2. Wellesley Speech & Debate Workshops Parli Basics Forming a Case Guide to Speeches and Responsibilities Leader of Opposition Prime Minister Members of Gov & Opp Style Tips

3. Forming a Case & the Prime Minister Speeches A Wednesday Workshop brought to you by the Speech&Debate Society

4. The Speeches: PMCLOCMGCMOCLORPMR Introintro Present case statement Independent points of analysis Respond to opposition’s main points Independent points of analysis deconstructcrystallize Independent points of analysis deconstructreconstruct case point 1deconstructreconstructdeconstruct Case point 2deconstructreconstructdeconstruct Case point 3deconstructreconstructdeconstruct

5. The Constructive: You will be presented with links, which you will then use to form a case statement (you will have 10 minutes before your round to prepare, but it’s best to come to a tournament with at least 3 case ideas). Establish the issues and direction for the debate and state a clear case statement (one sentence) that does not violate any of the rules. Offer any further explanation or case background The rules do not allow points of Information during your first or last minute, but the Opposition may ask points in the beginning to clarify the statement Present a case consisting of arguments which support the case statement; these 3-5 points should support your case statement, not just be related to the topic (some credit to apdaweb.org) PMC Intro Present case statement case point 1 Case point 2 Case point 3

6. The Rebuttal: Respond to any new MO arguments (don’t spend too much time on this, max 2 minutes) Crystallize the round into clear Government voting issues. The speech serves to frame the debate from the Government's point of view. The PM should explain each of the reasons why the Government has won the round and why these reasons outweigh the arguments the government Point out ‘holes in the flow’- dropped arguments and explain their impact (ask the judge to count these dropped arguments against the Opposition) No new arguments, only new examples (some credit to apdaweb.org) PMR intro Respond to opposition’s main points crystallize

7. Constructing a Case: Creating fun and debatable cases can be difficult, so many debaters think of cases in advance. Although people think of ideas in advance, debaters should not research or over-prepare. A case should be linked to the resolution, but as there are ‘loose links’ that you can connect to anything, it’s not something to worry about Your case should consist of the statement and 3-5 supporting arguments There are three requirements for case construction Must not be status quo Must not be tight or tautological Must not use specific knowledge

8. Technicalities to Avoid: Specific Knowledge- cases which are based on very specialized information, generally, if you can’t find out about it by reading the NY Times, it’s too specific Tight Cases- cases which the opposition does not feel they are able to argue the opposition side of fairly. Tautologies- a case or statement that is a defined truth -- while not necessarily true on face, the Government uses its right to define terms to set up the round in such a way that they cannot lose. Sometimes two definitions which are perfectly reasonable on their own can combine to form a tautology. Example: if the Government defines the judge as a devout Catholic priest and argues that he/she ought to refuse a marriage proposal, they have created a tautology -- no Catholic priest who believes in his faith would ever be married. Truism- a self-evident truth. Example: Racism is bad.

9. The man: Damn. He is hot!

10. Travel Through Time & Space… Time-space means that the Government team places the judge in the role of a particular person or decision making body at a particular time in history in a particular place or position. The judge must then decide the round based Example: "You are Bill Clinton in 1991, do not seek the Presidential nomination" Note that the government does not have to specify each parameter or person, time and place. If these factors are not specified, assume the reasonable or average circumstance. The Opposition should always have the opportunity to ask the Government exactly who, when and where a particular case is set. To introduce a time-space case, the Prime Minister should specify that the case is time-space and then clearly tell the judge "You are ____. The time is ____. Time-space cases are subject to all of the rules for regular cases, including tightness and specific knowledge. Two extra rules must be considered in a time- space situation. First, events that have not happened yet or facts that are not yet true in the specified time period may not be used in a historical case. The second extra rule deals with the nature of making the judge a particular person or group. People are not the same and do not view arguments the same way. Adolf Hitler and Ghandi have very different views on arguments about war, race and religion. The psychology of the judge’s persona should be considered when judging the round or making effective arguments.

11. Opp-Choice? Wtf? In an Opp-Choice round, the Government will present a case and then allow the Opposition to choose which side they will argue Example: Wellesley should or should not have an Alcohol Policy that ruins everyone’s social life– the Opposition will choose if they wish to argue should or should not Why would anyone do this? It makes everyone look good– wow, so smart, she can debate both sides of this case! You may not really care about which side you want to argue, presenting your case as Opp-Choice is a way to get someone else to make the decision for you It’s fun!

12. Tips and Helpful Hints: Using ‘buzzwords’ to refer to your case arguments is useful, but make sure you clearly explain your arguments Case ideas can come from anywhere-- a paper from a class, a news article, a piece of legislation, even a TV show-- try not to make the case too specific, focus more on ethical or moral decisions Check out the case ideas sub-conference in the Speech and Debate FirstClass conference End with “We beg/are proud to propose”

13. That’s all folks! For more details, check out the Parli Guide at www.apdaweb.org “I killed the President of Paraguay with a fork…how have you been?”