Lincoln-Douglas
Debate
| Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Judge Criteria |
- Purpose:
Lincoln-Douglas debate, one-on-one debate of value resolutions, is
excellent training for developing skills in argumentation,
persuasion, research, and audience analysis. In this contest
students are encouraged to develop a direct and communicative style
of delivery. The debater's goal is to persuade the judge to accept
or reject an interpretation of the resolution on the basis of
analytical, argumentative, and presentational criteria.
- Case and Analysis
- Defining the Values: Did the arguments presented
focus on the values implicit in the resolution?
- Establishing Criteria for Evaluating the Resolution:
On what basis (universal, moral, social, political, historical,
legal, etc.) is one value proven by the debater to be more
important than another?
- Weighing Importance: Are the values advocated in
support of the resolution more important than the values
diminished by the resolution, or are alternative values
supported by the negative enhanced by the resolution?
- Application of Values and Criteria: Did the debaters
apply their cases by filtering appropriate arguments through the
value and criteria?
- Argumentation
- Proof:
Did the evidence presented pragmatically justify the affirmative
or negative stance?
Did the reasoning presented philosophically justify the
affirmative or negative stance?
- Organization: Are the ideas presented clearly, in a
logical sequence, and with appropriate emphasis?
- Extension, Clash, and Rebuttal:
Did the debaters fulfill their obligation to extend their own
arguments?
Did they appropriately refute the contentions of their opponents
by exposing weaknesses or inconsistencies?
- Presentation
- Expression: Were language, tone, and emphasis
appropriate to persuasive communication?
- Delivery: Were gestures, movement, and eye contact
audience oriented and natural components of persuasive
communication?
- Rate: Was rate of delivery conducive to audience
understanding?
- Time Limits:
- Preparation: Each debater has a maximum of four minutes
preparation time to be used during the course of the debate.
- Debate:
| Affirmative |
6 minutes |
| Cross-examination by Negative |
3 minutes |
| Negative |
7 minutes |
| Cross-examination by Affirmative |
3 minutes |
| Affirmative Rebuttal |
4 minutes |
| Negative Rebuttal |
6 minutes |
| Affirmative Rebuttal |
3 minutes |
- Selecting the Winner: Putting aside personal biases and based on
the analysis, argumentation, and presentation of the debaters, which
debater was the most persuasive?
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