An introduction to parliamentary

debate in the ‘World Schools’

format

Debate Workshop
11-08-14
What is Debate?
 Clash of arguments
Formats?
 There are many formats of debates: Karl
Popper format, British Parliamentary
format, Australasian Format, World
Schools format, etc.

 With formats, people are regulated to

speak one at a time and each side is given
the same amount of time and opportunity
to prove their point.
 It encourages people not only to speak
out but also to listen to the other side.

 This format eliminates the possibility of

who-speaks-loudest-or-fastest shall win
the debate.
What is the main purpose of
Debate?

 To speak out and listen to different

opinions and at the end respecting those
differences
Issues raised in debate
 Economy
 Environment
 Sport
 Music
 Education
 Politics
 Culture
 etc
Why Debate?
 Debate is used in education by many
organisations and institutions for various
of reasons:
1. Increases self-confidence
2. Utilizes useful English
3. Empowers public speaking ability
4. Develops critical thinking skills
5. Introduces global issues
What format does Indonesia
(Ministry of Education) use?
 The Indonesian Schools Debating
Championships uses the World Schools
format.
World Schools Debate format
Current Speaker

Proposition Opposition

Adjudicator
Proposition Opposition

Adjudicator
Order of speakers
Proposition / Opposition/
Affirmative / Negative
Government

1st
1st
No points of
2nd information
2nd
are allowed
3rd in reply
3rd speeches

Proposition
reply Opposition
reply
 Main Speeches
1 3 5 7

2 4 6 8

POI’s are allowed

 Reply Speech

1 3

2 4
POI’s are
not
allowed
Motion
 Motions always begin with “TH” which
stands for “This House”

 A government team must defend the motion,

and an opposition team must negate the
motion

 Motions are differentiated based on its

range, purpose and when the motion is
released.
Types of motion based on when its
RELEASED

 Impromptu – released 30 minutes before

the debate.

 Prepared – released several weeks/months

before the debate
Types of Motions based on its
PURPOSE
 Policy / Proposal
• This House Would Ban School Uniforms
• This House Believes That Smoking in Public
Places Should be Banned

 Judgment / Philosophical
• This House Believes That Bigger is Better
• THBT SBY has Failed
Types of Motions based on its
RANGE
Open
THBT Bigger is Better

Closed
THW Ban Smoking in Public Places
 Definition
 Defining the motion does not mean defining
keywords literally (dictionary-based)

 The definition should explain what the

motion means in a debate.

 The first speaker of the affirmative MUST

explain in clear terms what the affirmative
team believes the motion means.
 If the affirmative does not define the
motion, the negative team must define it.

 If the affirmative offers an “undebateable”

definition, the affirmative has a right to
challenge the definition (highly not
recommended)
Arguments
1. Assertion – the statement which should
be proved
2. Reasoning – the reason why that
statement is logical
3. Evidence – examples / data that support
the assertion and reasoning above
4. Link Back – the explanation of the
relevance of this argument to the motion
Rebuttal
 Rebuttals are responds towards the other
team’s argument

 Rebuttals should prove that the other

team’s arguments aren’t as important as
they claim to be
Point of Information(POI)
 Brief interruptions between 1st and 7th
minute of a speech

 The speaker delivering a speech has full

authority to accept or reject a POI

 Once accepted, a POI should not exceed

15 seconds
Main components that are Judged
 Content – 40% out of 100

 Style – 40% out of 100

 Strategy – 20% out of 100

Role of speakers
• 1st : Lays out the basic fundaments of the
team’s case, including elementary
argumentations

• 2nd : Continues the case by responding,

rebuild the case and provide continuity
analysis of argumentations
• 3rd : Reviews the overall case of opponent
and provide a more thorough ballistics of
response to argument. No new
argument!

• Reply : Provide a bias overview of the

debate and why their team deserves the
debate. No new arguments and no
rebuttals!!
Case Building
a. Brainstorming (5 minutes)
b. Discuss the definition (5 minutes)
c. Pick relevant arguments (10 minutes)
d. Determine team line and team split (3
minutes)
e. Recap the whole case ( 2 minutes)
f. Individual preparation (5 minutes)
Etiquette in case building
 All forms of electronic devices are
prohibited; such as: cell phones, laptops,
tablets, etc.(stop watches are exceptional)

 Debaters may use printed materials

(including dictionary)

 Debaters are not allowed to communicate

with anyone except their own teammates
and LO (Liaison Officer) throughout the
whole process of case building
Conclusion

Debate is awesome 

Applaud…