INTRODUCTION

 British Parliamentary Debate is a common form of academic debate

 Gained support in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Europe, Africa,
Philippines, and United Stated.
 Adopted as the official style of the World Universities Debating
Championship and European Universities Debating Championship.
 Speeches are usually between 5 and 7 minutes duration.
WHAT IS BPD?
 A competitive sport whereby 4 teams in opposing sides try to convince an
audience that a point of view regarding a controversial issue is better than
the alternative provided.
DISCUSS v DEBATE
 Discuss- Negotiate or compromise conflicting points of view in order to
cooperate
 Debate- Highlight the opposing opinions surrounding a topic as a tool for
decision making and analysis.
BENEFITS OF DEBATING
 Cultivates quick and multi-dimensional, logical thinking.
 Enhances the ability to develop reasoned opinions.
 Gives a better understanding of the current events and the world around
us.
 Improves self-confidence, speaking style and command of language.
 Enriches your overall leadership qualities.
DEBATE FORMAT
 Two (2) speakers each team
 Seven (7) minutes each speaker
 Four (4) teams
 1st Proposition
 2nd Proposition
 1st Opposition
 2nd Opposition
POSITIONS AND ROLES
Speaker Speaker Responsibilities
Prime Minister • Defines and interprets the motion
1st speaker for 1st proposition: • Develops the case for the proposition

Leader of Opposition • Accepts the definition of the motion

1st speaker for 1st opposition: • Refutes the case of the 1st proposition
• Constructs one or more arguments
against the Prime Minister’s
interpretation of the motion.
POSITIONS AND ROLES
Deputy Prime Minister
2nd speaker for 1st proposition:
Deputy Leader of Opposition 2nd speaker • Continues refutation of case of 1st
for 1st opposition:
• Refutes the case of the 1st
opposition
• Rebuilds the case of the 1st
proposition
• May add new arguments to the
case of the 1st proposition
proposition
• Rebuilds arguments of the 1st
opposition
• May add new arguments to the case
of the 1st opposition
POSITIONS AND ROLES
Member of Government
1st speaker for 2nd proposition:
Member of Opposition
1st speaker for 2nd opposition:
• Defends general direction and case of
the 1st proposition
• Continues refutation of 1st opposition
team
• Develops a new argument that is
different from but consistent with the
case of the 1st proposition (sometimes
called an extension).
• Defends general direction taken by the 1st
opposition.
• Continues general refutation of 1st
proposition case
• Provides more specific refutation of 2nd
opposition
• Provides new opposition arguments
POSITIONS AND ROLES
Government Whip
2nd speaker for 2nd proposition:
Opposition Whip
2nd speaker for 2nd opposition:
• Summarizes the entire debate from
the point of view of the proposition,
defending the general view point of
both proposition teams with a special
eye toward the case of the 2nd
proposition
• Does not provide new arguments.
• Summarizes the entire debate from the
point of view of the opposition,
defending the general view point of both
opposition teams with a special eye
toward the case of the 2nd opposition
• Does not provide new arguments.
MOTIONS AND DEFINITIONS

Wella Daynne L. Flores

 MOTION
-a statement that usually sets the topic for the given debate.
-also known as proposition or resolution.
TYPES OF MOTIONS
 Open - motion or resolution that is broad and can be defined quite
liberally.|
Characteristics:
Vague
Open to interpretations
No clear issue(s).

Ex. This house would pay.

 Semi-closed/Semi-open - also broad in scope. However, the context
for which the motion is set is more limited than in an open motion.
Characteristics:
Clearer and specific.
Contains a specific issue.
Provides a few details of the issue.

Ex. This house would pay compensation to victims of abuse.

 Closed - a motion that is usually specific in scope while still leaving
room for interpretation.
Characteristics:
Highly clear and specific.
No room for doubt on the issues.

Ex. This house would make Germany compensate victims of Nazi

atrocities.
 Policy and value-judgment motions.

Characteristics:
Focuses on policies and values within the motions
May overlap each other.
Not mutually exclusive.
Summary

MOTION EXAMPLE
OPEN This house would pay.

SEMI-CLOSED/SEMI-OPEN This house would pay compensation

to victims of abuse.

CLOSED This house would make Germany

compensate victims of Nazi atrocities.
 MATTER
• Content of Speech
• Common Elements:
- Substantive Arguments
- Rebuttal Arguments
- Case Studies / Facts
- Points of Information (POIs)
MANNER
• How Content is Presented
• Common Elements:
- Humor
- Appropriate Language
- Engaging the Audience
 Basic Tactics and Pitfalls:

• Organization
• Speaking Style
• Analysis
• Points of Information (POIs)
• Definitional Challenges
• Knifing
BASICS OF JUDGING
1. Judges need to rank teams from 1 to 4 ( 1 is best).

Judges often focus on role fulfillment to distinguish between teams.

Sometimes 1 and 4 are obvious but 2 and 3 are not. In such case judges can
draw the difference between the 2 and 3 by who did the best job that they
are supposed to do.

Everyone has a specific role and with four teams, it is not always obvious
or easily decided who won. This is why fulfillment is one of the factors that
should be considered, alongside constructive material, refutation, and
depth of comments
BASICS OF JUDGING
2. Assign speaker points to every speaker.
(World Universities Debate Championships Standards)
90-100: Excellent to flawless. Speaker has many strengths and few, if any
weaknesses.
80-89 : Above average to very good. The speaker has clear strengths and
some minor weaknesses.
70-79 : Average to good. The speaker has roughly equal proportions of
strengths and weakness.
60-69 : Poor to below average. The team has clear problems and some
minor strengths.
50-59 : Very poor. The speaker has fundamental weaknesses and few, if
any strengths
GUIDELINES FOR JUDGING
 Your own opinion on the subject matter does not count. Focus on the
quality of the argumentation and not to allocate wins based on your own
preferences.
 Judge argumentation through the relevance of speeches. Which team does
the best job at explaining why they are taking up your time and which
team does the worst job.
Relevance of Speeches can be decided by the Quality of the
Argumentation and its Content.
GUIDELINES FOR JUDGING
 Only after you have rank the teams that you do decide for speaker points.
Always check your points and see if they agree with the team-ranking.
 When votes in the panel are tied, the CHAIR DECIDES.
 Oral feedbacks should only be given after the two rounds. NO feedback on
the speaker points, ONLY the ranking of teams and some helpful tips or
hints.
 The Chair needs to deliver a reason for decision to the teams.