Persuasion+Unit+Debate+Overview


 * Honors English 11: Persuasion Unit Debate**

Teams will engage in a debate in front of a classroom audience. Teams will research, prepare/organize, and present their side of an argument on a controversial issue. Arguments must demonstrate knowledge and mastery of persuasive techniques and rhetorical elements. Teams will collaboratively present their arguments during the debate. Team members will submit individual briefs demonstrating their personal knowledge of their topic and the persuasive essay elements. For the classroom debate, both teams will present their opening arguments, and then teams will be given a recess to prepare/revise their rebuttal to the opposition’s argument. Student audience members and teachers will decide debate results.
 * Persuasive Speech:**

Your task is to prepare to argue and support a position assigned to you by your teacher. You will do the necessary research to support your ideas, prepare to both pose and answer questions and practice your presentation so that it’s well polished.
 * What are we trying to do?**

Your goal is not necessarily to win, but to prepare to defend your side as best you are able. You will be marked on the quality of your evidence, your ability to defeat your opponent’s arguments, adherence to rules and the confidence of your presentation. You will need to present a more coherent and forceful set of arguments in a polished manner to prevail over your opponent.
 * How do we win?**

Ø Take care with the amount of time you have. Practice beforehand. Use index cards to record important notes. Ø Appearance may be evaluated. Dress properly. Ø Complete each speaking opportunity with a brief summary. Ø Listen carefully to the opposing team. They may make a significant point your team had not thought of during your preparation. You will want to address them in your rebuttal. A strong point left unchallenged makes your side appear all the weaker. Ø Back up your statements/assertions. Anybody can have an opinion but rationale wins the debate. Ø Take notes during the debate.
 * Points of Note:**

Once assigned a side in the debate, it is your task to research the topic. You will gather evidence that will be used to support your group’s position. Using this evidence as an aid, the team prepares a set of persuasive arguments designed to sway the judges to your side. Use the best of what you have found and house it in effective, confident delivery. Practice makes perfect. It is the combination of solid evidence and polished delivery that leads to success. It is also critical to consider what the opposition will say. Think through all the possible arguments your opponents will make. Success in a debate hinges on the ability to show that the opposing team’s reasoning is weaker that yours. Use the preparation document to organize your findings.
 * How do we prepare?**

Ø http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/persuasion_map/ Submitted Assignments: ** Persuasion Map: [] (one per team) · Goal/Thesis: State the main idea of your argument. · Reasons 1-3—Provide 3 reasons or points for your side of the debate. · Fact/Examples 1-3—for the fact/examples 1-3 demonstrate application of each appeal relating to the defined reason
 * 

References Page: [] (one per team--Overall, you must have a minimum of 10 sources cited in APA format) · It is expected that you have established the general background of your issue (Use 6 sources below, but must find 3 sources that do not overlap with your below sources). · It is expected that you have at least 3 main points, with each main point supported by a minimum of two reliable resources that directly provide a quote/fact/citation. (6 sources). · It is expected that you have at least one source that relates to your opposition's main points (1 or more sources).

//Expectations:// Ø Presents organized and supported argument Ø Utilizes all three appeals of rhetoric Ø Demonstrates knowledge and application of unit literary terms Ø Effectively rebuts opposition and answers posed questions Ø Professional dress and presentation (volume, posture, word choice, composure, eye contact) Ø APA Bibliography with minimum 5 sources (at least 1 print) Ø Must be prepared to discuss credibility of source on request


 * The Debate Day Process: Roles and Guidelines**

Prior to the debate, your group must thoroughly research the area of debate. Although you will be presenting content you have prepared ahead of time, you will also be responding to the argument presented by the other team. It is necessary for you to have as comprehensive and understanding your topic as possible. Its also important to know something in advance of the “other side” of the issue so you can anticipate what facts, analogies and arguments that will be presented by your opponents.

All of your preparatory material should be brought to class, or at least note cards with as much information as you see as relevant. Also you will need to hand in a sheet with all references.

//Roles:// Students should work together on preparing both components of the debate, but should take on one of the following roles during the class presentation.

__The Stater__ (3 minutes). Stater will be primarily responsible for stating the position taken by their team. They will bring up, point by point, the issues inherent in each part of the argument. A prepared written outline may be quite helpful, but direct reading of a prepared statement will not be appropriate. A conversational presentation of the position in the stater's own words will be much more acceptable. The stater will also be responsible for watching the flow of the arguments.

Think of this as a comprehension introduction to the topic. Introductions outline what will be presented and define the scope of the argument. An analogy of this portion of a debate is the opening argument of a trial. You do not need to give detailed references to the research and data supporting the argument, but you do need to present the basis of the argument in a logical and clear way.

It’s important to be precise because three minutes passes quickly. You will be stopped at the end of your allotted time, whether you are finished or not.

__The Prover__ (3 minutes). This is the substantive part of the argument. Provers will be responsible for citing relevant research to back any of the statements given by the stater. They must have intimate knowledge of the empirical content of the positions taken and should understand the research supporting the side chosen.

Much in the same way you present an argument in a paper, you present your argument on the topic in the same way. You propose a thesis statement, and then systematically develop or substantiate the thesis statement.

At the beginning of each debate we will let the toss of a coin decide which team will begin the debate.

__The Audience__. The students not involved in a debate are still a part of the situation. Students will take notes during the debate (content and feedback for participants). There will be a 3 minute break after the two sides have presented their cases. During this 3 minute break the rest of the class will write individual reaction papers describing their own position on the issue. The two groups will spend the 3 minutes outlining their rebuttal statements. Each group will have 2 minutes to give a rebuttal statement.

Resources: Guide to fallacies in arguments: http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/toc.htm []


 * Process Overview:**

Outside Vote Stater A Prover A Stater B Prover B Recess Rebuttal B Rebuttal A

Other team: take notes!

Reminder: B states their case does not counter first team yet


 * Be mindful of potential fallacies in your team (and opponents) arguments:**

Strawman: Misrepresentation of an opponent's argument: 1. Medicinal use of marijuana should be legal. SM: If we legalize marijuana, then we're going to be country filled with potheads. The misrepresentation is that the SM is implying that 1. wants to legalize marijuana for recreational use, too.

Red Herring An argument that that is irrelevant and is meant to divert the attention. South Park: [] (Chewbacca defense) 1. Students should be more familiar with technology. RH: While that may be true, how can we teach students who have to work after school. Post Hoc An argument/reasoning that connects something unrelated as a cause. 1. I didn't eat anything healthy today and I did great on my tests, so that must mean that eating healthy has caused me to do lousy in school all my life. Relativists Fallacy A fact is not applicable to the arguer. 1. Data has shown that teenagers need at least eight hours of sleep. RF: That might be applicable to everyone else, but I'm fine on just five hours a night.