THW cut operating hours of all private-commercial institutions

General Comments:

1) Issue:

You have to know the issue of the debate so that your arguments are spot on with the motion. It is also so that there can be a clear clash among teams and it will help you come up with arguments.

Tip for getting the issue: Think of the actors involved. You can come up with 5-6 if you really think about it. From there, think about how each actor will generally be affected by the motion. Then you can now ask: What is the issue of the debate? Why is this being debated upon? What values are being contended? When you have the answer to that, know which value to fight for, and then make your arguments fight for that.

2) Argument Analysis:

Arguments should always be very in-depth. It is never enough that you say the ideas in a single sentence or even two. And expounding on the exact same sentence won’t do much good I’m afraid. You have the statement. You explain the statement. You support it with examples, then you tie it back to the motion. When you end an argument you DON’T want the adjudicator to think “ Well yes, that’s true because……….and that will support their side because……” You DON’T want that. What you want them to think after an argument is “Yes, that’s true and that will support their side.” Do the thinking for them, all of it!

Tip for having more in-depth arguments: When you have your argument ask yourself these three questions: why? how? and so what?. First start with the why your argument is so, then when you have the answer to that, ask why is that so? Or how is that so? Or so what if that is so? Then when you have the answer to that, ask those questions again. If you can keep coming up with another question and answer, write it down. Chances will be high that that is what the adjudicator will be looking for. Keep repeating that cycle until you can no longer question your answers. When that happens, you will have a thoroughly fleshed out argument.

3) Time

Most of you ended way before 7 minutes. Some of you even ended at 4 minutes. This is not good as in most competitions; you will not be allowed to sit until the 6 minute clap. The reason why most if you ended early is that your arguments were single statements, or single statements that were repeated in different ways. You need in-depth analysis to really produce a 7 minute speech with 2-3 arguments. So ideally, you START wrapping up at 6 minutes, at 7, you conclude, then you end at 7:15. Some people may have different ideal times, but since you were all under time, that’s a safe time to try to reach.

Tips for reaching 7 minutes: 1) Argue for the argument. “So why have what I’ve been telling you important? It’s because…” DO NOT repeat your arguments. DO fight for why it will improve your case or why it defeats what opposition has come up with. 2) Time your speech on paper. While in prep, try to divide your speech into 7 minutes already. Give _ minute/s to your rebuttals, _ minute/s to argument A, _ minute/s to argument B, etc. That way you know what to keep brief or what to expound on. You can bring a timer with you when you speak.