tell me the best way to debet

liqianqian

When I used to teach debating I had all students write notes both for and against the motion and chose the teams at random.

Any motion can be debated under a number of subheadings. The terrorist one can be be argued under.

1. Problems of definition of "terrorist".
2. Ethics of equality of weapons....the dignity and moral status of the user.
3. Relative versus absolute morality....rights of minorities versus rights of majorities
4. Efficacy of results....short and long term... martyrdom.

The femininist one

1. Biological differences and equalities.
2. Stability of society.
3. Childcare issues....birth control.....promiscuity.
4. The PC involvement with language change.

Well, before you go any further, you're going to have to define your terms. For the purpose of your 1st debate, Feminism, define what "Feminism" is. What does it entail, and why? What is meant by "encouraged"? What does encouragement entail, and why? What proceeds from those definitions - pro and con - and why? What would be the consequences of adopting the motion, and why? What would be the consequences of rejecting the motion, and why?

Once you've got that sorted out, you can begin structuring your debate. You've adopted the negative, so it is your job to counter the affirmative - to demonstrate how and why the affirmative's case does not merit adoption. A good way to begin would be to prepare the strongest first afirmative statement you can - complete with facts, figures, and cites from authorities. Make it good. Then, deconstruct it - take it apart and look for weaknesses. Find counter example to every point, fact, figure, and authority you've gathered. Particularly effective is the yes-but-therefore tactic; acknowledge your opponents point, then demonstrate that an alternate proposition, fact, figure, or authority is superior, logically developing the conclusion that "therefore, <opponent's point> is (erroneous/irrelevant/inadequate/impractical/inconsequential ... etc etc etc) ... whatever, just demolish each point, demonstrate every conclusion proceeding therefrom to be not in the interest of satisfactory resolution of the motion.

Assume your opponent is going to do the same - anticipate potential rebuttals and prepare counters to them. Run the same excercize for every turn of the debate - remaining aware that surprises always are possible. Be prepared. The more you know about your opponent's case, the better you will be able to counter it.

For your second debate, Torture, do exactly the same, just substitute the appropriate terms when developing your definitions and proceed from there.