Judging Parliamentary Debate (the short form)



Judging Parliamentary Debate (the short form)

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to judge parliamentary debate! Before you get started, there are just a few things you should know.

Parliamentary Debate: Overview Parliamentary debate is a format of debate based on the British parliament. Each team of two people will be assigned a side before the round. The Government team will be debating in favor of the resolution. The Opposition team will be debating against it. The resolution is announced 15 minutes before the start of the round, and is the general topic the debate will be about. No evidence is used in the round, although teams may make reference to certain facts and examples. The only printed material allowed in the round is an official copy of the MPDL-KC Rules. Teams will alternate giving speeches, with the first and last speech going to the Government team.

Speakers and Times: There are four speakers in the round—two for each team. The Government team consists of the Prime Minister and the Member of Government (PM and MG for short), and the Opposition team consists of the Leader of the Opposition and the Member of the Opposition (LO and MO for short). The times and speaker orders for the round are as follows:

7 min. PM Constructive

8 min. LO Constructive

8 min. MG Constructive

8 min. MO Constructive.

4 min. LO Rebuttal

5 min. PM Rebuttal

The debaters are allowed to ask questions of the speaker who has the floor in the constructive speeches after the first minute of the speech has elapsed and before the start of the last minute of the speech. These minutes at the beginning and end of each constructive are known as protected time, and are signaled by the judge or timekeeper by one loud slap on the table. When students ask questions, they will generally rise and put their hand on their head. This is called a point of information, and may or may not be recognized by the speaker at the podium.

Heckling and Introductions: Because this debate is modeled after British parliament, a few of the traditions of that body have carried through to the rounds. One of these traditions is heckling. All members of the debating teams, any audience members (known collectively as the gallery or peanut gallery), and you (the Speaker of the House) may endorse arguments by saying “hear, hear” or any other appropriate terms, slapping on the desk, etc. Similarly, anyone may register their displeasure with and argument by saying “for shame” or any other appropriate remark. Slurs, insults, or personal attacks are never acceptable. Students may interject any remarks they wish in addition to or in support of their partner while he/she is at the podium as well. You will start the round by slapping on the table and calling the house to order. You will call each speaker to the podium by recognizing them to speak. Example: “I now recognize the Prime Minister for a 7 minute speech in affirmation”. Debaters will also thank you, their opponents, and their colleagues when they stand to speak.

Who Wins: As the judge, you decide who wins the round. The team that wins should be the one that best upholds its side of the resolution. Winning teams will usually be more persuasive and more well-spoken than the other team. In this format of debate, wit and humor are also seen as positive attributes. Because the debaters use no evidence, they should appeal to logic and common knowledge to support arguments. Use the categories on the ballot as an additional guide to the positive attributes you are looking for in the debaters. Remember—you are not voting on whether or not you personally agree with the arguments; rather, how well the debaters in the round have advocated for those arguments.

Rules Infractions, Links, etc: From time to time, students will cite various rule infractions in the round as reasons to vote against their opponents. You will be provided with a copy of the rules which you may refer to in those instances. The students may choose to formally protest a perceived rule infraction with a point of order. Time is stopped, and the debater calling the point states their case. You may rule in favor of the point, disagree with the point, or take it under consideration for further review. Please see the rules for a more thorough treatment of this issue. After you have ruled, time begins again, and the round resumes.

The Government team has the right to define the terms of the resolution, and may choose to link the resolution to another topic area. This is a legitimate strategy, but the Government team must be able to defend the link in the round. See the rules for a more thorough treatment of this subject.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download