This document provides an introduction to academic debate. It outlines why debate is an effective learning tool, allowing students to collect and organize ideas, evaluate arguments, and speak persuasively. It describes the roles of the audience as judges and guidelines for effective speaking. The document also explains the format of debates, including having teams argue for and against a resolution, with cross-examinations. It provides a sample debate structure lasting 30-35 minutes and diagrams the typical room layout and scoring sheet used to evaluate debates.

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An Introduction to Academic Debate
Conference Paper · December 2016
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Hussein A Mustafa
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2. Assistant Lecturer Hussein A. Mustafa
M.Sc. Business Administration, Salahaddin University
hussein.mustafa@su.edu.krd
Salahaddin University- Erbil
College of Administration & Economics
Tourism Organizations Administration

3. Why Debate?
When debating, teams explore arguments for and against a specific
proposition.
Debating can be an effective and practical learning tool.
Debating allows several different qualities to emerge, including:
• collecting and organizing ideas,
• evaluating ideas,
• seeing logical connections between ideas,
• adapting to new situations quickly and efficiently, and
• speaking persuasively.

4. The audience
As the audience is acting as a judge in the debate, the debaters
should remember a few rules:
 The debater should not deliver too many facts in a short time.
 The debater should present the information to the audience as a completed work,
not short facts glued together.
 The language used in a debate must be intelligible.
 The speech must be clear, well-organized, and informative.
 Good use of transitions is the key to a good debate.

5. Attitude of Speakers
Debaters should display courtesy and show respect for opponents
and for the worth of ideas at all times.
It is not realistic to take a "right or wrong" attitude toward debate.
Speakers should never forget that a good debate is an honest attempt
to provide the audience with two different answers to the question
asked in the proposition.

6. Debate Format
There are different types of debate and it is important that you know what kind of
debate you will be participating in. There are some things, however, that all debate
formats have in common:
1. There is a resolution of policy or value that provides the basic substance of the
discussion. The terms of this resolution will be defined by the first speaker of
the debate.
2. There are two teams representing those in favor of the resolution (Government
or Affirmative) and those against (Opposition or Negative)
3. The Government/Affirmative always has the burden to prove its side.
4. The debate closes with final rebuttals on both sides which summarize their
respective positions.

7. Here's how the debate will be:
• First, a member of the affirmative team will speak for 2 minutes after which s/he will be cross-
examined by three members of the negative team (one question each) (8m).
• Next, a member of the negative team will also speak for 2 minutes and will also be cross-examined by
three members of the opponent team (one question each) (8m).
• A rebuttal will then take place, first by a member of the affirmative team talking for 2 minutes and them
by a member of the negative teach also talking for 2 minutes (4m).
• The audience will then have 5 minutes to ask questions to both teams (5m).
• Following that, a different member of each team will have 2 minutes to make a closing statement, first
a member from the affirmative group, then a member from the negative group (4m).
• The audience will then vote to determine which team won the debate (1m).
The TOTAL TIME for the entire debate should be between 30 to 35 minutes
as a few extra minutes will be spent for the transition between speakers.

8. Room Layout
A debate is set up as shown in the diagram below.

10. Voting for the winner
Consider…
• How well did the speakers communicate their ideas?
• How much information did the speakers know about their topic?
• Were the team members polite?
• Did the second speaker on each team build on what the first team
member had said?

11. Score Sheet

12. I hope you all have
a benefit and fun!
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