The Format of Debate

 

The Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP)

The MSPDP is a debate format developed by Claremont McKenna College specifically for middle school students. Although MSPDP competitions primarily occur in California, the format has expanded across the United States and even beyond this country. Although some of you may be rising ninth graders, we will be using the MSPDP format in this course since it provides a wonderful introduction to debate. We (the coaches) have competed across many formats—Policy, World Schools, Parliamentary, Lincoln Douglas—but we find the MSPDP to be particularly well-structured.

 

The Premise of Debate

During a debate, two teams argue opposite sides of an issue—known as a topic or motion. The proposition team argues in favor of the motion while the opposition team argues against, and although the teams argue against each other, they are trying to persuade the judge to vote in their favor. The judge votes based on the presented arguments only and is not allowed to use any outside knowledge to make a decision (this is known as tabula rasa, which means “blank slate”). Since the proposition team is typically presenting a change to the status quo (an important term meaning “the existing state of affairs right now”), the burden of proof rests on the proposition; that is, in the rare event of a tie, the judge should vote for the opposition (this is known as presumption).

 

Speaker Order and Timing

Each team presents three five-minute speeches, known as the first speech, second speech, and third speech. The first and second speeches are known as constructive speeches, and the third speech is called the rebuttal speech. The order of speeches is below. If a team has only two members, one person will deliver both the first and third speech.

 

First proposition speaker: 5 minutes

First opposition speaker: 5 minutes
Second proposition speaker: 5 minutes

Second opposition speaker: 5 minutes

Third opposition speaker/opposition rebuttal: 5 minutes

Third proposition speaker/proposition rebuttal: 5 minutes

Notice that the proposition team speaks first and last; this is a great advantage that counterbalances the burden of proof since they get to both establish the terms of the debate and have the final word. However the proposition rebuttalist must respond to two consecutive opposition speeches, known as the opposition block.