nutrition
from all four food groups.
Contention Three: The cheeseburger provides
advantages that the negative cannot provide,
including portability and ease of use.The spaghetti
Value: Life
Criterion: Nutrition
Contention One: Spaghetti provides a high standard
of nutrition needed for life.
Contention Two: A cheeseburger is fat-filled
and therefore fails to provide nutrition.
Step Four: Use evidence to back up each point.
Evidence can consist of quotes, reasoning, or analogy.Step Five: Find a good opening for the speech.
This can be an apt quote,
startling statistics, or interesting example.Step Six: Time the speech.
(Six minutes for the affirmative exactly.
About three to four minutes for negative.)
Now let's look at how you actually debate.
At the beginning of a round, they will post a listing
of the debate rounds. This is called the Pairings.
It will show your name, your opponent's name, your judge,
the room number, and what side you are--aff or neg.
Write down your side and the room number.
If you forget, you'll have to walk all the way back to the pairings.
At some tournaments, they xerox lots of pairing sheets,
and that's handy.Your audience is usually only one person--the JUDGE.
If you don't make the judge respect you, you don't win the round.
Try to figure out what the judge will respect, and give it to her/him.
Most judges like friendly, helpful kids who act as if they
enjoy debating. Judges can be coaches, teachers, former
debaters, community leaders, or parents.Judging is hard. A judge has to listen carefully,
take good notes, and give time signals all at the same time.
Just like students in a classroom , judges have other things
on their minds that sometimes cause
their attention to waiver. Therefore, plan to repeat yourself.
Just because you said something once does not mean that
the judge heard it.The judge will fill out a BALLOT
explaining the debate
and why she/he made the decision about who won. After the
tournament is over, you will receive copies of the ballots of your rounds.The judge and both debaters will outline everything
that is said in the round.This outline is called in debate jargon a FLOW.
The paper is called a FLOW CHART.Each person's flow chart will look
a bit different, but it should be neat and easily read.Famous quote from Joe White,
"Mrs. Miller, debating is much easier when you flow the round."
Parts of a Flow Chart AC (6 min speech)
NC (Second part; attack on AC)
1AR
(First Part 2 min)Rebuilding
NR
(Second Part 3min)Attack
AR
(Second Part
2 min)Chrystallization
Notes on
Cross Ex periodsNC (First part
3-4 min speech)
1AR
(Second Part 2 min)Attack
NR (First Part
2 min)Rebuilding
(Third Part
1 min)Chrystallization
2AR
(First Part
1 min)Attack on Neg Chrystallization
When you go into the round, the judge will sit in a student desk
in the center of the room.
The affirmative will use a desk in the front left;
the negative will use a desk in the front right,
although this is not a rule.You can rearrange the
desks a bit for your comfort, just put them
back before you leave the room. You can take
a bottle of water, but no food or drinks.
Avoid gum chewing at all costs.Be pleasant and nice to your opponent,
but be a bit suspicious until you know them.
A few debaters can be sneaky and mean.
Don't tell them anything that you don't want
used against yourself or your team.
The judge will ask you for your school code,
name, and what side you're on.
The school code is assigned at registration.
Write it down so you don't forget it. Sometimes
they will want you to write this on the board;
sometimes they will ask you to fill out the top
of the ballot with this information; sometimes
they will just ask you casually.You should already have preflowed your own
speech on your flowchart before going
into round. In the few minutes before the round starts,
you can organize your flowchart,
take out any note cards you might need,
and focus your attention on your particular stance.
The affirmative will stand, make eye contact
with the judge to make certain he/she is ready,
and read his/her speech. The judge will give
hand signals about the remaining time. Five fingers
means that there are five minutes left, etc.At the end of the speech, he/she will say, "I now
stand ready for cross examination." The negative
will rise, stand beside the affirmative and
begin to ask cross examination questions.
They do not look at each other.
Instead they look at the judge.
Each debater will have 3 minutes
of Preparation Time that they can
take whenever they like.At some of the larger
tournaments, it is 4 minutes.
Usually the negative takes a minute and a
half after his/her cross-ex and
then another minute and a half before his
second speech. Usually the
affirmative takes a minute and a half
before each of his/her rebuttal speeches.
The debater should ask the judge to call
out the prep time in thirty second intervals.
The negative will then signpost for the judge
what he/she intends to do. He/she will say, "I
will first read the negative case and then attack
my opponent's ridiculous position." (Not really--
don't really say "ridiculous"--just think it.) Then
he/she will read the four minute speech.
Next he/she will say, "I will now turn to my opponent's
case." Turning to the flow pad, he/she
will attack all the points made by the affirmative,
showing why his case is better. Any points
he fails to attack are considered dropped
and are given to the other side.
MOST COMMON NOVICE ERROR:
Failing to attack your opponent's case.Now the debate goes back and forth in the
same manner. When it's over, shake hands
with your opponent, thank the judge for
judging and leave the room. Both opponents
should go out together. It is considered
bad form for one to leave before the other.
The judge stays behind to make his decision.
Be careful of what you say when you
leave the room. If the judge hears you say
that you think you lost, it might persuade
him that you did.Now you can go purchase some really
bad food at the snack bar!
