Speak Up! The Basics of Debate

Imagine your class is deciding: should school start one hour later every day? Half the class shouts 'Yes!' and the other half shouts 'No!' — but nobody is listening to anyone else. That's just noise. A debate turns that noise into something useful. Before we go further, think about this warm-up question:

A debate is a structured discussion where two sides share their views on a topic. 'Structured' means it follows rules so everyone gets a fair turn to speak and listen. Every debate has a motion. A motion is the statement being argued about — for example: 'School should start one hour later.' One side agrees with the motion. They are called the proposition. The other side disagrees. They are called the opposition. To win a debate, you don't just share your opinion. An opinion is what you think or feel, such as 'I like sleeping in.' That alone is not very convincing. Instead, you need a point — a clear statement — backed up by a reason. A reason explains WHY your point is true. Here is the key formula: 👉 POINT + REASON = a strong argument For example: - Opinion only: 'Starting school later is a good idea.' - Point + Reason: 'Starting school later is good because research shows teenagers need more sleep to concentrate well.' The second one is much stronger because it gives the listener a WHY. Debaters also use evidence. Evidence is a fact, statistic, or example that proves your reason is true. The more evidence you have, the harder your argument is to argue against. Finally, good debaters listen carefully and respond to what the other side says. This is called rebuttal — pointing out why the other side's argument is weak or wrong.