Congressional Debate #
Congressional Debate typically appeals to students who are interested in socially and politically interacting with peers to discuss a problem in a group setting. Using Robert’s Rules of Order, students give alternating, brief affirmative and negative speeches, followed by questioning periods.
| Speech | Limit | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship | 3 minutes | Constructs advocacy by explaining need for the legislation to solve/mitigate a problem, and how it will do that. |
| Questioning of Sponsor | 2 minutes | Presiding officer recognizes 4 students to each engage in a 30-second direct question-and-answer periods with the sponsor. |
| First Negative | 3 minutes | Constructs opposition by explaining how attempting to solve/mitigate a problem with the legislation will fail to meet objectives or will make the problem worse |
| Questioning of First Negative | 2 minutes | Presiding officer recognizes 4 students to each engage in a 30-second direct question-and-answer periods with the first negative. |
| Subsequent Speeches | 3 minutes | Refutes opponents’ arguments by explaining why they are incorrect and extends previous arguments on the same side to related concepts or more in-depth exploration. |
| Subsequent Questioning | 1 minute | Presiding officer recognizes 2 students to each engage in a 30-second direct question-and-answer period. |
| Debate on each item of legislation may last up to an hour and a half (depending on how many delegates are assigned to a room, at which time, the presiding officer takes a vote of delegates. | ||
Congressional Debate Overview
Speech Structure Slides
Parliamentary Procedure + Presiding
Feb. 2023 WISDAA Webinar
Start of Congressional Round
Congressional Debate, Emory Univ. Online
Congressional Debate Example, In Person
Functional Civics in Debate
World Schools Debate #
World Schools Debate is a three-on-three format. While a given team may consist of five members, only three students from a team participate in a given debate. Resolutions come in two types: prepared motions and impromptu motions. Teams will be assigned one of two sides in each round- either the proposition team proposing/advocating for/supporting the motion or the opposition team advocating against/rejecting of the motion. Debaters present their position on a topic, refute their opponents, and respond to questions throughout the course of the debate.
| Speech | Limit | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Proposition Team Speaker 1 | 8 min. | Define/clarify the motion, describe status quo, introduce the proposition case. |
| Opposition Team Speaker 1 | 8 min. | Refute proposition arguments, offer counter-case or just argue against the motion. |
| Proposition Team Speaker 2 | 8 min. | Refute opposition’s arguments and respond to their refutations, and extend proposition case. |
| Opposition Team Speaker 2 | 8 min. | Refute proposition’s arguments and respond to their refutations, and extend opposition case. |
| Proposition Team Speaker 3 | 8 min. | Disprove the opposition, deepening analysis and pointing out strategic mistakes/inconsistencies, rebuild the proposition case and how the opposition inadequately disproves them. |
| Opposition Team Speaker 3 | 8 min. | Disprove the proposition, deepening analysis and pointing out strategic mistakes/inconsistencies, rebuild the opposition case and how the proposition inadequately disproves them. |
| Opposition Rebuttal | 4 min. | Distill the debate to key points by explaining why those key points emerged, and why those ought to be the focus of determining how the opposition should prevail. |
| Proposition Rebuttal | 4 min. | Distill the debate to key points by explaining why those key points emerged, and why those ought to be the focus of determining how the proposition should prevail. |
Below, you will find videos from the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) as well as Idaho teacher Jett Smith, coach of the runner-up team at the 2025 NSDA National Speech and Debate Tournament.
World Schools Overview
World Schools Example
First Speaker
Second Speaker
Third Speaker
Reply Speech
Points of Information
In-Round Etiquette
