Oral English ECHS Mrs.

McGrath Darrell Kinney 09/27/2011 Introduction to Value based-debate

Sample resolution: Democracy is best served by the strict separation of church and state I. Basis of arguments Claim: also known as assertion or argument. Warrant- reasons for your argument a. empirical evidence- evidence, statistics, expert opinion, historical case studies. b. theoretical warrents- warrants backed up by philosophical arguments. Justifying your argument - look to the question up for debate or the resolution and give reasons why your arguments are relevant to the question posed. a. stds. For deciding the question. b. what kinds of claims are important for deciding whether the resolution is true. II. Value-Criterion model

Value-premise/criterion premise is the std. for deciding the debate when considering questions of the type posed by the resolution we are really interested in this value. (Victory Briefs Institute 04) a. Value premises tend to be concepts about what we generally agree are good, but dispute about what they mean. (VBI 04) Example : democracy most support democracy but we are disagreed about what it means which is why we debate questions like the resolution. Sample Values: For beginning debaters, select a fairly broad value: i.e. freedom, knowledge, quality of life, justice, equality, independence, security, survival, etc. Your opponents may accept your value or reject it as irrelevant or biased and offer a value of

their own. In the latter case, you will need to prove that your value deserves a higher priority in the current situation than your opponents'. Human Dignity Quality of Life Social Welfare/Societal Good Education Justice/Equity Progress Democracy Stability Equality Family Liberty/Freedom Privacy Self Determination Anarchy Efficiency/Economy Environmental Sustainability Diversity Integrity/Honesty/Truth Life Safety/Security

b. Value criterion: How best to achieve the value premise. Example: value: democracy Value criterion: the essence of democracy is that people are able to pursue their own goals in life. Linking a value/criterion to the arguments: a. You must show why your arguments matter in the round. This is where the value/criterion helps. b. You need to show how the specific clams you make in your case relate to the standards you set out at the beginning of the debate. III. Things to think about.

a. Make sure your value really connects to the topic and that your arguments link to the value.

b. Ask yourself the questions. Why do these values matter to me? Why would they matter to someone else?

Bibliography: Victory Briefs Institute The Victory Briefs Tour. Victory Briefs LLC. Dec. 27-28, 2004