7.3 HOW TO… HOW TO DEBATE A is an exchange of arguments between two teams or individuals. The educational goal is to be able to understand the motivation of people who may think otherwise while still respecting their different views. A team’s success in a debate is determined by impartial judges. They evaluate the selection, quality, and arrangement of arguments used and assess the originality and style of the speakers. The following is the typical layout adopted by the WSDC ( ), one of the best-known international formats, which features a minimum of three speakers per team. However, teachers can tailor the format, the activities, the use of POIs (Point Of Information), and the speaking time to the learning needs of their class. debate World Schools Debating Championship The motions A motion is the given topic to be debated about. It usually starts with THBT (“This house believes that...”), THW (“This house would...”) or simply TH (“This house...”). The “house” refers to the British parliament’s chamber to which the English-born discipline of debating can be traced back to in origin. Proposition and Opposition The team known as the (PROP) will propose a change in the status quo, whereas the (OPP) will defend it. To win the debate both teams need to propose a coherent and effective line of argumentation. A valid guidance to create good arguments is the model AREL (Argument, Reasoning, Evidence, and Link Back). proposition opposition First PROP The first PROP speaker opens the debate, defines the motion and sets the framework of the PROP’s case, explaining and justifying what they are standing for. Then they introduce the , listing all the arguments and specifying the order they will be talked about. team line First OPP The first OPP speaker’s task is either to agree or disagree with the , by: definition of the motion dealing with definitions; rebutting First PROP’s substantive arguments; outlining case division for OPP; delivering 1 or 2 significant arguments opposing the motion. After that, the first speaker OPP presents their constructive arguments. Second PROP The second PROP is expected to use about half of the speech rebutting what the first OPP has said and what he missed saying. There should be at least one more argument.