CS 4001A
Debates

Introduction

1. You are experts who have been assembled to address a particular issue in debates that have been organized by the Congressional Research Service.
2. Your audience is composed of congressional staff members who will be advising their bosses on policy decisions. Thus, the debates will be judged
primarily on the cogency and relevance of the arguments rather than on technical debating skill.
3. As in traditional debate, however, the affirmative side has the burden of proving its case. The negative must simply refute the resolution and need not
propose any action on its own.

Learning Objectives

1. Present and structure a coherent oral argument
2. Learn how to debate a point using logic and factual citation
3. Learn how to prepare arguments for both sides of an argument.

Grading Criteria

The debate is mandatory (you must participate in one to pass the class). You will be graded primarily on how well you presented your argument, the quality
of your research and preparation, and your presentation skills.

Debate Mechanics

   1. Debate teams consist of four (or possibly three) people. If a team consists of three members, that team should designate one of its team members to
       speak twice.
   2. All members of the debate team must participate (speak). A single member of the team should take each segment.
   3. A coin flip prior to the start of the debate will determine which team has the affirmative and which has the negative.
   4. The debate format will be as follows:

            3 minute opening from affirmative
            3 minute opening from negative

            1 minute for team consultation

            2.5 minute rebuttal from affirmative
            2.5 minute rebuttal from negative

            1 minute for team consultation

            2.5 minute rebuttal from affirmative
            2.5 minute rebuttal from negative

            1 minute for team consultation

            2.5 minute closing from affirmative
            2.5 minute closing from negative

            5 minute Q & A period from audience

Additional Submission

Each group must submit a 3-page document before the start of their debate.

   1. 1 page outlines the argument for the affirmative side.
   2. 1 page outlines the argument for the negative side.
   3. 1 page cites the references searched.

Suggestions for Debating

   1. You have to be prepared to argue both sides. This means that your team must have researched both sides extensively from in-depth and reputable
       sources.
   2. Listen very carefully to your opponents. Rebuttal speakers should directly address the points made by their opponents. Rebuttals are only as strong as
       your ability to undermine their arguments with evidence or carefully constructed counterarguments of your own.
   3. Arguments should be supported with evidence, gathered from your research. Avoid citing sources that seem dubious or that are unsupportable unless they
       are personal anecdotes designed to create the foundation for a point.
   4. You will be cut off at the end of the time limit. This means that you need to practice timing your responses to ensure that you've made your argument
        within the time allowed. Otherwise the audience will be left hanging.
   5. The first and last impressions are most important. Make sure that you have good openings and closings for your debate. Make sure your closing
       statements address the arguments of your opponents.
   6. Don't worry about getting every little bit of information out there. Your listeners will respond much better to clear argumentation. Speak slowly and
       clearly. This is very important to remember, especially under the stress of speaking in front of an audience.

Topics

1. Taxation of Internet sales
   Hypothesis: Congress shall enact a law prohibiting states from collecting any tax on interstate sales conducted over the
      internet.
2. Gambling on the Internet
     Hypothesis: The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 should be resubmitted and passed into law.
3. Outsourcing of computing jobs
     Hypothesis: The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 should be repealed. (Restrict your discussion to sections related to
     outsourcing.)
4. Licensing software engineers
     Hypothesis: Congress shall enact a law requiring licensing of software engineers according to criteria developed by
     professional societies (ACM/IEEE).
5. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) policy
     Hypothesis: Congress shall enact a law governing the use of RFIDs along the lines of California Bill SB 1834.

Teams

Team Number	Team Members	Topic	Date
1	Brian Smith Richard Bryan Benjamin Chambers Justin Mitchell*	5	April 10
2	Phillip Robinson Shreyas Patel Nicholas Beckmann* (Kurt Margenau no longer in this class)	3	April 12
3	Amro Mousa Jonathan Stokes Gregory Kinsey (Matthew Plowden no longer in this class)	4	April 5
4	Carol Hsu Michael Federici Andrew Champion* Justin Friel*	4	April 5
5	Joseph Jo Parimal Patel David Friedman John Wise*	2	April 3
6	Christopher Octa Yuan Liu Douglas Fraser*	2	April 3
7	Akshay Bhushan Toby Butzon Matthew Weber*	5	April 10
8	Nicholas Bowman Daniel Engel Jonathan Kean*	1	April 7
9	Ivan Matyunin Richard Venutolo William Phillips*	3	April 12
10	Mark DeJesus Crystal Wrenn Yevgeny Keyser	1	April 7

* means group member was assigned randomly since he/she was not present during team formation

Schedule By Day

Date	Topic
April 3	2
April 5	4
April 7	1
April 10	5
April 12	3

CS 4001A Debates