The Debate Process

The date of your debate, selected with reference to a random number table, is given on the page that lists the debate questions and team assignments. When your team debates, the class hour is divided as follows:

First, the pro-team and then the con-team gives an opening statement of about five minutes explaining the issue and presenting the argument for their side. One person should be assigned by each group to give its opening argument.

Second, there is a period of about 30 minutes when members of the class ask questions about the debate topic. It works best if one person has primary responsibility to answer questions for each side, although others ought to add information when they are particularly informed about a question.

Members of the class are expected to pay attention, attend when their debate is not going on, and they are expected to ask questions. We will keep track of who asks questions.

Third, the pro-team and then the con-team gives a closing statement of about five minutes. The closing statement is best if it is not written in advance, but rather addresses and responds to issues and challenges raised by questionners and the opposing team.

Fourth, members of the class vote on which side won the debate. Votes are counted and winners get small grade benefit compared to losers. Since the original debate survey usually revealed that the members of the class support one side of most issues more than the other, we will weight the vote counts to take this into accounts. A simple majority will not usually be all that is required to win. You can look at the vote balance on the Debate Survey page to get an idea of the number of votes you'll need to win.

Grading

Six criteria guide grading:

1. Presentation How well you made your presentation and the quality of your public speaking. This is an individual performance grade.

2. ResearchHow well researched your topic is and the extent to which your presentation shows that you have collected a lot of relevant information and that you understand it well.This is an individual performance grade.

3. Big Issues Whether you recognize broader philosophical and intellectual issues that bear on your debate topic and bring them into the discussion as you make your case.This is an individual performance grade.

4. Teamwork We expect teams to share the work and to coordinate and plan their presentation together effectively. This comes across in the debate. This is usually a group grade. (Sometimes one member simply does not participate and that person then may receive a lower grade than the rest of the group.)

5. Teaching the Class. We give up a class period for you to present your research material. One of your responsibilities (with the opposing group) is to teach the topic and supporting technical material to the class. This is a place where it can be valuable to coordinate with the opposing team. This is a group grade.

6. Winning or Losing. Voting was explained earlier. The winning team gets an "A" for this part of the grade, the losing team a "B".

The six grades you receive are added up and an average grade for the six categories is determined. This becomes your grade for the debate.

In addition, when you are not debating, it is necessary that you attend class, listen attentively, and ask questions. We take attendance and missing class counts as an especially serious absence. We also will keep track of who asks questions. Being an active audience member is an important part of your participation grade for the course.