. Note: The following may be modified somewhat by the
presenters, but this will give you an idea of what to
expect. A. Debaters should prepare slides and adhere to the
basics for giving a good talk. B. Debate Rules Some basic readings will be assigned to the class
covering the debate topic. To win (or do well in the
debate), each debater will have to do outside reading
(papers, conferences) on the topic in order to have
sufficient mastery to argue and rebut. 1. Debates shall be organized as follows: Negative 20 minutes Rebuttal Speeches: Negative 10 minutes Affirmative 5 minutes Negative 5 minutes Discussion and Cross-Examination by Jury
[class] (about 40 minutes). Vote on winner. Discussion of Debate topic (about 30 Minutes). A timekeeper selected from the class will keep time.
2. Rules of Evidence 3. Rules of Evidence Authenticity Authenticity refers to: 2) Distortion: misrepresentation of evidence or of
citation which significantly alters meaning or
content. In your debate, you should be sure to describe the
basic concepts in adequate detail so that the jury (the
class) can follow. How to Win a Debate In order to win, debaters will need to do a literature
search and some extra reading (beyond the assigned papers)
in order to assemble an adequate armamentarium of technical
material. The best way to win a debate is to make the most
convincing technical and/or ethical arguments in favor of
your assigned position (pro or con). For example, you could
argue that, while, a particular technique is claimed to work
on certain cloning problems, the ethical issues raised due
to the means of cell collection in the first place outweighs
the benefits. Or you could perform a careful complexity,
soundness, or completeness analysis to demonstrate your
point. Or you could compare other methods of solutions to
that of cloning. Arguments by authority ("Bill Clinton claims that X, and
I believe him"; "Kary B. Mullis, a Nobel Prize winner,
believes Y is bad, so we should too") should not be used.
However, precise technical arguments ("Cybenko [give
ref] has proven that any continuous stem cell line can
be modeled into differentiating tissues") and technical
rebuttals ("Yes, but Cybenko's construction requires an
exponential number of hidden control points-- great
expressive power at great expense is not useful!") are
excellent debating points. You must argue aggressively for your assigned position
(pro or con). Never say "Well, I've been assigned pro, but I
really agree more with con." This marks you as a loser, and
you will lose the debate! .
Constructive Speeches:
Affirmative 20 minutes
Affirmative 10 minutes
Questions for debaters and Cross Examination
(about 10 minutes).
In debate, source citations of evidence must be
stated the first time a source is used.
Evidence must not be fabricated or distorted, in
penalty of losing the debate.
1) Fabrication: falsely representing
a cited fact or statement of opinion as evidence; or
intentional omission/addition of information within
quoted material.
Updated 4/14/03 by thatcher@sonoma.edu