International Debate Rules.

Author Topic: International Debate Rules.  (Read 3266 times)

Offline Md. Mehedi Hasan Shoyeb

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International Debate Rules.
« on: March 06, 2011, 12:05:30 PM »
Adjournment Debate:
In the Westminster system, an adjournment debate is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." In practice, this is a way of enabling the House to have a debate on a subject without considering a substantive motion. There are generally two types of adjournment debate: those proposed by the Government, which are used from time to time to permit general debates on topical subjects (e.g. flooding and coastal defenses, regional affairs or International Women's Day); and the half-hour adjournment at the end of each day's sitting. The half-hour adjournment is an opportunity for a backbench Member of Parliament to raise a subject of his or her choosing, of which advance notice has been given, with the appropriate Government Minister. Normally, only the Member raising the debate and the Minister who is replying speak in the half-hour adjournment. It is not uncommon for the Chamber otherwise to be empty.

Australasia Debate:
Australia-Asia Debate is a form of academic debate. In the past few years, this style of debating has increased in usage dramatically throughout both Australia and the Asian region, but in the case of the Philippines, the format is also used alongside the British Parliamentary Format. The context in which the Australia-Asia style of debate is used varies, but it is commonly used in Australia at the primary and secondary school level, ranging from small informal one-off intra-school debates to larger more formal inter-school competitions with several rounds and a finals series which occur over a year. It is also commonly used at university level. Australs (The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships)follows the Australia-Asian Debating format (three speakers plus replies).

Australasia style debates consist of two teams who debate over an issue, more commonly called a topic or proposition. The issue, by convention, is presented in the form of an affirmative statement beginning with "That", for example, "That cats are better than dogs," or "This House", for example, "This House would establish a world government." The subject of topics varies from region to region. Most topics however, are usually region specific to facilitate interest by both the participants and their audiences.

British Parliamentary (BP) Style:
British Parliamentary style debate is a common form of academic debate. It has gained support in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Europe, Africa, Philippines and United States, and has also been adopted as the official style of the World Universities Debating Championship and European Universities Debating Championship. Speeches are usually between five and seven minutes in duration. Because of the style's origins in British parliamentary procedure, the two sides are called the Government (more commonly called "Proposition" in the United Kingdom) and Opposition.

Humorous Interpretation:
Humorous Interpretation is an event in competitive high school forensics leagues such as the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association and the National Forensic League. It consists of a piece from any published work, edited to fit within a 10 minute span with a 30 second grace period (it cannot be under 7 minutes or above 10:30). It is judged based upon how the person portrays his or her characters and whether the piece is humorous. Ideally proper portrayal of characters should achieve a comedic effect to the judge. A piece must be published, cannot exceed ten minutes, and must be of a humorous nature. Performance must include an introduction that states the title of the selection and the author. A teaser may precede the introduction. Props are not permitted.

Impromptu Debate:
Impromptu debate is a relatively informal style of debate compared to other highly structured formats. The topic for the debate is given to the participants between fifteen and twenty minutes before the debate starts. Emphasis is usually given on humor as well as on logic and performance. The debate format is relatively simple; each team member of each side speaks for five minutes, alternating sides. A ten-minute discussion period, similar to other formats' "open cross-examination" time follows, and then a five-minute break (comparable to other formats' preparation time). Following the break, each team gives a 4-minute rebuttal. Each team comprises two members, each of whom is named according to their team and speaking position within his or her team. The Impromptu format varies, depending on what "traditional" debate format it is based on. There are several methods of judging an Impromptu debate. The most standard method of judging is when a single judge observes the debate and simply votes one way or another; however, it is sometimes acceptable to have the audience (if it is sufficiently large) cast votes, with the winner determined by majority.