The English-Speaking Union Centre for Speech and Debate

title

Stayinformedatwww.britishdebate.com|©ESU,2006

The ESU Public SpeakingCompetition for Schools

The ESU Schools MaceThe National Debating Championship

• Adebatingcompetitionforteamsoftwostudentsofanyage(mostly15-18).

What’sinthishandbook?• WelcomeandRules.........................22• Howthecompetitionisorganised...24• Howadebateworks........................26• Defi nitions ........................................28• Rebuttalandsummaryspeeches....29• PointsofInformation.......................30• Guidelinesfordebaters...................31• Guidelinesforcoaches....................35• Reportingcompetition.....................35• Guidelinesforjudges.......................36• Hostingaround...............................44• ChairingandTimekeeping...............48• Otherdebatingformats...................52• Cross-curriculardebate...................54• Extra-curriculardebate....................56• Winners............................................57• AbouttheESU/Map.......... backpage

TheEnglish-SpeakingUnionCentreforSpeechandDebate

ESUNationalSchoolsCompetitionsforDebatingandPublicSpeaking2006-2007

• APublicSpeakingcompetitionforteamsofthreestudentsfromYears10and11/S3andS4only.

What’sinthishandbook?• Welcome............................................4• Rules..................................................4• Calendarforthisyear........................4• Format...............................................5• GuidelinesforChairpersons...............8• GuidelinesforSpeakers....................9• GuidelinesforQuestioners..............12• GuidelinesforCoaches...................13• GuidelinesforJudges.......................14• Judges’marksheet..........................16• Timekeeper’ssheet..........................17• Curriculumlinks...............................18• Winners............................................19• Meettheteam..................................59• Mapofthecompetitions.......backpage• AbouttheESU.................... backpage

TheESUSchoolsMaceisproudtobesupportedbytheDepartment for Constitutional Affairs in our fi ftieth year

1956–2006

ESU Public SpeakingCompetitionfor Schools

Contents

• Welcome............................................4• Rules..................................................4• Calendarforthisyear........................4• Format...............................................5• GuidelinesforChairpersons...............8• GuidelinesforSpeakers....................9• GuidelinesforQuestioners..............12• GuidelinesforCoaches...................13• GuidelinesforJudges.......................14• Judges’marksheet..........................16• Timekeeper’ssheet..........................17• Curriculumlinks...............................18• Prizesandwinners...........................19• Meettheteam..................................49• Mapofthecompetitions.......backpage• AbouttheESU.................... backpage

Whatisit?• A competition featuring speeches on

topical themes chosen by competitorsfromourlistsofinterestingtopics.

• The Speaker is introduced by theChairperson and shows the ability tothinkontheirfeetwheninterviewedbytheQuestionerandtheaudience.

• In each 14-minute segment theChairpersonandQuestionercomefromadifferentschoolfromtheSpeaker.

Who’sitfor?• Teamsof threestudentsfromYears10

and11/S3andS4only.• FromEngland,ScotlandandWales

About the competition


Welcome from the National OrganiserTheESU isdelighted that you’vechosentotakepartinourSchoolsPublic Speaking Competition for2006-7.

Thepurposeofthecompetitionistogivecompetitorstheopportunityto demonstrate and develop

fundamentalskillsinpublicspeaking.Competitorsshouldbeencouragedtobelievethatenteringthecompetition isanachievement in itself,and thattheirpublicdialogueisagenuinecontributiontothecommunityandtofreespeech.

The Schools Public Speaking Competition wasstarted by the Brighton & Hove Branch of theESUin1960,andhassincegrowntobeamajorstimulus of effective spoken English in Britishschools.

It is intendedtosupporttheNationalCurriculumin English, which requires that students ‘speakand listen confi dently in a wide variety of contexts ... adapting what they say and how they say itto different situations and people’. The rolesof Chairperson and Questioner in particularcomplementthisdemand,whileallspeakersareof course fulfi lling many other requirements of the oralcurriculum(seepage18formoredetailsonhowpublicspeakingcomplementsthecurriculuminEngland,WalesandScotland).

This handbook should answer most of yourquestions about the competition. But if youhaveanyquestionsorsuggestionsregardingthecompetition,youcanaddressthemtomeat:

MerielTalbotNationalOrganiserPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsTheEnglish-SpeakingUnionDartmouthHouse37CharlesStreetLondonW1J5ED

Telephone:02075291550Fax:02074956108E-mail:[email protected]

Ihopeyouenjoythecompetition.

MerielTalbotNationalOrganiser

About the ESU Schools Public Speaking Competition

Rules about entry to the competition• Theclosingdateforentrytothecompetitionwas1

July,2006.Lateentriesareatthediscretionofthenational,regionalandbranchorganisers.

• Thereisanentryfeeof£30whichshouldbeintheform of a cheque made payable to The English-SpeakingUnionandsenttoDartmouthHouse.(A£10 discount is available for entries to both thePublicSpeakingcompetitionandtheSchoolsMacecompletedonlineatwww.britishdebate.com).

• Entry fees are payable once a paper or onlineapplicationhasbeensubmittedtotheESU.Teamsthat withdraw from the competition prior to the fi rst roundarestillrequiredtopaytheentryfee.

• However, once a school has sent in an entryform, it should regard itself as fi rmly committed tothecontest.Lastminutewithdrawalscauseenormous diffi culties and schools are urged toinclude a reserve in their team to minimise thepossibility of needing to withdraw. Inexperiencedteams have an excellent chance of success andschoolsshouldnotbediscouragedbecausetheyarenewtothecompetition.Overpreparationisasmuchofadangerasunder-preparation.

Rules about eligibility of your team• Teams consist of three students, who must be

preparing for GCSEs in years 10 or 11 (Englandand Wales) or for Standard Grades in S3 or S4(Scotland). Theymustall be full-timestudentsatthesameschoolorcollege.

• Students cannot be changed between roundsexceptinthecaseofillnessorbywrittenapplicationtotheOrganiseroftheround.

Rules about the composition of teams• Teamsconsistofthreespeakers: -TheChairperson -TheSpeaker -TheQuestioner• Inthecompetition,theSpeakercontributestothe

presentation of the Chairperson and Questionerfrom another school, thus suggesting the realitythatfacesavisitingpublicspeaker.

• There ismore informationabout theparticipants’rolesonpage6andpages8-12.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|IntroductionandRules|Page4


JUL

DEC

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

JAN

JUN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

1Deadlineforentriestothisyear’scompetition.

JunetoSeptemberTimeforyourschooltoprepareateamforentrytothecompetition.Considerhavinganin-schoolcompetitiontoselectyourteam(seep.13).

SeptembertoFebruary

Branchroundsmaybeheldatanytimeduringthesemonths:exactlywhendependsonyourlocalbranch.

Forbrancheswithalargernumberofcompetitors,theremaybetwobranchroundsbeforetheregional final.

Entriesopenfornextyear’scompetition.

12UKFinalbetweenallregionsinEngland,ScotlandandWalesatStPaul’sGirlsSchoolinLondon.

3OctINSETdayinLondon

A calendar for this year’s competition

FebruarytoMarch

RegionalFinalsmaybeheldatanytimeduringthesemonths.

Continuationofbranchrounds.

Thecompetitionconsistsofthreeorfourrounds:

• Oneortwobranchroundsareorganisedbyyourlocal branch organiser who will contact you atsomepointduringtheautumnterm.

• RegionalFinals(normallyinvolvingnomorethan8 schools) are organised by our Regional PublicSpeakingOrganisers.

• OneteamfromeachregiongoestotheUKFinal,organisedbytheESUinLondon.

Rules about topics for the speeches• Inthebranchandregionalroundsofthecompetition,

speakerscanchooseatopicfromalistissuedbytheESU.Thespeakermayspeakfororagainstthetopicasitisphrasedintheprogramme.

• For the national final, the ESU will assign a topic to eachschool.ThespeakermayspeakfororagainstthetopicasitisphrasedbytheESU.

• In the branch rounds, the Chairperson andQuestioner may (at the Branch Organiser’sdiscretion)beinformedofthelistoftopicschosenbyalltheparticipatingteams.TheactualtopicforeachpresentationwillberevealedbytheOrganiser30minutesbeforethecompetitionbegins.Thiswillofcoursedependonthecooperationoftheschoolstakingpart.

• At Regional Finals and at the National Final theChairperson and Questioner will be given theSpeaker’stopic30minutesbeforethestartofthecompetition.

About the structure of Branch, Regional and National Organisers• For administrative purposes, England, Wales

and Scotland are divided into regions which aresubdividedandallocatedtoESUbranches.

• Wherepossible,thoseschoolsoutsideexistingESUbranch areas will be allocated to an appropriateESUbranch.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|IntroductionandRules|Page5

2006 2007

AprilonwardsTimetothinkaboutpreparingfornextyear’s.Whynothaveanin-schoolcompetitiontoselectyourteam?(seep.13)


Format of a Public Speaking session

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|Format|Page6

Eachheat in thecompetitionconsistsofseveralsessions.Eachone runs in thefollowingorder:

• IntheBranchrounds:TheChairpersonandQuestionermaybeinformedofthetopicschosenbyalltheSpeakersintheround.TheactualtopicwillberevealedbytheOrganiser30minutesbeforethecompetitionbegins.

• AtRegionalandNationalFinals:TheChairpersonandQuestionerareinformedoftheir‘guest’Speaker’stopic30minutesbeforethestartofthecompetition.

Therestofeachsessionthencontinuesasfollows:

Minuteselapsed Speaker Chairperson Questioner

Introduction:TheChairpersonhas1minuteinwhichtoopenproceedingsandintroducethespeakerandthetopic.

Thespeech:TheSpeaker(whocomesfromanotherschool)has5minutestospeakfororagainstthetopicasprintedintheprogramme.Opposingviewsshouldbeexplored.

Questioner’sQuestions:TheChairpersoninvitestheQuestionertoquestiontheSpeakerfor4minutes. TheQuestionerasksbriefquestionsrelatingtothespeechtheyhavejustheard. TheSpeakergivessuccinctanswerstothequestionsposedbytheQuestioner.

AudienceQuestions:TheChairpersoninvitesmembersoftheaudiencetoaskquestionsfor2minutes.

TheSpeakeranswerstheaudience’squestionssuccinctly.

Summingup:TheChairpersonshouldendbothphasesofthequestionperiodpromptlyandthensumupthesessionandthankthespeakersinnotmorethan2minutes.

ENDOFSESSION:Thejudgesmaypenaliseindividualswhocontributetothesessionoverrunningitsallotted14minutes

Afterall thesessionshavebeencompleted, the judges retireandconsider theirverdict.

Announcement of the winners and getting feedback from the judgesFollowingtheirdeliberation,thejudgesalwaysannouncethewinningteam.Theymayalso,dependingonthebranchorregion,giveprizesforthebestChairperson,SpeakerandQuestioner(whomayormaynotcomefromthewinningteam).Theywillalsogivesomegeneralfeedbacktoallcompetitors.

Followingthecloseofproceedingssomeofthejudgeswillalsomakethemselvesavailable to teams and speakers to give individual feedback. This is a greatopportunity for teams to get some specific suggestions on what they have done wellandhowtheycan improve.Pleasedon’tusethis timetoattackthe judges’decision–weknowyoumaynotalwaysagreewith theirdecision,but listeningpolitelytothemwillhelpyouunderstandit.

FormoreaboutthecriteriathatthejudgesuseformarkingtheSchoolsPublicSpeakingCompetition,lookatour‘GuidelinesforJudgesonpages14-15.


Judges

Speaker Chair Questioner

Timekeeper

Setting up the room• A table that seats three speakers should be

placedatoneendoftheroom.TheChairpersonshouldsitbetweentheSpeaker(whocomesfromanotherschool)andtheQuestioner.

• Thejudge’stableshouldbeplacedattherearoftheroom,orhalfwaydowniftheroomislarge.

The Timekeeper• The Timekeeper should be appointed by the

organiserandkeeparecordoftimetaken(usingthesheetonpage17).OncealltheteamshavespokentheTimekeepershouldgiveallthetimingstothejudges.

• An audible signal will be given after five minutes oftheSpeaker’sspeech,andanotherattheendofthe14minutes.

ChairpersonTask:torunthemeeting

TheChairpersonisresponsibleforcreatingtherightatmospherefortheteam’sparticipation.

TheChairpersonmustintroducetheSpeakerandthetopicbut avoid saying toomuchabout the subjectand show impartiality throughout the presentation.The introduction should also explain briefly the backgroundoftheSpeaker.TheSpeakerisexpectedtoprovidetheChairpersonwithsuchdetails.

TheChairpersonmayalsorepeatorrephrasequestionsfromtheaudienceiftheythinkitnecessary.

Inaddition,theChairpersonwillsumuptheSpeaker’smainargumentsandthanktheparticipantsattheendof thesession,beingcareful tostaywithinthetimelimits.

SpeakerTask:topersuadetheaudiencetosupporttheirviewofthetopic.

TheSpeakercomesfromadifferentschoolfromthatoftheChairpersonandQuestioner.

The Speaker’s responsibility is to develop a line ofreasoning which must be supported by relevantinformation. The most effective speeches show anawarenessofbothsidesofthequestionbutleadtoafirm conclusion on one side or the other.

The Speaker also has the responsibility to answerquestions, and as such should do so briefly and convincinglywithoutmonopolisingtheplatform.

Effectivepresentationshouldnotbeconfusedwithadramaticperformance.

QuestionerTask:toquestiontheSpeaker.

The Questioner asks for elaboration, clarification, correction and alternative lines of argument, as aninformedinterviewerratherthanasanadversary.TheQuestionerwillprobablydevelopalternativelinesofargumentbutshouldnotgiveaseparatespeech.

Skills Summary• AgoodChairpersonshouldlistenwell,beclearly

incharge,bebriefyettothepoint,beattentivetotheneedsofthespeakersandtheaudience.

• AgoodSpeakershouldneverreadanessay.Heorsheshouldbestructured,bepersuasiveandbeconsciousoftheimpactofverbalandnon-verballanguage.

• A good Questioner should be a superlativelistener, knowledgeable on many differentsubjects,brief,tothepointandpolite.

• Agoodteamwillworkhardtoensurethateachmembercandotheirjobwell-thecompetitionis specifically designed to show the inter-related natureofspeaking,listeningandquestioning.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|Format|Page7


Guidelines for Chairpersons

Themessageis:

Youareincharge

Theskillsbeing taught in theESUCompetitionarebroadlymodelledon thoseyouwouldbeexpectedtouse ifyouhad invitedaguestspeaker toattendthemeeting.Everyone looks toyou toset the toneand run an efficient meeting. Make sure you know the rules,especiallyabouttiming,andhaveawatch.

You are in charge from the startIf the competition organiser asks you to take yourteamonto thestageassoonas theprevious teamhas finished and while the judges are still doing their assessment,youmaybeleftsittingtherefortwoorthreeminutes.Youcanactashosttotheothertwowithyoubyofferingthemwaterandengagingthemin quiet conversation, while keeping an eye on thejudges/organiser to know when they are ready tostart.Check that freshwater ison the tablebeforeyoutakeyourplaces.

Set the tone with your first wordSet the tone with the first word you say. The way you say “Good ...” in “Good afternoon” or “Goodevening”will tell theaudiencewhetherthis isgoingtobeawell-organisedmeetingornot.Sosmileandhit that first word.

IntroductionsStartyourwatch.Youhaven’tmuchtime.Theaudienceonly really needs the basic information: who? andwhat?FirstintroducetheSpeakerbyname.Anditistheaudiencewhoneedstoknowthename,nottheSpeaker!DonotturntotheSpeakerasyousaythename:giveittotheaudience.Thengivethetopic.

Next, the audience need to know the Speaker’squalifications for speaking on this topic. They do not needalotofirrelevantbiographicaldetail.FindtimebeforethespeechtoasktheSpeaker.

You do not need to outline the procedure for themeeting. Ifyouhavetimeyoucansayafewwordsabout the topic if you are confident that you can make arelevantandevenhandedcomment.Ifnot,makeapassingreferencetothetopic,handoverpleasantlytotheSpeaker-andsitdown.

Youarestillinchargeduringthespeech.Youcannotrelaxnow.Your job is tokeeporder in themeeting

(notusuallyaproblem)andtosupport theSpeakerbypayingcloseandpoliteattention to thespeech.Perfect the art of looking at the Speaker and theaudience at the same time. React to jokes with asmile. If the Speaker overruns wait for about fifteen seconds and then find a pause to stay seated but murmur quietly to the Speaker “Could you finish off now?”(orpointsubtlytoyourwatch!)

QuestionsInvitetheQuestionertoquestiontheSpeaker.Thisisthe most difficult part to control. Some Questioners trytoasklongandinvolvedquestionseithertouseupthetimeortomaketheirownspeech.Don’tletthem.Youareincharge.WhetherthequestioncomesfromtheQuestionerortheaudience,risetoyourfeetafter15 to 30 seconds and ask them firmly but politely to state their question briefly. Similarly, the Speaker shouldbegivenaboutthirtysecondsorsotoansweror there will be no time for further questions. Youhavetouseyour judgementhere.Youalsohavetouseyourjudgementtodecidewhethertorephraseaquestion or repeat it. If you do, do it as briefly as you can.Keepyoureyeonyourwatch.

ConclusionFinally you are asked to sum up the Speaker’smain arguments and some of the points raised bythe Questioner and the audience. You should havenotedkeythemesinthespeechasitwasdeliveredand any important points raised in the questions,particularly any thatwerenot fully answeredor leftindispute.Giveyourselfaminuteormoretoremindthe audience of these and then thank the SpeakerandQuestioner.YoumayleadtheapplauseandonlyconducttheSpeakerandQuestionerfromthestageasthisdiesdown.

Skills SummaryYoushouldnowknowhowto:

• setupthemeeting• introducetheSpeakerandQuestioner• support the Speaker in an even handed

manner• encourageandcontrolquestions• summarisethemeetingandendthingstidily.

Andyoushouldknowwhoisincharge!

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforChairpersons|Page8


Guidelines for Speakers

Topic selectionYour first problem is which topic to choose. Broadly theydivideintotwotypes:

• Thosetopicsyouknowalotabout• Thosetopicsyouwouldliketoknowmoreabout.

While it might seem a good idea to immediatelychoose a topic out of the first category, you might alsoconsiderspeakingonatopicyouwouldliketoknowmoreabout;yourapproachtoitmaybefresher,and thepathyou follow throughyour researchandpreparation will alert you to ways you can make itinterestingtotheaudience.

Youshould thenprepareastatementof intent foryourspeech.

Trytocompletethefollowingsentence:“AttheendofmyspeechIwanttohavepersuadedmyaudiencethat ... ” For example, “At the end of my speech Iwant tohavepersuadedmyaudience that takingayearofftovisitAfricabeforegoingtouniversityisofgreat benefit to them”.

Watchouttoo,thatyourstatementofintentonlytalksaboutonegeneralidea.

Check that your statement of intent passes thefollowingfourtests:

• Itispossibletodiscussthetopicinthenecessarytime(avoidinggoingoverorunderthelimit).

• Thetopicisrelevanttoyouraudienceandwillholdtheirattention.

• Thetopicisnottootrivial.• Thetopicisnottootechnical.

Younowhaveatopic,andastatementofintent.

From this point you should write down (in onesentenceonly)theareasthatyouwilldiscuss,wewillcallthisthetheme:

“The major benefits of a gap year are getting toseesomeof theworld, takingabreakfromstudying,developinginitiativeandself-reliance,andhelpingotherpeople.”

Note:Youwillnotdeliverthestatementofintentandthethemewillnotbepartofthespeechyoudeliver,buttheywillhelpyoufocusonthemessageyouaregiving.

Structuring your speechOne of the areas in which speakers new to thecompetition often lose marks is that of structure.Structure enables your audience to judge manythings.

In particular it allows them to assess generalreasonswhyyourparticularplanofactionshouldbeconsidered.

Thisisonereasonwhystructureissoimportant–theessenceofagoodspeech is tobuildanargument.Bybeingstructuredyoualsogiveyouraudienceanaid to rememberingyourspeechand itskeypoints–afterallyouonlyhaveonechance.

Bynowyouwillhavea topic,astatementof intentandatheme.Youshouldalsohavecompletedsomeresearch on your topic, so that you are able to listsomeevidenceinsupportofyouridea.

You should now try to fit this information into a framework, or speechoutline. This is the skeletonwhichyouwilluseasthebasisofyourpresentation.Itcontains:

• Anintroduction,whichseizestheattentionofyouraudience, and tells them what the point of yourspeechis.

• Some main points, which are the pieces ofevidenceorthesub-topicswhichyouaregoingtousetosupportyourcase.

• Aconclusion,whichtiesthespeechtogetherforyouraudience,andremindsthemofwhatitisyouwantedtoachievebyspeakingtothem.

Theoutlinewillallowyoutogiveyourspeechwithoutwritingitout.Noticehowitfollowstheruleofthree– ‘Tell themwhatyou’ll tell them, tell them,andtellthemwhatyoutoldthem’.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforSpeakers|Page9


Introductions and conclusionsIntroductionsandconclusionsaresomeofthemostdifficult parts of your speech. You could practise different introductions and conclusions in front ofdifferentpeople:parents,teachersandfriends.Thiswayyoucanassesswhichisthemosteffective,andwhichtheleasteffective.

Also, be sure to rehearse your introduction andconclusion so that they are almost or completelymemorised (each should be no more than 10% ofyour speech, so this should not be difficult). That way theywillbethemosteffective,yourdeliverywillnotstumble, and you will be able to maintain effectiveeye contact throughout that crucial first 30 seconds.

IntroductionsPeople make snap decisions about whether or nottheywant to listen toyou,whetherornot they likeyou,andwhetherornotyouhaveanythinginterestingto say within the first thirty to forty seconds of hearing youspeak.Thisfactaloneshouldmeanthatyouinvesttimeandenergyinmakingsurethatyourintroductionis flawless. This applies as much to Chairpersons and QuestionersasitdoestoSpeakers.

Given that your introduction is so important, youshouldthinkaboutthebestwayofmakingiteffective.Naturally your introduction will start with words ofgreeting to your audience.However youmust thengettheaudienceinterestedinyourspeech.

• Relatethetopictotheaudience:Considerwhatthe priorities and interests of your audience are.Then work out why your topic fits in with these themesorhowitrelatestothoseideas.

• Show the importance of your topic: Show theaudiencetheimportanceofthespeech-howmanythousandsofpeopleitaffects,howmuchmoneyisinvolved,howmanypeoplearehurtorsaved.

• Surprise the audience: You could start yourspeechwithaquotationand/oraquestion.

• Give the audience a story: Listeners respondveryfavourablytonarratives-theycanbeaveryeffectivewaytorelateyourtopictoyouraudience.Inparticularifsomepopularstory(nurseryrhyme,or fairytales) embodies a principle you wish todiscuss, then thiswill alsoproveeffective. If youhavepersonalexperience,useit.

ConclusionsWhereasintroductionsservethepurposeofgainingyour audience’s attention, conclusions are the lastchanceyouwillhavetogetacrossyourmainidea.

• Youmightchoosetoendwithaquotation.Thisisaformofappealtoauthority.Byindicatingtoyouraudience that someone else has thought aboutyour topic youcan lendcredibility andweight toyourownspeech.

• Refer to your introduction: This can serve todraw thespeech toaneffectiveclosebecause itdemonstratestheunityofyourideas.Itisoftenagoodideatoplanyourintroductionlastinordertoachievethis.

Persuasion in theory and practiceAudienceswillbemorepersuadedofyourmessageifyoushow:

• Character:Audiencesbelievethatyouaretellingthem this information for the right reasons, notbecause you want to sell them something, orbecauseyouhaveahiddenagenda.

• Competence: Audiences believe that you arecompetent to tell them what they want to hear.Youarenotdiscussingasubject inapretentiousway,norareyoutalkingaboutasubjectwhichyouwould be unqualified to speak on.

Thesetwofactorscontributetoaspeaker’scredibility,and broadly speaking an audience’s reaction toyour speech will fall into four categories. They arepersuadedbecause:

• Youareaspeakerwithhighcredibility• Yourevidenceiscompelling• Yourreasoningiscompelling• Yourspeechappealstotheaudience’semotional

responses.

You should be aware that people start makingjudgements the moment that they first see you. As suchyouneedtobe‘incompetitionmode’,assoonasyouarriveatthecompetition.

Do not pick a topic in which it would be difficult for you to develop credibility. Credibility is somethinggiven to you by your audience, so think carefullyabouttheappropriatenessofyourtopic.

Make sure that you spend time doing research.Rumour,hearsay,“Mymumsaid...”andotherformsof anecdotal evidence are not very persuasive. Inadditionmakesurethattheevidenceyouchoosetouseisfromacrediblesource.

Make sure you think about your reasoning – avoidstatements with logical flaws.

Think very carefully about the emotional impact ofyour speech. Do not make it into a sob story, butavoidtheabsenceofanyfeelingwhatsoever.



DeliveryGood delivery is absolutely vital. Unfortunately ifyour audience is distracted by odd mannerisms orslipsofgrammarorstyle,thentheywillbelesslikelytohear yourmessage.Donot stand in frontof theChairpersonwhiledeliveringyourspeech.

Verbal

Ifyoucan,arriveearlyforyourcompetitionandstandatthefrontoftheroomandgetfriendstostandwherethejudgeswillbe(normallyrightattheback)totellyouwhethertheycanhearyouornot.

• Rate:Areyouspeakingtooquickly?Agoodthingto ask yourself is “Am I speaking too slowly?” Ifyouthinktheansweris“Yes”thenyouareprobablyspeakingattherightrate.

• Pauses:Doyouusepausestoaddimpacttoyourspeechordoyousimplyracethroughit?

• Variety:Doyouvaryyourvoice?Doesthepitchofyourvoiceriseduringquestions?Doesthevolumeofyourvoicedecreasewhenyouaredescribingaquietmoment?

• Pronunciation/Articulation: Do you find any words in your speech difficult to pronounce? If so, askafriendorteacherforhelp.Getthemallright.

• Language: Is your language appropriate? Avoidslang terms thatmaynotbeunderstoodbyyouraudience.Note:TheEnglish-SpeakingUnionPublicSpeaking competition is nationwide. As such weactively encourage speakers not to imitate someidea of ‘received pronunciation’. However youmustbeabletocommunicatetoeveryone,notjustyourownlocality.

Non-verbal

• Gestures:Doyouusegestureeffectively?Doyouovergesture?

• Appearance: Are you appropriately dressed?Although the ESU competition is certainly not afashion parade, your appearance is part of theimpressionyoumakeontheaudience.

• Movement:Doyoumovearoundtoomuchwhenyouspeak?Isthereapointinyourspeechwhereyoushouldmoveinordertoemphasissomeaspectofwhatyouaresaying?

• Eyecontact:Doyoumaintaingoodeye-contact?Usingnotestospeakfrom,ratherthanmemorisingyourspeechwillhelpthisconsiderably.

Studies have shown that effective delivery weighsequallywithcontent in termsof the impactof yourmessage.Ifyouraudiencecanonlyseeyouswayingwhilstyoutalk,orareconstantlyworriedthatyouarenotlookingatthem,thentheywillbeunabletohearthemessageyouaretryingtotellthem.

Skills SummaryAttheendofthissectionyoushouldbeawareofthefollowing:

• How tochoosea topic for your speech, stateyourintent,andwriteoutthecentralideabehindyourspeech.

• How to write out the skeleton of yourspeech, and understand what goes into yourintroduction,mainpoints andconclusion.Youshouldalsoseethat it isunnecessarytowriteoutyourspeech indetail,sinceyourstructurewillremindyouofwhatyouwanttosay.

• How to make an impact with your openingand closing remarks. You should be awareof different ways of making an effectiveintroduction or conclusion, and shouldrecognisetheimportanceofdeliveringthemaswellaspossible.

• How to ensure you can present persuasiveevidenceinawell-reasonedmannerbasedoncompetentresearch.

• How to vary your verbal and non-verbalpresentation to improve your public speakingskills.

Findtherightbalance–nottoolittlegesture,andnottoomuch.

✗ ✗

Itdoesn’ttaketoomuchefforttoavoidlookingamess!

✓ ✗

Palm-cardscanbeagreathelpinkeepingeye-contact,buteventhenremembertolookup.

✓ ✗



Guidelines for Questioners

Good listeningGood listening isvital forallmembersof the team.Belowaresometipsforimprovingyourlisteningskills,sothatyoucanpickoutthemainpointsofwhattheotherspeakersaresaying.

Badlisteninghabitsareusuallycausedby:

✗ Not listening: Focussing on other tasks whichyou need to do, homework that you have yet tocomplete,chorestodoathome.

✗ Listeningtoomuch:Tryingtonotedates,times,places, indeed all the information in the speech.Trytoextractthemainthemeswhichthespeakerisusing.

✗ Jumping to conclusions: Assuming that thespeakerhassaidsomethingwhichtheyhavenot.

✗ Focussing on delivery: Although audiences payagreatdealofattentiontodelivery,ifyouwanttogain themost fromapresentationyoushouldtryandfocusinsteadonwhatisbeingsaid,nothowitisbeingsaid.

To avoid some of these pitfalls, practise takingnotes while speakers are delivering a presentation.Comparewhatyougotoutof thepresentationwithsomeoneelse.Seehereyoudiffer,anddiscusswhyyou differed. If you can, compare your notes withsomeonewhohasa lotof experience takingnotes(your parents or your teachers), and see how theystructuredtheirnotes.

Good questioningOftensomeonewhoisagoodquestionerintheESUcompetitionhastheabilityto:

✓Bespontaneous✓Seek clarification: “Could you explain in more

detail what you meant by ... ?”. However, youshould avoid letting the speaker make anotherspeech; otherwise you might never get to yoursecondquestion.

✓AsktheSpeakerformoreevidencetosupportaclaimtheyhavemade.Inparticularyoushouldaskyourself whether the information is (a) accurate,(b) objective – is it biased by the source?, (c)relevant or (d) sufficient?

✓Suggestanareafordiscussionthathasnotbeencovered.

✓Pointoutcontradictionsorlapsesinthelogicoftheargument.

✓SuggestareasofdisagreementbetweenyourselfandtheSpeaker,orperhapsofferacounter-point.

Itisworthbearinginmindthatgoodquestioninginthecompetitionismosteffectivewhenitisn’tcombative.A good Questioner should raise issues, circulateideasandpointoutareasinwhichthespeakercoulddeveloptheirideasfurther.ItisnotthepurposeoftheQuestionertoembarrasstheSpeaker,ortohighlightmistakesorignoranceofparticularissues.Politenessis key, and barracking, or debate-style questioningshouldbeavoided.

Skills SummaryAttheendof thissectionyoushouldbeabletoidentifysomepitfallsofbadlisteningandhowyoucanimproveyourownlisteningskills.Inadditionyou should understand what makes a goodQuestioner.

A good Questioner listensfirst to hear what the Speaker issaying...

... and then makes a fewnotestohelpthemrememberwhat’sbeensaid.

Lateronyou’lluseyournotestoquestiontheSpeaker.Aswellasengagingthemindiscussion,remembertolookoutattheaudienceaswell!

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforQuestioners|Page12


Guidelines for coaches

Readingtheguidelinesonthepreviouspageswillgiveyouagoodideaofwhatstepsyourteammemberswillneedtotaketoprepareforthecompetition,butthispage contains some further ideas on specific ways that youcan improveyour school’sperformance inthecompetition.

Selecting a teamSelectingtherightpeoplefortherightrolesonateamisacrucialpartofsuccessinthiscompetition.

The ESU likes to view both of its competitions asextendingbeyondtheactualroundsthemselvesandbeing an integral part of the internal calendar forparticipatingschools.Sorather thansimplypickingyourteamfromthesmallgroupof‘familiarsuspects’whoalwaysappear inprogrammesfor theGifted&Talented, why not involve more students by havingan in-school selectionprocesswhich isopen toallstudents?

Thiscould take the formofacompetition (perhapsbetween forms or English classes) where eachclass selects their own Chairperson, Speaker andQuestionerwhogoeson toparticipate inyourownpreliminaryroundinschool.

From this, you can then pick the best participantsto go on to represent your school in the first round ofthemainESUcompetition.Youmayverywellbesurprisedbytheresults...

RememberthatyoucanpickstudentsfromYears10and11/S3andS4.Itmaybeagoodideatopickatleastonestudentfromtheyoungeryeargroup,whocould then pass on their experience as a potentialmemberofnextyear’steam.

Training a teamOver-preparation isasmuchofadangerasunder-preparation for a competition of this kind, so it isimportant to strike a balance between sufficient practiceandbecomingstale.

Here are some ideas which you may find useful, if you havethetimeduringyourpreparationperiod:

• After you have discussed initial ideas, get allthreeofyour teammemberstodoan initialdraftof a main speech on your chosen topic withoutconferring any further. After everyone’s deliveredtheirversion, theteamcandiscussthevariationsandcherry-pickthebestideas.

• Once the main speech is nearing completion,experiment with another speaker (perhapssomeone from outside the team) delivering it;the ‘real’Speakermaydiscoversome interestingnew possibilities. Or the Speaker could deliver itcompletely without notes and ad-lib improvisedideas where necessary. This kind of activity willhelpkeepthespeechfresh.

• Ask the Speaker to give impromptu speecheson other topics to give the Chairperson and theQuestioner a chance to develop the spontaneitythatisessentialfortheirroles.

• Makesurethewholeteamgetsachancetopractiseinfrontofanaudiencebeforethebigday.Perhapsthey could speak first to a classful of students beforehavingagoinfrontofayearassembly.Yourfirst round audience will be much smaller than a wholeyeargroupso if theycandothis theteamwill feel entirely confident in their initial heat.

After the competitionAn inevitable fact of any competition is that someteamsgetknockedoutinthepreliminarystages.Thebestwaytoputapositiveslantonthisistoseethecompetitionasastartingpointforfurtheractivities:

• You could start up a regular speakers’ clubwherestudentsmeetonaregularbasistodeliverspeechesontopicsthatareimportanttothem.

• YoucouldusetheformatasthebasisforconductingEnglishoralexaminationslaterintheyear.

Anddon’tforgettomakesurethatyourschoolandlocalnewspaperscarryastoryonyoursuccess.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforCoaches|Page13


Guidelines for judges

Key elements for judgingThe following are key elements in thecompetition:

• acoherentlypresentedargument• demonstration of the ability to think on one’s

feet• presenceontheplatform• rapportwiththeaudience• audibility

Itisimportantthatcompetitorsshouldnotappearover-preparedor tootiedtoanynotestheyuse.Spontaneous comments are to a speaker’scredit.

All three roles are challenging and require theabilitytolisten,thinkandrespond.

The competition offers students an opportunityto develop and demonstrate a style of publicdialoguethat is livelybutnotadversarial.This isnotawar!

The importance of good judgingCompetitorsandspectatorsmustbesureofthecompetence of the judges if they are to accepttheirdecisions.Ofcoursepraiseshouldbegivenbut asa consequenceof theevidencenot asabenigngenerality.

Judgesshouldrememberthatthemajorityofthecompetitors fail to get further than the first round. Itisthereforeessentialthatjudgingisofashighaqualityaspossibleatthisstageinthecompetitiontogiveallcompetitorsasenseofhavingachievedsomethingpositiveandworthwhile.

FeedbackBefore announcing the winners, the panel ofjudges (oroneof itsmembers) isasked toofferconstructivecriticismandadvicetothespeakers.Judges may be asked to speak and givecommentsononeofthethreeroles,andarealsoaskedtodiscussthedecisionswithcompetitorsafter the programme, provided that competitorsandcoachesdonot abuse thisopportunity anduseittoattackthedecisions.

Reserve teamsIn addition to picking out the winning team, thejudgesareaskedtoselectareserveteamincasethewinnersaresubsequentlyunabletoparticipateinthenextround.

CriteriaJudgeswillassessteamsprincipallybyreferencetothreecriteria.

• Content• Effectivenessintherole• Style

The constituent elements of these three categoriesareexplainedontheoppositepage.

The Judges’ MarksheetMaximum marks for a school are 100, divided asfollows:

• 30pointsfortheChairperson• 40pointsfortheSpeaker• 30pointsfortheQuestioner

As a guide, the marks should be distributed in thefollowingway:

• Excellent 90-100%ofavailablemarks• Good 70-80%• Average 50-60%• Belowaverage30-40%• Poor 10-20%

Although your marks are a valuable guide indiscussion,youshouldnotfeeltiedtothem:theyareyourguidetoarankorder.

Themarksapplytothestandardsofthiscompetition,not to any notional universal dimension of publicspeaking excellence or National Curriculumstandards.

Judges are requested to write explanatory andconstructivecommentsontheirmarksheets;Judgesmust remember that the competition is also anopportunity to learn and improve public speakingtechniquesand thatadjudicatorsarecentral to thiseducationalprocess.

Completedmarksheetsshouldbehandedinattheendtotheorganiser.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforJudges|Page14


Content15marksoutof30forChairsandQuestioners20marksoutof40forSpeakers

Itshouldbeevident fromagoodspeech,question,introduction or summary that the competitor hascarefullyconsideredthetopic.Thecompetitorshoulddemonstrateanunderstandingoftheissuesinvolvedin the case and an ability to construct a logicalargument.

Carefullyselectedandrelevantevidenceisimportant.Irrelevance should be penalised. Weak or frivolousinterpretations of the topic are unlikely to besuccessful.

Effectiveness in role10marksoutof30forChairsandQuestioners10marksout40forSpeakers

Althougheachpersonwillneedtodrawonskillssuchas those relating to content and style, each role isdistinctive:

The Chairperson opens proceedings and mustswiftlycreateanappropriateatmosphere.Heorsheintroduces the speakers and the topic and at theendsumsupandthanksbothspeakers.ItispartoftheChairperson’sroletointroducethetopicwithoutgivingaspeech.

WhentheSpeaker’sspeechisover,theChairpersonasks the Questioner to begin questioning theSpeaker.After fourminutes theChairpersonshouldinvite questions (which should be kept short) fromthe audience. The Chairperson should rephrase aquestion from the audience where necessary, butneednot followoneprocedure throughout. It is theChairperson’s responsibility to end the questionperiodifitgoesbeyondsixandahalfminutes.

At the end of the question period the ChairpersonshouldbeabletosumuptheissuesraisedbybothSpeakerandquestioners,andshouldthankeveryonebeforeclosingtheproceedings.ItistheChairperson’sjobtomanagethetimingofthewholesession.

TheSpeakerdevelopsalineofargumentonthetopicwhich must be supported by relevant information.Reasonsmustbegivenforviews.TheSpeakermayspeakfororagainstthetopicasitisphrasedintheprogramme. It is not enough merely to assert thatsomethingisrightorwrong.

As the Speaker has the longest uninterruptedopportunity to develop an argument it is importantthat the speechholds theaudience’sattentionandthat it is clearly structured. A natural style that isnot overprepared will be rewarded. Spontaneouscommentsthatareappropriatetothemomentareto

beencouraged.

The Speaker should demonstrate an ability toanswer questions sensibly and should not try tomonopolisetheplatforminordertoavoidansweringfurtherquestions.TheQuestionermustbegiventheopportunitytoaskquestions.

The Questioner probes the Speaker’s statementsandviewsand,asappropriate, shouldquestion forelaboration, clarification, correction and alternative linesofargument.

The Questioner is not an adversary; rather he orshe is a courteous, probing interviewer who candemonstrate an understanding of the issues raisedandwhocanchallengealineofargumentbyputtingforwardanalternativeviewonbehalfoftheaudienceandawiderpublic.

TheQuestionershoulddemonstratethatheorsheisagoodlistenerwhoisabletopickuponpointsmadeby the Speaker as well as asking some preparedquestions.

Questionsshouldbebriefbutthewayinwhichtheyarephrasediscrucial.TheQuestionermayinterruptthe Speaker during the question period if, forexample,theresponseisbecomingtoolongoriftheQuestioner wishes to seek immediate clarification. The Questionerwillberewardedforaskingareasonablenumberofquestions.

Style5marksoutof30forChairsandQuestioners10marksout40forSpeakers

Style may be defined as rhetorical skill. It covers not whatissaidbuthowitissaid.Thefollowingareasareallrelevant.

• The speakers’ ability to express themselvesclearly

• Theextenttowhichtheindividualdevelopsrapportwiththeaudience

• Varietyofvoice• Appropriateuseofhumour• Diction: choice of language and fluency

Thespeakersareexpectedtodisplayoratoricalskills,but an unnecessarily flamboyant or pretentious style isunlikelytobesuccessful.

Thosewhoreadascriptorgivetheimpressionofrecitingamemorisedpieceshouldbepenalised.The use of pre-prepared sheets and palmcards, or notes made during the speeches, isentirelyappropriate,butspeakersshouldnotbeoverdependentonthem.

Theuseofpropsisstronglydiscouraged.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforJudges|Page15

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ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|Marksheet|Page16

Schoolname:

GuestSpeakerTeam:

ChairmanIntroduction

(1min)

GuestSpeaker(5mins)

Questioner(4mins)

AudienceQuestions

(2mins)

ChairmanSummary(2mins)

SessionTotal(14mins)

Ownspeaker(5mins)

Duration:

Cumulative:

Comments:

Schoolname:

GuestSpeakerTeam:


(1min)

GuestSpeaker(5mins)

Questioner(4mins)

AudienceQuestions

(2mins)



Ownspeaker(5mins)

Duration:

Cumulative:

Comments:

Schoolname:

GuestSpeakerTeam:


(1min)

GuestSpeaker(5mins)

Questioner(4mins)

AudienceQuestions

(2mins)



Ownspeaker(5mins)

Duration:

Cumulative:

Comments:

Schoolname:

GuestSpeakerTeam:


(1min)

GuestSpeaker(5mins)

Questioner(4mins)

AudienceQuestions

(2mins)



Ownspeaker(5mins)

Duration:

Cumulative:

Comments:

ESU Public Speaking Timekeeper’s sheet

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|Timekeeper’ssheet|Page17


Curriculum links

Oracy across the curriculumTeachers inallsubjectscanmakeuseoftheESU’sPublicSpeakingformatasawayofstructuringoralworkinaday-to-dayclassroomsetting.

Whether your subject is History, Geography, ICT,Religious Studies, Science, Music or PE there willbe an infinite range of topics on which a Speaker can give a presentation and then be interviewedby a Questioner and the rest of the class, with aChairpersonoverseeingtheproceedings.

Of course, speaking activities have a specific place aspartofthecurriculuminEnglishandoralskillsareformallyexamined inEnglishat16.Assuch, itmaymake sense for your English department to agreeto introduce theESUPublicSpeaking format toallstudents so it can then be used easily by all otherdepartmentsinyourschool.

The English curriculum in England & WalesTheformatdetailedinthishandbookhelpsyoumeetmany requirements for aspects of the compulsoryandadvisorycurriculuminEnglandandWales.

• NationalCurriculumforEnglishatKS4 TheformataddressesalltargetsinEn1/1(Speaking)

with the exception of 1d (visual aids), althoughthecompetition’srulesonthiscanberelaxedforclassroomuse.Our judgingcriteriaonpages14-15canbeusedinregardto1g(self-evaluation).

The roles of the Questioner and Chairperson areparticularlypertinentinmeetingalltherequirementsofEn1/2(Listening).

The ESU format’s different roles are an excellentvehicle for delivering the stipulation in En1/3(Group discussion and interaction) that studentsmake“differenttypesofcontributionstogroups”.

• SecondaryNationalStrategy(LiteracyStrand) Looking at National Strategy targets shows how

PublicSpeakingdevelopsmanyskillsoutsidethecurriculum’sexplicit‘Speaking&Listening’remit.

Goodspeechesrequireexcellentskillsofresearch(Y7R1&R2,Y8R2,Y9R1),evaluation(Y7R5,Y9R4)andsynthesis (Y8R1,Y9R2).Themakingofnotes,andtheirsubsequentuse(Y7R4,Y8R3,Y9R3),hasalreadybeendiscussedonpages11and12ofthisguide.

TheWritingtripletsareall justasmuchSpeaking& Listening triplets, as exemplified by Y8 Wr13 (Persuade, Argue, Advise): “present a casepersuasively, making selective use of evidence,using appropriate rhetorical devices andanticipatingresponsesandobjections”.

Speaking&Listeningtargetsmet include,amongmanyothers,Y7S&L5(Speaker),Y7S&L6andY9S&L3(Questioner)andY7S&L10(Chairperson).

• GCSEoralassessments The ESU Public Speaking format addresses all

three sets of the QCA’s GCSE oral triplets andall three roles meet the requirements for GroupDiscussion and Interaction, particularly if theSpeaker’s preparation is carried out as part of agroup,usingthemethodsdiscussedonpage13,withtheSpeakerthenrotatingtotakepartalongsideaChairandQuestionerfromanothergroupasinaheatoftheESU’scompetition.

TheSpeaker’sroleaspartofafullsessionisperfectforassessinganIndividualExtendedContribution.

In general, the competition’s format meets therequirements for oral assessment that students“adopt roles” (AO1 (iii)), engage actively in bothspeakingand listening (AO1(ii))anddeliverclear,imaginative, structured talk in a formal situation(AO1(i)).

21st Century ScienceThe ESU Public Speaking format is invaluablein addressing England and Wales’ new Sciencecurriculum’srequirementthatstudentscan“takepart confidently in discussions with others about issues involving science”. Roles such as theQuestioner’sassisttherequirementthattheycan“reflect critically on the information included in [science]reports”.

Standard Grade English in ScotlandThe main purposes of Listening and Talking are allmetbyourformat.

TheESUPublicSpeakingCompetition’s frameworkof simulating a public meeting helps meet therequirement that Talking assessment at StandardGradeensuresstudentsareclearabout“whospeaksto whom, why, about what, how and when (andpossibly,forhowlong)?”

The fact that Speakers start with a substantialcontributiononwhichtheyarethenquestionedshowshow our format agrees with the SQA’s suggestionthat a “pupil [may] start with a reasonably lengthystatement of the main concerns, at which point hemay be assessed for Individual Talk. Later he mayfind himself displaying the characteristics of a good group participant, giving and receiving points in aresponsiveandtactfulmanner”.

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|Curriculumlinks|Page18


Winners

Last year’s UK finalists• RobertGordon’sCollege(Scotland)• StMary’sCollege(NorthWest)• AmpleforthCollege(NorthEast)• CheltenhamLadies’College(Midlands)• StColumba’sCollege(East)• QueenElizabeth’sHospital(SouthWest)• FfynoneHouseSchool(Wales)• WallingtonCountyGrammarSchool(London)• BeechwoodSacredHeartSchool(SouthEast)

Winners at last year’s UK Finals Day• Winners CheltenhamLadies’College

• Runners-up FfynoneHouseSchool

• BestChair DominicThomas-JamesfromFfynoneHouse

• BestSpeaker PatrickGaretyofAmpleforthCollege

• BestQuestioner LucindaHicksfromCheltenhamLadies’College

• OutstandingPersonality TomPye,thespeakerforQueenElizabeth’s

Hospital

International Competition• After the UK Final, the Best Speaker will be

invitedtorepresenttheUnitedKingdomintheESUInternationalPublicSpeakingCompetitioninMay2008.

Former winners of the competition1986 UrsulineConventHighSchool,London1987 TheHolyChildSchool,Birmingham1988 ChichesterHighSchoolforBoys, WestSussex1989 AmpleforthCollege,York1990 Bancroft’sSchool,Essex1991 Haberdashers’Aske’sSchoolforGirls,Herts1992 NottinghamHighSchoolforGirls1993 NottinghamHighSchoolforGirls1994 AylesburyGrammarSchool,Bucks1995 TauntonSchool,Somerset1996 StClotilde’sSchool,Glos1997 WadebridgeSchool,Cornwall1998 StBernardsConventSchool,Berks1999 RedMaidsSchool,Bristol2000 DrChalloner’sGrammarSchool,Amersham2001 TudorHallSchool,Banbury2002 DanielStewartsandMelvilleCollege,

Edinburgh2003 WarwickSchool2004 Haberdashers’Aske’sSchoolforGirls,Herts2005 BedfordSchool2006 CheltenhamLadies’College

ESUPublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchoolsHandbook2006-7|PrizesandWinners|Page19

• AcompetitionforteamsofthreestudentsfromYears10and11/S3andS4only.

What’sinthishandbook?• Welcome............................................3• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Abou• Mapofthecompetitions.......backpage• AbouttheESU.................... backpage

Contents

ForewordbyClareMoriartyConstitutionDirectorattheDepartmentforConstitutionalAffairs

Deardebatersandcoaches,

I am delighted to be able to offer the support of the Department forConstitutionalAffairstotheEnglish-SpeakingUnionSchoolsMacefor2006-2007, in the fiftieth year of this national schools debating competition.

Thisyearwillofferyetmoreopportunitiesforyoungpeopletolearntheskillsof debate - the ability to construct a persuasive argument, the confidence

tospeakinfrontofothersandtheartoflisteningandrespondingtotheviewpointsofothers,oftenwhile‘thinkingonyourfeet’.

Debatinginvolvesunderstandingbothsidesoftheargument,forandagainstaproposition–itcanhelpresolveprofounddifferencesofopinion,peacefullyandrespectfully. Debating isan integralpartoftheparliamentarydemocracyofourcountry,enablingpeersandMPstodiscussandheardiffering views and opinions about issues on all subjects. This year’s final will take place in the Chamber of the House of Lords. Some of you will be able to experience debating in that magnificent andhistoricalsettinginthePalaceofWestminster,rightattheheartofwhereourlawsaremade.

TheEnglish-SpeakingUnionhasinthepastfewyearsbeenworkingtoensurethatdebatingskillsarepractisedinawiderangeofschoolsacrossEnglandandScotland,aswellasworkingcloselywithothersstrivingtoachievethesamegoalsinWalesandNorthernIreland.TheDepartmentforConstitutionalAffairssupportedlastyear’scompetitionandwewereverypleasedtohearthatmoreschoolsthanevertookpart inthecompetition. Ihopethatevenmoreschoolswill takepart thisyear.Itisanexcellentwaytolearnmoreabouttheimportantissuesthatwillbedebatedaswellasenjoyingdebatingwitheachother.

Wearedelightedthatthisyear’scompetitionwillonceagainfocusonconstitutionalissues.Theseareat theheartof howour country isgoverned, and therehasbeenaconsiderableamountofconstitutionalreformoverthepastfewyears,includingchangestotheHouseofLords,reformingthe role of the Lord Chancellor, establishing a new Supreme Court and introducing Freedom ofInformationlegislation.

Last year the competition led to extremely interesting debates on subjects such as “the housewouldelectjudges”and“thehousewouldadoptproportionalrepresentationforgeneralelections”.Iamsurethatthetopicsupfordebateduringthisyear’scompetitionwillproduceequallystimulatingdiscussion.

IwishparticipantsinthecompetitionallthebestofluckandverymuchhopethatyouenjoytheexperienceandlearnalotabouttheconstitutionoftheUnitedKingdomthroughouttheyear.

ClareMoriartyConstitutionDirector,DepartmentforConstitutionalAffairs

Foreword

ESU SchoolsMaceThe National Debating Championship



Contents

What’sinthishandbook?• Welcome..........................................22• Rules................................................22• Howthecompetitionisorganised...24• YourAreaOrganisers.......................24• Howadebateworks........................26• Definitions ........................................28• Rebuttalandsummaryspeeches....29• PointsofInformation.......................30• Guidelinesfordebaters...................31• Guidelinesforcoaches....................35• Reportingcompetition.....................35• Guidelinesforjudges.......................36• Hostingaround...............................44• ChairingandTimekeeping...............48• Otherdebatingformats...................52• Cross-curriculardebate...................54• Extra-curriculardebate....................56• Winners............................................57• AbouttheCentre/Meettheteam...59• AbouttheESU/Map.......... backpage

Contents



Contents

Whatisit?• Acompetitioninwhichparticipantspre-

prepare arguments and evidence (andmay prepare parts of their speeches)beforeproposingoropposingamotionagainstateamfromanotherschool.

• Spontaneous response to previousspeeches is fostered through rebuttaland summation skills. Interjections or‘PointsofInformation’keepparticipantsthinkingquicklyduringspeeches.

Who’sitfor?• Teamsoftwosecondarystudents• FromschoolsinEnglandandScotland*• Open to any age, but most students

comefromYears11-13/S4-6.

* themainschoolscompetitionforEnglish-languagedebatinginWalesistheWalesSchoolsDebatingChampionships.Formoreinformationvisit

www.cewc-cymru.org.uk.

About the competition


Welcome from the Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate

Welcometothe50thyearoftheESUSchoolsMace,thenationaldebating championship. Thisguide to the competition andto debating generally shouldbe read by participants andcoaches,and the relevantpartsofitmustbereadbyjudges.

A good competitive debate is not just a seriesof public speeches. It is an argument, andthe participants aim to persuade people – theaudience or adjudicators – either that a certainstateofaffairsexistsoracertaincourseshouldbetakenorrejected.Inpersuadingpeople,adebatermust build up their own individual case while,at the same time, presenting a consistent andcomplementary lineof argumentwith their teamcolleaguethatrebutsthecaseoftheiropposition.Thesearereal-worldskills,notjustpartsofagame,andintheSchoolsMaceteamsareassessedbylaypeople,notjustbyexperienceddebaters.

TheSchoolsMaceistheoldestandmostprestigiousschoolsdebatingcompetitioninBritain.Manyoftoday’s journalists, businessmen, academics,lawyers,broadcasters,actorsandpoliticianslearnttheirskillsintheMace,whetheraswinnersorasfi rst-round losers, and those involved today are without doubt the opinion-formers of tomorrow.As theSchoolsMacecelebrates itshalf-centuryopen and fair debate of important issues hasneverbeenmoreemphasised,normoreneeded,inoursocietyandoureducationsystem.Wehopethatthiscompetitionwillcontinuetoprovidethecountry’sforemostanswertothatneed.

This handbook should answer most of yourquestions.Butifyouhaveanyunansweredqueriesorsuggestionsyoucanaddressthemtomeat:

TheEnglish-SpeakingUnionDartmouthHouse37CharlesStreetLondonW1J5ED

E-mail:[email protected]

Ihopeyouenjoythecompetition.

JamesProbertHeadoftheCentreforSpeechandDebate

About the ESU Schools Mace

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|IntroductionandRules|Page22

Rules about entry to the competition• Theclosingdateforentrytothecompetitionwas1

July2006.LateentriesareatthediscretionofthenationalandAreaorganisers.

• Thereisanentryfeeof£30whichshouldbeintheform of a cheque made payable to The English-Speaking Union and sent to Dartmouth House.(A£10discountisavailableforentriestoboththePublicSpeakingcompetitionandtheSchoolsMacecompletedonlineatwww.britishdebate.com).

• Entry fees are payable once a paper or onlineapplicationhasbeensubmittedtotheESU.Teamsthat withdraw from the competition prior to the fi rst roundarestillrequiredtopaytheentryfee.

• Once a school has sent in an entry form, itshould regard itself as fi rmly committed to the contest. Last minute withdrawals causeenormous diffi culties and schools are urged toinclude a reserve in their team to minimise thepossibility of needing to withdraw. Inexperiencedteams have an excellent chance of success andschoolsshouldnotbediscouragedbecausetheyarenewtothecompetition.Overpreparationisasmuchofadangerasunder-preparation.

Rules about the composition of your teamAschoolisinvitedtoenteroneteam.Teamsconsistoftwospeakers,bothofwhommustbefull-timeatthesameschool.Thespeakersmaybefromanyyearintheschool;mostcompetitorsarefromY11-Y13/S4-6butmanyyoungercompetitorsachievehighlyeachyear.Speakers may be substituted between roundsalthoughyouareencouragednottodosounlessnecessary.Astudentwhoseeighteenthbirthdayoccursearlierthan22August2006willonlybeeligibleifspecialpermission has been obtained from your AreaOrganiserinadvance,thoughthisisdiscouraged.

••

•

•

TheESUSchoolsMaceisproudtobesupportedbytheDepartmentforConstitutionalAffairs in our fi ftieth year

1956–2006


Rules for the conduct of roundsArea Organisers will contact schools whichhave offered to host early in the autumn term toinform them that they will be needed to host. Incircumstances where an insufficient number of schoolsinanAreahaveofferedtohost,itmaybenecessaryforschoolswhodidn’toriginallyindicateawillingnesstohosttodosoforthecompetitiontobeabletoproceed.Eithersixorfourteamswillcompeteineachheatofthecompetition.Eitheroneortwoschoolswillproceedfromeachround.Twoschoolsnormallygoforwardfromeachfirst round heat. One school normally goes through fromeachsecondroundheat.Should an Area Organiser need to make upnumbersofteamsforaround,aschool(normallythe host school in the first instance) may be invited toenterasecondteam.Thisteamwillbeeligibletoadvanceinthecompetition.However,iftwoteamsprogressfromaround,onlyoneteamfromanyoneschool may do so. Schools with two teams cansubstitutemembersoftheirdefeatedteam.The tournament organisers reserve the right touseeither‘longpreparation’or‘shortpreparation’debates. Almost all the rounds will be ‘longpreparation’andforthesethehostschoolswillgivetwoweeks’noticeofthemotionforthedebatetotheotherschoolsintheround.Anyexceptionstothisrule(suchaswhendelaystotheorganisationofaroundmakeitimpossibletogivetwoweeks’notice)mustbeagreedwiththeAreaOrganiser.Certain rounds may be declared as ‘shortpreparation’(seepage52)bytheAreaOrganisers.Inthesetheteamswillbetoldthemotiononehourbeforeitisdebated.Wereservethisrightbecauseshort preparation debates may allowus to avoidcancellingwholeroundsbecauseofthelast-minutewithdrawalofoneorsomeoftheteamsinvolved.

Rules for the conduct of individual debatesIndividual debates in each of the heats progressaccording to the diagram on page 27 of thishandbook.The debate is normally chaired by a student orseriesofstudents(occasionallyateacher)fromthehost school. The Chairperson for each debate isexpectedtoremainstrictlyimpartial.TheChairpersonwillbeassistedbyaTimekeeper,alsoastudentfromthehostschool,whowillgivetime signals according to the flowchart on page 51 andpresentasetof timings to the judgesat theendofeachdebate.The use of props or visual aids is not permittedduringanydebate;competitorsmustrelyontheirvoicesandbodylanguagetowintheirdebates.Teachers may not speak from the floor during any debateinwhichoneoftheirteamsistakingpart.

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Rules regarding the judging of roundsAdjudicators do not need to be experienceddebaters or debate judges but judges mustnot have a close connection with any schoolinvolved in a heat; for example, current or pastparents,teachers,governorsorpupilsshouldnotbeaskedtojudge.Judges should not be paid, although travelexpenses can be offered (especially to universitystudents) and hosts sometimes express theirgratitudewithabottleofwineormealafterwards.It is the responsibility of host schools to ensurethateveryadjudicatorhashadtheopportunitytocarefullyreadtheGuidanceforjudgesonpages36-41ofthishandbook.Itisnotnecessaryforjudgesto use the sample note-taking sheet provided inthisbookbuthostschoolsshouldmakeplentyofcopies available, especially for less experiencedjudges.The adjudicators’ decision is final at all rounds. Participants and coaches are reminded thatassessing debates is an inherently subjectiveactivityandwhilstwemakeeveryefforttoensurethat decisions fairly reflect the persuasive skill of allparticipantswedonotexpectallobserversofadebatetosharethesameviewonitsoutcome.

Rules concerning other mattersAll other queries, concerns or disputes shall beaddressedasfollows:

Concerning dates and times of rounds, venues,travel directions, information on motions oropponents – in other words anything concerningan individual round – please contact your AreaOrganiser. The Area Organiser’s decision in suchmatters is final.Concerning the rules, the handbook, your entrydetails, finance (such as expense claims), the Nationalor InternationalFinals,oranything todowith the competition as a whole, please contacttheEnglish-SpeakingUnion.The decision of the ESU is final in all questions of dispute.

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|IntroductionandRules|Page23


How the competition is organised

JUL

DEC

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

JAN

JUN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

1Deadlineforentriestothisyear’scompetition

21-23DebateAcademy(seep.58)

JunetoSeptemberTimetoprepareforentrytothecompetition.Whynothaveanin-schoolcompetitiontoselectyourteam?(seep.35)

28-30Scottishroadshow(seep.58)

13-22Englishroadshow(seep.58)

1SepScottishfirst roundsstarttobearranged

endOctDeadlineforcompletionofScottish first roundheats

Entriesopenfornextyear’scompetition.

25SepEnglishfirst roundsstarttobearranged

30NovDeadlineforcompletionofEnglish first roundheats

lateJan(postexams)toearlyFeb

datesofEnglishsecondrounds

midFebtoearlyMarch

datesofEnglishAreaFinals

23EnglandFinal

5May(tbc)InternationalFinal:EnglishandScottishwinnersmeetwinnersofWelshandIrishcompetitions,competingfortheSilverMace.Venue:theHouseofLords

27&28SepINSETdaysinLondon(seep.58)

Each year over 600 schools take part in the ESUSchoolsMace,thenationaldebatingchampionship.

Once all the entries for the competition have beenreceived,theESUHQatDartmouthHouseinLondonsplitscompetitorsinto7areas.

One of the areas is Scotland, which is a separatenation within the competition with its own NationalFinalandownteaminMay’sInternationalFinal.

YourAreaOrganiserwillthengroupschoolsintoheatsof 6 or 4 schools for the first round. Schools will be asked tohost, startingwith thosewhovolunteeredon theirentry form. If you’renothosting, yourareaorganiserwillwritetoyoutotellwhoyourhostis.

Host teachers then liaise with the other teachersinvolved in the round to find a date; they will normally suggest two or three possible dates on which theroundcouldtakeplace.Ifitis impossibleforyoutotakepartononeofthosedates,youcaninformthemofthis.Hopefully,withtheparticipationofallinvolved,a mutually convenient date can be found. There ismoreinformationonhostingonpages44-47.

Two teams normally go through from each first round heat,andoneteamineachsubsequentround.

uNow find out more about what happens at a Maceroundbyturningtopage26

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Howthecompetitionisorganised|Page24

mid-NovScottishsecondroundsarranged

endFebdeadlineforcompletionofScottishthirdrounds

mid/endMarchScottishFinal

endNovEnglishsecondroundsstarttobearranged

mid-JandeadlineforcompletionofScottishsecondrounds

AprilonwardsTimetothinkaboutpreparingfornextyear’sMace.Whynothaveanin-schoolcompetitiontoselectyourteam?(seep.35).

2006 2007

The Centre for Speech and DebateThe Centre is a department of the English-SpeakingUnion,establishedin1995tocoordinatethe ESU’s work in debate, public speaking andeffectivespokenEnglish.YoucanreadmoreabouttheCentre’sactivitiesontheinsidebackpage.

Enquiries about your round should always bedirectedtoyourAreaOrganiser,buttheCentreishappy to answer any general queries about thecompetitionordebatingasawhole:

• ESUSchoolsMace CentreforSpeechandDebate TheEnglish-SpeakingUnion DartmouthHouse,37CharlesStreet LondonW1J5ED Telephone:02075291550 Email:[email protected]

YoucanalsocontacttheChairmanoftheCentreCommitteeforadviceorinmattersofdispute:

• DavidBussey StPaul’sSchool LonsdaleRoad LondonSW139JT Email:[email protected]


CentralMatthewJuddManderPortmanWoodwardCollege90-92QueensGateKensingtonSW75AB

)02078351355(school))07974094006(mobile)[email protected]

Your Area Organiser should always be yourfirst point of contact with queries about thecompetition,hostingaround,datesormotions.

YourAreaOrganiserwillgetintouchwithyouinlateSeptemberorearlyOctober(earlierinScotland)to arrange the first round of the competition so thereisnoneedtogetintouchwiththembeforethen,unlessyouhaveanyquestionsabouthowyoushouldselectorprepareyour teams for theforthcomingcompetition.

OurAreaOrganisersareallvolunteers–mostarealso full-time teachers – and we are immenselygratefultothemfortheirhardwork.Thecompetitionsimplycouldn’trunwithoutthem.

ScotlandDianaGottsRobertGordon’sCollegeSchoolhill,AberdeenAB101FE

)01224646346(school))01224321356(home)[email protected]

NorthernAndrewGoodmanMagdalenCollegeOxfordOX14AU(universityterm)

Carmel,ThorpeLane,GuiseleyLeeds,LS208NS(vacations)

)[email protected]

WesternMarkJacksonHerefordCathedralSchoolOldDeanery,TheCathedralCloseHerefordHR12NG

)01432363522(school)[email protected]

LondonAnnRobertsDartfordGrammarSchoolforGirlsShepherdsLane,DartfordDA12NT

)01322223123/790580(school))01322272076(home)[email protected]

EasternJillGleesonHaberdasher’sAske’sSchoolforBoysAldenham House, Butterfly Lane,ElstreeHertfordshireWD63AF

)02082661782(school))07966479639(mobile)[email protected]

SouthernAlastairEndersby92WinterslowRoad,PortonSalisburySP40JX

)01980610811(home)[email protected]

Scotland

Northern

Western Southern

London

Eastern

Central

Your Area Organisers

Theabovemap isapproximateandareasmaychange fromyear to year to reflect the changing distribution of entrants.

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|YourAreaOrganisers|Page25


How each heat runsEachheat inthecompetitionconsistsoftwoorthreedebates,witheachdebateinvolvingteamsfromtwoschools.Eachteamonlydebatesonceduringtheevening;duringtheotherdebatestheyformpartoftheaudience.

Eachdebaterunsinthefollowingorder:

• Atleasttwoweeksbeforetheheat:Yourhostwillinformyouofthemotionyouwillbedebating,andwhichsideyourteamison.Theonlyexceptiontothisiswhenaroundisheldas‘short-preparation’(seepages23and52).

• Onthedayeachdebaterunsasshowninthetableopposite,withthefollowingorderofspeeches:

1stpropositionu1stoppositionu2ndpropositionu2ndoppositionuFloordebateuOppositionsummaryuPropositionsummary

Afterallthreedebates,thejudgesretireandconsidertheirverdict.Theirdecisionisindependentoftheaudiencevoteswhichmaybeheldoneachmotionatthistime.

Announcement of the winners and getting feedback from the judgesWhenthe judgesreturntheywillgivesomegeneral feedbackbeforeannouncingwho will be going on to the next round. Typically two teams go through from first roundheats.Theymaycomefromanytwodebates,orthesamedebate.Oneteamnormally goes through from subsequent rounds. The Area Organiser will confirm the numberwiththehostbeforehand.Arunner-upwillalsobeselected,incaseawinningteamisunabletotakepartinthenextround.Therunner-upisannouncedontheevening,exceptwhereaheatinvolvingfourteamswouldmeanitisobviouswhichteamcamelast,inwhichcasetherunner-upisinformeddiscreetlyafterwards.

Followingtheresultsomeofthejudgeswillmakethemselvesavailabletoteamsandspeakerstogiveindividualfeedback.Thisisagreatopportunityforteamstogetsome specific suggestions on what they have done well and how they can improve. Pleasedon’tuseittoattackthejudges’decision–weknowyoumaynotalwaysagreewiththeirdecision,butlisteningpolitelytothemwillhelpyouunderstandit.

Judges

OppositionProposition Timekeeper Chair Setting up the room• Three tables should be set up at the head of

the room: thecentral table is for theChair andthe Timekeeper, the tables for proposition andoppositionshouldbeplacedeithersideofit.

• The first speaker for each side should sit closest tothecentre.

• Thejudge’stableshouldbeplacedattherearoftheroom,orhalfwaydowniftheroomislarge.

The Chair and the Timekeeper• AChairandaTimekeeperareneeded foreach

debate.Theyarenormallystudentsfromthehostschool.Hostsmaywanttousepupilswhowillgoontoformtheirdebateteamthefollowingyear.They can find full instructions on pages 48 - 51.

How a debate works

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Format|Page26

FormoreaboutthecriteriathatthejudgesuseformarkingtheSchoolsMace,lookatour‘GuidelinesforJudges’onpages36-41.

Arriving earlyTheorderofthedebateswillnormallybeannouncedinadvance,butthehostschoolmaychangethisorderwithoutnoticeattheirdiscretion.

Thiswillusuallybethecaseifoneormoreschoolsarriveslatetotheround.Pleasetrytoarriveasearlyaspossibletoavoidthishappening.


Minuteselapsed(approx.) 2ndproposition 1stproposition Chair 1stopposition 2ndopposition

Introducesdebateand1stpropspeaker.

See page 28for more ondefining the

motion

Defines motion,previewspropositionarguments,deliversargumentsandsummarises.*7minutes.

Introduces1stopp.

Previewsoppositionarguments,dealswith(orrebuts)someofthe1stprop’sarguments,deliversownargumentsandsummarises.*7minutes.

See page 29for more onrebuttal

Introduces2ndprop.

Recaps,previews,rebuts,deliversownargumentsandsummarises.*7minutes.

Introduces2ndopp.

Recaps,previews,rebuts,deliversownargumentsandsummarises.*7minutes.

Invitesspeechesfrom the floor.5to10minutes.

Floor questions are not answered straight away by the teams, but can be referred to by summary speakers in their summary speeches.

Introducesoppositionsummaryspeaker.

Either 1st or 2nd opposition

See page 29for more on summaries

Summarisesbyreferringtoowncase,opponents’caseandthefloor debate.4minutes.

Introducespropositionsummaryspeaker.

Either 1st or 2nd proposition

Summarisesbyreferringtoowncase,opponents’caseandthefloor debate.4minutes.

See page 29for more on summaries

Thanksspeakersandconcludesthedebate.

An audience vote is taken by each Chair after the judges retire at the end of the evening.

* Duringthemainspeeches,opposingspeakersshouldoffer‘PointsofInformation’.ItisimportantthateachspeakeracceptssomePointsofInformationduringtheirmainspeech.Readmoreaboutthisonpage30.




Defining the motionThe definition is delivered at the start of the first propositionspeechandisveryimportant,althoughitmustalsobekeptsuccinct(20-30secondsforasimplemotionandnevermorethanaminute).

Without a solid and sensible definition, the debate mayendupgoingnowhere,or,evenworse,alloverthe place. Setting the definition is about far more than merely getting out a dictionary. There areseveralkeyquestionsthatmustbeasked:

• Who? If the motion proposes a specific policy or courseofaction(“ThisHousewouldabolishtheUnitedNations”or“ThisHousewouldbringbackthedeathpenalty”),youmayneedtoclarify‘who’is implementing it. This is often implicit in themotion.TheUNmotionimpliesthat“ThisHouse”includesallmembersoftheUN.BringingbackthedeathpenaltyimpliesaUKfocus;othercountrieshavethedeathpenaltyalreadyandcriminaljusticeisgenerallyadomesticmatter.Amotionlike“ThisHousewouldcensortheInternet”leavesitmoreopen;theUK?theEU?aworldwideorganisation?However,simpler(e.g.UK)isoftenbetter.

• What?What’sthepolicyabout?Wouldthedeathpenaltybebylethalinjectionorhanging?Woulditbejustformurder,orothercrimes,too?Exactlywhat would be censored on the net (e.g. porn,racistcontent)?Doestheinternetincludeemail?

• How?Howisthepolicygoingtobeimplemented?Without a mechanism or a plan, your definition maylacktheclaritynecessarytosetupaclear,andcleandebate.Forinstance,wouldyousimplyabolishtheUNandlettheworldgetonwithoutit,orwouldyouproposeareplacement?Wouldyoudo it immediately,orwouldyouallowamodestamountoftimeforpreparationstobemade?Youdon’t have to offer a mechanism, but if you domake sure it doesn’t become so elaborate thatitskewsthedebateawayfromthemaintopic;apropositioncaseforabolishingtheUNmustfocusontheUN’sbadpoints,notyourfancynewplan.

• Limitations?Isthispolicygoingtoaffecteveryone,oronlysomepeople?Arethereanylimitationsonthepolicy?Forinstance,acommonlimitationonthedeathpenaltyexcludestheinsane.

Note that the definition is a way into making the debateclear,accessibleandfairforbothsides.ItisNOTawayofmakinglifeeasierforthepropositionby unfairly excluding difficult things they don’t want totalkaboutortrickingtheoppositionbyproposingatopictheycouldn’thavebeenexpectedtopreparefor. The definition should mean the debate ends up ascloseaspossibletowhatan‘ordinary-intelligent-well-informed-person-in-the-street’ would expecttoheardebated;smartandstraightforward.

Hereisanexample:

“ThisHousewouldabolishtheUN”“The United Nations should immediately becompletelydisbanded, includingallsubsidiaryinstitutions such as the Security Council,UNESCO and the WHO. No replacementorganisationwillbeestablished,forthereasonsmypartnerwilldescribeinhisspeech.”

• Analysis debates Sometimes a motion is setwhich doesn’t propose a specific policy, but gives a statement which needs to be analysed.Anexamplewouldbe“ThisHousebelievesthattheUNis a failure”.Noactionisproposed,butthefirst proposition needs to set some measure by whichtheallegedfailurecanbejudged:

“ThisHousebelievestheUNisafailure”“TheUNhasfailedbecause ithasnotmet itsown stated aims of maintaining internationalpeaceandsecurity,developingfriendlyrelationsamong nations or making enough progressin alleviating international economic, social,culturalandhumanitarianproblems.”

Inananalysisdebateyouwouldn’thavetoprove,forexample,thattheUNisafailureineverysinglecase, only that the principle is true in general(for the significant majority of cases). For the oppositiontowin,theyneedtoshowoneormoreareaswheretheUNhashadamajorsuccess.

Challenging a definition Opposition teams needtobepreparedforaslightlyunusualorunexpecteddefinition, as proposition teams can still be clever whileremainingfair.

Definitions may only be challenged if they are totally unreasonable. Examples of ‘unreasonable’definitions include truisms or narrowing beyond whatour‘ordinary-intelligent-well-informed-person-in-the-street’ would expect (e.g. defining the UN as justtheSecurityCouncil).

Challenges can only be made by the first opposition speaker,whostatestheirreasonsforthechallengeand introducestheiralternative interpretation.Thismustbeacceptedbythesecondpropositionunlessthey can prove their original definition was valid. This type of ‘definitional debate’ is generally poor andshouldbeavoidedbyareasonablepropositiondefinition which is accepted by the opposition.

uFind out more about defining motions atwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace


Summary speechesThe summary speeches are delivered after thefloor debate by either the first or second speaker fromeachside.

Theaimofasummaryistoreviewthemajorissuesofthedebateandleavealastingimpressionintheaudience’s mind that is favourable to your side.A summary speaker has been compared to a‘biasednewsreporter’,goingoverallofthemostimportantarguments thathavealreadyoccurredbutimplyingthatyoursidewonthemall.

Summariescan’tbepreparedbefore thedebate(apart, perhaps, from working out some strongopening or closing statements). This is becauseneithersideknowshow thedebatewill turnoutbeforethey’veheardtheotherside’sarguments.

Here’sabriefguidetogivingasummaryspeech.

Do...

✓Sumupthemajorareasofdifferencebetweenthesides.

✓Lookatthedebateasawhole;youcanamalgamatetwoorthreepointsintooneiftheyaresimilar(e.g.‘economic’pointsorpointsaboutpracticality).

✓Refertosomeofthepointsfromthefloor debate, if they supportyourside,oriftheywereparticu-larlydamagingtoyourcase.

✓Makesureyoursummaryiswellstructured;it’seasytopanicandzig-zagbetweenpoints.

Don’t...

✗Don’tfocusontrivialpointsorareaswhereyouagreed.

✗Don’tjustgothroughthedebateinchrono-logicalorderlistingalltheargumentsthatcameup.Thiswon’tdisplayareasofdifferenceandisboring.

✗Don’tintroducetotallynewmaterial;youareallowedtousenewexamplestorebuttheotherside’sarguments,butyoumaynotintroducenewlinesofargu-ment;yourjobistoreviewthedebatethathappened,notstartanewone.

RebuttalPoints of Information (overleaf) give you theopportunitytoargueagainsttheothersidewhiletheyaredeliveringtheirarguments.

Butitisalsoimportanttoaddresstheotherside’sargumentsduringyourownspeech.Thisiscalled‘rebuttal’.Theaimofrebuttalistounderminetheopposition’scase,thusleavingyourcaselookingevenstrongerbycomparison.

All speakers (except the first proposition, who hasn’thadaspeechtorespondto)areexpectedto rebut the other side, even if some of theirargumentssurpriseyouorseemveryconvincing.

Asthedebatemoveson,theamountofrebuttaldone by each speaker should increase, as theyhaveheardmorearguments to respond to. In atypical debate 1st opposition may rebut for 1-2minutes,2ndpropositionfor2+minutesand2ndoppositionfor2-3minutes.

Rebuttalcancomeatthestartofyourspeech,orbe‘interwoven’intoyourmainarguments;justmakesure it’sclear to theaudience (and judges!) thatyouareaddressingtheotherside’sarguments,sotheycanseeyouarerebutting.Youmightdothisby starting each bit of rebuttal by briefly quoting whattheothersidesaid,orbynamingoneofyouropponentsandtheargumentoftheirsthatyouwillrebut.

For example, imagine Belle made a speech onwhyweshouldabolishtheUN:

Belle(1stproposition)Peace-theUNhasfailedtostopwarsCountriesignoretheUNTheUNfavourstheWest,fuellingterrorism

•••

Lily might already have planned to make thefollowingpointsduringheroppositionspeech:

Lily(1stopposition)SuccessofUNpeacekeepersUNaidprogrammeshelpreduceterrorUNisagoodforumfornon-violentdebate

•••

Here’s a possible way Lily could restructure herspeechtorebutBelle’spointseffectively:

use 30 seconds at the start of her speech torebutthepointaboutpeopleignoringtheUN.Lily’smainpointsaboutUNpeacekeepersandnon-violentdebatecanbothbeused to rebutBelle’s‘Peace’point,soshecouldmovetheseto be her first two points and flag up to the audiencethattheyarealsorebuttalon‘Peace’.Makeherthirdpointaboutaidreducingterror,pointingoutagainthatitrebutstheotherside.

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Debaters have to show they can respond to the arguments of the other side in the debate. They do this in three main ways:

• through Rebuttal (left)

• in Summary speeches (below)

• in Points of Information (overleaf)



Points of InformationPointsofInformation(alongwithrebuttal)arecentralto the interactivity of debate. They show you canengage with your opponent’s arguments. ‘PoIs’are allowed during the middle 5 minutes of mainspeeches,butnotduringsummaries:

A7-minutemainspeech

5minutes1

min1

min

Protectedtime:noPointsallowed

PointsofInformationallowed

x2x1x1

Eachspeakerhasaninitialperiodof‘protectedtime’sotheycanintroducetheirspeechandgetstartedontheirargumentswithoutbeinginterrupted.

AfterthisminutehaselapsedtheTimekeepergivesasignalandanymemberoftheotherteamcanofferaninterruption.Todothis,theystandandindicatethattheywanttomakeapointbysaying:

OnaPointofInformation

Thepersonwhoisgivingtheirspeechretainscontrolatalltimesandcaneitheraccepttheinterruptionbysaying“accepted”,“goahead”or“yes,please”,ordecline bysaying“declined”,“nothankyou”orbyindicatingwiththeirhand.Thisabilitytoacceptordeclineisakeytactic.Thespeakercanalso:

• KeepthepersonofferingthePointofInformationstanding until they have finished their sentence.

• Ask them (politely!) to sit down if theirquestionlastslongerthan15seconds.

If accepted, the person offering the Point has15 seconds to point out something (a fact, or acontradictionintheargument)whichdisprovestheargumentbeingmadeby thespeaker,or toaskashort question (for instance to ask for clarification if youthinktheyarenotsayingsomethingimportant).

PointsofInformationareakeypartofdebatesoitisvital thatallspeakersofferat least twoor threein every speech they hear, and take at least one(preferablytwoorthree)ineveryspeechtheygive.Don’t offer too many – ‘barracking’ is rude. Don’ttaketoomanyoryouwon’thavetimetomakeyourownpointsandwilllookasifyouhavelostcontrol.

AsamplePointofInformation

FirstPropositionSpeaker“Ladiesandgentlemen,aclearexampleofwhytheUnitedNationsshouldbeabolishedwasits

failuretostoptheUSAinvadingIraqin...”

SecondOppositionSpeaker

rises and says:

“OnaPointofInformation”

FirstPropositionSpeaker

finishing his or her sentence, says:

“...2004,despiteregularlystatingthattheywantedtostopthewar.”

Acceptpoint?

YES NO


“Yes,please.”

(remains standing)


“No,thankyou.”


“JustbecauseonecountryignoredtheUNonce,doesnot

meanthatthewholeinstitutionshouldbe

abolished.”


“Butthatwasn’ttheonlytime;IsraelhasignoredResolution446forthirtyyearsandIranandNorthKorea defied recent

resolutionsonnuclearpower”


continuing his or her speech:

“ThefactthattheUNhasnocontroloverwhatcountriesdoanymoremeansitcannotdoits

job,andsoitshouldbeabolished.”


sits down

uFindoutmoreaboutPointsofInformation atwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace



ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Guidelinesfordebaters|Page31

Guidelines for debaters 1: Research and brainstorming

AlthoughonlytwoteammembersfromyourschoolwillbetakingpartineachdebateintheMaceitreallyhelps(ifyoucanarrangeit)ifyoucanprepareforyourdebatewithtwofurtherstudents.Theywillgiveyouevenmoreideasandyoucanthenhavesomepractisedebatesagainstthemtogiveyousomeexperience.

Seven minutes is a long time to fill if you don’t know anythingaboutyoursubject,sogoodbrainstormingandresearchisessential.

Initial brainstormYou’llusuallygetthetopicforyourMaceround,andthe side you will be arguing on, about two weeksbeforetheround.

A good first step is to do a brainstorm of everything you know already about the topic. Don’t restrictyourself to things which relate to your side of thedebate;it’simportanttothinkabouttheotherside’sarguments as well, as then you can think of waystocounter them. Inaddition,someof thecleverestarguments in debate are quite subtle and relate totopics that might at first seem closer to the other side’slineofargument.

Onceyouhavedonetheinitialbrainstorm,groupthethoughtsyouhavesofarintoafewdifferentareasanddecidewhichteammemberwilldofurtherresearchintoeacharea.

ResearchThebestsourcesforresearcharearticlesin‘quality’newspapers, journals and the internet. Most of themotionssetfordebatearetopical,somakesureyourinformation is up-to-date. You also need to makesureyourinformationisreliable(aparticularproblemwithsomeinternetsites).Keepanoteofyourwhereyourinformationcamefromsoyoucanrefertoyourexactsourceinyourspeech.

Yourschoollibrarianshouldbeabletohelpyou,andthe BBC website often contains good information,analysisandlinkstoothersites.

Secondary brainstormNowyou’vecompletedyourresearch,brainstormthetopicagain,butthistimedivideyourargumentsintotwocolumns:‘Infavour/Pros’and‘Against/Cons’.

Notedownalltheargumentsyoucanthinkofincludingweakones.Someargumentsthatyoumightinitiallydismissasuselessmayturnouttobevaluablemainpoints,subpointsorbitsofrebuttalonceyouhavealistofalltheargumentswhicharelikelytocomeup.

The first arguments you come up with often provoke questionsaboutwhatthemotionmeans.Theseareuseful in determining possible definitions (page 28).

Nowturnthepagetoseehowyoucanstarttostructuretheargumentswhichyouhavejustbrainstormed.

www.debatabase.org and ‘Pros & Cons’SomeofyoumaybefamiliarwithPros & Cons: a debater’s handbookoritsmassivelylargeronlineequivalent www.debatabase.org. Debatabase,in particular, may seem to be the answer to allyourresearchneeds.Butbeware!Herearesomereasonswhyyouneedtoputinyourownwork:

These resourcesare just a startingpoint.Youmustresearchmanymoreup-to-datefactsandfigures for a comprehensive 7 minute speech.Ifyouhavelookedattheseresources,youcanassume your opponents have, too. You needtocomeupwithyourownnovelandsurprisingargumentstocatchthemout.Many experienced judges are aware of theseresourcesandwon’tlookfavourablyonacaseyouhavejustliftedfromonewebsite.

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Guidelines for debaters 2: Structuring your arguments


Bytheendofresearchandbrainstormingyoushouldhavethoughtofalltheargumentsyoucan(andcomeup with a definition if you are the proposition). Put the listof youropponents’argumentsaside for themoment,butgothroughitagainbeforethedebatetomakesurethatyouhaveareplyorpieceofrebuttalreadyforeveryargumenttheymightmake.

Nowyou shouldconcentrateon yourownside, sothatyoucanchoosewhichargumentsyouaregoingtouse,inwhatorder.

Why structure is importantWhenyouaremakingaspeechyouaredeliveringagreatdealofinformationtoyouraudienceinashortspaceof time.Mostpeopledon’t havea very longattentionspananditisunlikelytheywilltakeinalltheinformationunlessyoumakeiteasyforthem.

Youshouldnothavemore than threeorperhapsfour different arguments in your speech. No onewillrememberyourpointsifyouhave17ofthem.OneortwosubstantialpointsisalsoOK(especiallyforsecondspeakerswhodolotsofrebuttal),butyoumayneedtodividelargepointsintosubpoints.

Remember that you get 25% of your mark for‘Organisation&Prioritisation’.

Structuring your team’s caseFirst you need to decide which speaker is goingto make which points. You are likely to have somearguments that are very powerful or are based onsomefundamentalprinciplesthatyoursidebelieves.These should come first, so that the audience knows fromthestartwhyyoubelievewhatyoudo.

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Youshoulddividetheotherpointsbetweenthetwospeakers in a way that makes sense. Sometimesone or both speeches might develop a theme(e.g. ‘economic’ arguments or ‘practicalities’). Onotheroccasionsthedivisionismadesimplybecausesomepointsaremoreimportantthanothers.

You should also have some arguments that onlymakesense in response towhat theothersidewillsay. The first opposition and both second speakers shouldkeeproomintheirspeechesforthesepointsof rebuttal and slot them in where it is appropriateduringtheactualdebate.

You may have some points that don’t fit in easily with yourmainarguments,orhavebeenexcludedbythedefinition you have chosen, or are just very weak. You maychoosenottousetheseatall.

Signposting your individual speechMakesureyour introductionpreviewsall thepointsyouwillmake.Thenkeeptheaudience informedofwhereyouarebyusingphraseslike“Andnowontomysecondpoint...”orbyusingeffectivepauses.

TimingPoor timing during your speech will be penalisedunder‘Organisation&Prioritisation’:

Ifyouhavetwopointsofequalimportance,makesureyouspendthesameamountoftimeonboth;don’t overrun on your first one and try to cram the secondintothelastminute.Don’tletonespeakerhogallthebigpoints,leavingthemwithtoomuchtosayandleavingtheirpartnerlostforwords.

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The basis of effective arguments: Making them REALOnce you have the outline structure for your sideand your speech you need to give some thoughttohowyoucanmakeeachargumentaseffectiveas possible. We suggest you use the followingmnemonictostructureeachindividualargument:

R E A LReason

Oneofthearguments

whyweshouldagreewithyoursideofthemotion

EvidenceGivesome

factsorexamples

thatsupportyour

reason

AnalysisShowus

exactlyhowyour

evidencesupportsyour

reason

LinkLink

everythingbacktowhyweshouldagreewithyourside

Forexamplein“ThisHousewouldabolishtheUN”:

R TheUNhasn’tstoppedwarsE WarintheBalkansandinLebanonA TheUNtookfartoolongtoactinbothcasesand

evenwhentheydidtheydidn’tdomuch.Thereisjusttoomuchdisagreementbetweenmembers.

L TheUNhasn’tcreatedpeace,oneofitsmainaims.Soweshouldabolishthisfailedinstitution.

Evidence doesn’t always have to be facts andstatistics.Sometimeshypotheticalcasesworkwell.

Giving plenty of Evidence and then Analysing itwellmakesyourargumentvividinthemindsoftheaudience.Inshort,itwillpersuadethemthatitisaREALsituationthatisofREALimportance.


Guidelines for debaters 3: Writing out your speech

A4 paper v. palm cards – You decide ...

ThemainadvantageofusingA4paperisthatyoucan see all of your notes at once. You can easily find facts or figures from another point in the speech if youneedthemtoansweraPointofInformation,forexample.

Thedownsideisthatitcanbemorecumbersome.

Some debaters use palm cards, which leave youfreertogesturewithyourhandsandmaycutdownthechancesofyougettinglost.

Youcanreorderthepointsonyourpalmcardsveryeasilyjustbeforeyougetuptospeakandaddinextraonesonwhichyouhavewrittenbitsofrebuttal.

“This House would abolish the United Nations” - Belle - 1st Prop

“We the peoples of the United Nations determined ... to save succeeding generations

from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, to establish

conditions under which justice and respect for international law can be maintained ...”

we argue that the UN has failed its own aims, and should be abolished.

DEFINITION: Abolish it now, including organisations like UNESCO, UNHCR, UN

Office on Drugs and Crime

My points: 1 Peace 2 UN ignored 3 Bad rep for favouring West

Sebastian’s points: 1 Regions work better 2 Cost

1 PEACE

Not met aim of preventing wars. Bad at stopping them once started.

E.g. Balkans: Milosevic unchallenged in late 1990s. Nato bombings. Ethnic

violence in 2004 despite KFOR and Interim Administration Mission (UNMIK)

Lebanon: One month for Security Council just to agree Resolution 1701

2 COUNTRIES IGNORE THE UN

E.g. US in 2004 over Iraq

Israel, 30 years ignoring SC Resolution 446

Iraq and N. Korea over nuclear problems

Analysis of how an organisation can’t be useful if its ignored.

3 REPUTATION FOR FAVOURING THE WEST

Power of USA.

Dominance of non-Muslim countries on the Security Council

Track record in Israel/Palestine

Creates tension, esp. in Middle East leads to terror.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the UN is supposed to be a group of United Nations. But over the

past fifty years they have acted more like a group of Uncooperative Nationalists”

Hasn’t met its aim of world peace

Countries ignore it

Bias leads to terror let’s get rid of it. I beg to propose.

Closewithastrong,catchystatement(youcouldbreaktheruleagainhereandwritesomeofthisoutinfullifyouwant)andareviewofwhatyou’vesaid.

Gooddebatersneverwriteoutaspeechwordforword.Ifyoudo,you will find it very difficult to engage withtheaudienceasyourheadwillbeburiedinyourpaper.

Afullywrittenoutspeechalsomakesitverydifficult to add in notesonrebuttalandmakesyoustumbleifyouacceptaPointofInformationwhichrequiresyoutodepartfromyourpre-plannedspeech.

Youmayneedmorenotesonyourevidencethanonyouranalysis;youshouldknowyourmaterialwellenoughtodeliveranalysiswithoutnotes.

Ittakesabitofpracticetogetconfident speaking fromnotes,buttheresultsareworthit;thinkmoreintermsofhavingawell-informedchatwiththeaudiencethangivingaformalspeech.

Ifyouaregivingaquotationyoumayneedtobreaktheruleaboutwritingthingsoutinfulltomakesureyougetitright.

Startyourspeechwithapreviewofwhatyouaregoingtosay.

Ifyouarethefirst speaker, alsotelluswhatyourpartnerisgoingtosay.

Ifyouarethesecondspeaker,remindusbriefly what your partnersaidintheirspeech.




Guidelines for debaters 4: Expression & Delivery

Debating isn’t just about the arguments you makeandhowthey’restructured;debateshappeninfrontofanaudience,soyourmessagemustget throughto them effectively. So 25% of your marks are for‘Expression&Delivery’.

Can you be heard?Peoplehavecometohearwhatyouhavetosay,soit’svitalthatyouspeakloudlyenoughthatpeopleatthebackoftheroomdon’thavetostraintohearyou.Youcanusuallygaugefrompeople’sfacialreactionsiftheyarepickingupwhatyouaresayingornot.

Ontheotherhand,ifyouhaveaveryloudvoiceandare in quite a small room, make sure you are notdeafeningthepeopleinthefrontrow!

Where to standYouarewelcometostandeitherinfrontoforbehindthetablestodeliveryourspeech.Whicheveryoudo,make sure that you engage with the audience anddon’tonlylookatyouropponents.

Standinginfrontofthedesksleavesyoufreertomovearoundandconnectwiththeaudience,butremembertotakeallofyournoteswithyoustanduptospeak!

Standingbehindyourdeskmeansthatyoucankeepnotesonthetableandreorganisethemeasilyduringyourspeech,andyouwon’tendupwanderingabouttoomuch.

Varying your tone and paceItisn’tunusualfordebaterstospeakinamonotone;thatdoesn’tnecessarilymeanthattheirvoiceisslowanddull,justthattheyhavethesametoneallthewaythrough,whichcanbeasboring.

Tryassigningadifferentmoodtoeachsectionofyourspeech. For example, the speech on the previouspagecouldbedeliveredinthefollowingway:

Introduction:CalmbutpacyPoint1:Calmandslower–deliberatelyPoint2:AngrierPoint3:Withasenseoffear/dangerConclusion:Amused

•••••

Apausebetweeneachpointcanbeagoodwaytochange gear and let your audience know you aresettingoffinanewdirection.

Youcouldtrywritingdownyourinstructionsonhowtodelivereachpoint incolouredpenonyournotessheet, or using a sheet of stickers with differentemotions,speedsandvolumesonthatyoucanstickonyourspeechjustbeforeyougetuptospeak.

Body languageYoucanthenstarttoconcentrateondevelopingreallyeffectivebody language.Youshouldstay inagoodcomfortablestanceformostofyourspeechandusegesturesdeliberatelytoemphasiseparticularpointsthatyouwantpeopletopayattentionto.

Most important is to have eye contact with theaudience,whichiseasiestifyouareusingnotes.

You may not be aware of it, but you may have ahabit that distracts your audience from listening toyouwhenyouspeak.Somepeopleput theirhandsover theirmouth, janglecoins intheirpocket,wavetheirarmsortheirnotesallovertheplace,walkbackandforthtoomuchorscratchbodyparts!Askschoolcolleaguesifyoudoanyoftheseandthenpractiseinfrontofthemirrortostopyourself.

Word choiceMake sure that your word choice is appropriate tothe age of the audience and that you explain anytechnical terms or abbreviations as needed. Usingthecorrectterminologyinaconsistentwaywillhelpyouappearprofessional.

Using powerful adjectives and carefully chosenemotionalvocabularywillhelpyouwintheaudienceover.

Being appropriateYoushould aim to soundnatural; the judgesaren’tlooking for a ‘Received Pronunciation’ accent, justsomeonewhoisclearandinteresting.Neitherdoyouneedtousetraditionaldebatingvocabularylike‘thehonourablegentleman’.

Humourcanbeausefultool,dependingonthetopicbeingdiscussed,butyoumustbeverycareful.Itmustonlybeusedifitisrelevant.Youmust notmakeanycomments that people may find offensive. Ridicule arguments,notpeople.Thingsnottosayinclude:

✗ “Ifyou’dbotheredtolistentomyspeechyouwouldhaveheardthat...”

✗ “No, Iwon’t takeaPointof Informationuntil youtakethatawfultieoff.”


Guidelines for coaches

New for 2006/7: Reporting competition for audience membersDebating skills are central to our democracy, butwithoutgoodmediacoveragetoreportonwhatgoesoninparliament,theentirepoliticalprocessbreaksdown. For this reason, we are establishing a newreportingcompetitionforyoungaudiencemembersattendingroundsoftheESUSchoolsMace.

Audiencememberscanwriteareportofupto600wordsoneach round that theyattend.The reportshould aim to be objective and unbiased whileremaininginterestingtoreadandconveyingasenseoftheround’satmosphereaswellasitsarguments.

Goodnewspaperreportersneedtomeetdeadlines;reports must be filed to [email protected] no later than oneweekfollowingthedebatesonwhichthereportisbased.Thereportshouldstatewhereandwhen

thedebates tookplace,aswell as thename,ageandschoolofthestudentandcontactdetailsfortheteacherwhoattendedtheroundwiththem.

Wewillaimtopublishasmanyreportsaspossibleonline at www.britishdebate.com/schools/maceandthebestreportat theendof theyearwillwina prize of a digital camera and a trip with an MPtowriteasketch fromtheGalleryat theHouseofCommons.

Particularcreditwillbegiventostudentswhosendusproofthatallorpartoftheirreportwaspublishedinaschoolorlocalnewspaper.

uFindoutmoreaboutthereportingcompetition atwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace

Selecting a teamThe ESU likes to view both of its competitions asextendingbeyondtheactualroundsthemselvesandbeing an integral part of the internal calendar forparticipatingschools.

Whynotinvolvemorestudentsbyhavinganin-schoolselection process which is open to all students?Thiscould take the formofacompetition (perhapswithin the debating society or between forms orEnglish classes) where each class selects theirownteamwhichgoesontoparticipateinyourownpreliminary round in school. You can then pick thebestparticipantstogoontorepresentyourschoolinthe first round of the main ESU competition. You may verywellbesurprisedbytheresults...

A squad rather than a teamIt’s immensely beneficial if you can train for debates asasquadoffour,ratherthanateamofjusttwo.Thishas the following benefits:

Theteamcangetmorepractice.Youhavetworeserveswhocanstepinifoneoftheothershastopulloutatthelastminute.By selecting younger students for the third andfourth squad members you can build up aninvaluable store of experience to deploy in nextyear’scompetition.

Thetwosquadmemberswhoarenotcompeting inthe Mace don’t need to feel as if they are secondstrings; they can be entered for some of the othercompetitions listed at www.britishdebate.com/schools/othercompetitions.

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Training a teamStudentsshouldbestronglyencouragedtotakeasmuchresponsibilityforthepreparationoftheircaseas possible; the more they research independently,themorefamiliartheywillbewiththematerialwhichtheywillhavetomanipulateduringthedebate.

However,youcanhelpyourteamimmenselybydoingsomeorallofthefollowing:

Joininginthebrainstormingandplanningsessionsand contributing your ideas once the squadmembershaveputforwardtheirs.Giving your squad the chance to practise themotioninfrontofanaudienceatadebatingsocietymeeting(seepage56)orinfrontofaclass.Encouraging as many supporters as possible toaccompanyyou to the round itself (this isoneofthebigadvantagesofhosting;seepage44).

At the competitionYouhaveabigrolebeforeanydebateincalmingdownlastminutenerves;remindtheteamthateveryoneisnervousandthatabitofadrenalinishelpful!

Enjoy the debate, but remember that you may notspeak in the floor debate for any debate in which oneofyourteamsisparticipating.Andpleasedon’tbetemptedto‘sabotage’astrongrivalteamduringtheir debate by making particularly fierce comments during other floor debates.

Aninevitablefactofthecompetitionisthatsomeoneis knocked out; if this happens, please encourageyourteamtoseethisinapositivelightasalearningexperience.

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Guidelinesforcoaches|Page35


Guidelines for judges 1: Judging basics

A message from the Head of the Centre for Speech and DebateThank you very much for agreeing to judge around of the ESU Schools Mace – the nationaldebatingchampionship–whichiscelebratingits50thanniversarythisyear.

It is essential that anyone judging a round ofthe Schools Mace has read the following verycarefully:

ThebasicnotesonthesetwopagesThenewmarkschemeonthetwopagestitled‘Guidelinesforjudges2’.The notes on the sample notes sheet titled‘Guidelinesforjudges3’.

Youarealsoencouraged to read theGuidelinesfordebaterswhichcanbefoundinourhandbookoratwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace.

Experiencedjudgesshouldnotethatourmarkscheme has been completely revised for thisyear,soitisvitalthattheyreadthenewversioncarefully.

Yourjobasanadjudicatorisanimportantone;theteamsthatyouaregoingtoseedebatewillhaveinvested a lot of time and effort into preparingtheirmaterial.

Themajorityofteamsinaroundwillnotgothroughtothenextroundandareawareofthat.Teamsdonotexpecttowin,buttheydoexpecttobejudgedfairly,bytheagreedstandardsofourhandbook.Theywillexpectyoutobeabletoexplainclearlythe reasons you have for sending another teamthroughoverthem.

If you have any further questions about judgingdebates,docontactusbeforehand:

Telephone:02075291550Fax:02074956108E-mail:[email protected]

Wehopeyouenjoytheexperienceandwillwanttojudgeagainnextyear;ifso,[email protected].

Thankyouverymuch forgivingupyour time toadjudicateandenablingthecompetitiontorun.

JamesProbertHeadoftheCentreforSpeechandDebate

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Format of debates in the ESU Schools MaceThe format of debate in the ESU Schools Mace isspecifi c to our competition, but bears many similarities tootherformsofcompetitivedebatingintheUnitedKingdom and further afi eld.

Youwillseetwoorthreedebatesduringtheevening.Two teams compete in each debate, sitting in thefollowingpositions:

PROPOSITIO

N OPPOSITION

CHAIRPERSON TIMEKEEPER

AUDIENCE&JUDGES

Speechesineachdebatearemadeinpropositionoroppositionofagiven‘motion’,inthefollowingorder:

FirstProposition (7minutes)FirstOpposition (7minutes)SecondProposition (7minutes)SecondOpposition (7minutes)Floordebate;membersoftheaudiencecontributeOppositionSummarySpeech (4minutes)PropositionSummarySpeech (4minutes)

Adebate isaahighly interactiveevent,bothwithinand between the two teams. As well as puttingforward pre-prepared ‘substantive’ argumentsexplainingwhytheirsideisright,thecompetitorsareexpected to engage spontaneously with the otherside’sargumentsinseveralways:

rebuttal: incorporating responses to theiropponents’argumentsintotheirownspeechesPoints of Information: standing up and offeringinterjections during their opponents’ mainspeeches.SpeakersshouldalsoshowtheirabilitytoengagewiththeothersidebyacceptingoneormorePointsduringtheirmainspeech.Summary speeches: should refl ect the main pointsofthedebateasitactuallydeveloped,notthe teams’ pre-prepared expectations of whatwouldbediscussed.

Theteamsare judgedaccordingtoamarkschemewhichhasfourequallyweightedcategories:

Reasoning&EvidenceOrganisation&PrioritisationListening&ResponseExpression&Delivery

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Guidelinesforjudges|Page36


Retiring to discuss your decisionYou will hear two or three debates in succession.After the final debate, you will retire with the other judges(normallytwoofthem)todecidewhichteamstoputthroughtothenextround.

Youshouldhaveretiredfromthedebatingroombeforethe Chairperson(s) conduct any audience votes.You are judging who debated best, which may notcoincideeitherwiththeaudience’s(oryour)opinionofwhichsideoftheargumentshouldbesupportedinreallife.

Two teams normally go through from first round heats,withoneteamprogressingfromsecondroundand area final heats. Yourhostteacherwillinformyouatthestartoftheeveningofhowmanyteamsshould proceed from your round. You are alsorequiredtonamearunner-upteam,incaseoneofthewinningteamshastodropoutfromthenextround.

Theteacherwhoinvitedyoumayhaveappointedachairofthejudgingpanel.Ifnot,youmayliketodosoyourself.

Thischairmaywishtostartthediscussionbyaskingtheother judgesfortheiropinionsaboutwhocamefirst and last in the evening. If there is unanimity on thesepoints,itcanbeaquickwaytoincludeteamsin,orexcludethemfrom,thelistofthosegoingthrough.Ifthereisn’tunanimityontherankorder,askingwhycanbeausefulstartingpointfordiscussion.

Announcing the result and giving feedbackOnce you have come to an agreement about whoshouldgo through,youshould returnasquicklyaspossibletothedebatingroom;teamsmayhavesomeway to travel home, so it is important not to keepthemwaitingtoolong.Whendeliveringtheresult:

Thechair of the judgingpanel shouldgive somegeneralfeedbacktoalltheteamsthathavetakenpartbeforemakingtheannouncement.Whenmorethanoneteamgoesthroughfromtheround,youdonotneedtoannouncetheminrankorder,butshouldsaywhetherornotyouaredoingso.You should announce which team is the runner-up,makingcleartheywillnottakepartinthenextroundunlessawinningteamdropsout.Theonlyexception to announcing the runner-up is whentwoteamsgothroughfromafour-teamround,asannouncing the runner-up in thiscase thiswouldmakeitobviouswhocamelast.

Followingtheannouncement,wewouldbegratefulifasmanyjudgesaspossiblewouldmakethemselvesavailable to give individual feedback to the teamswhich have taken part. Feedback can be brief,but is very important to speakers’ development asdebaters.

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Judging checklistRemember, judgingadebateisasubjectiveactivitybut you must be able to support all decisions youmake (both to yourself and the teams), clearly andwith reference to the judging guidelines and/orhandbook.

Herearesomepointerstokeepyouontrack:

Do...

✓Listencarefullyandmakenotesthatwillremindyouofthespeechesattheendoftheevening.

✓Lookunfavourablyonpeoplewhoreadpre-preparedspeechesinawaythatpreventsthemfromrespondingtotheargumentsoftheotherside.

✓Givefewermarksunder‘Listening&Response’ifspeakersdon’tofferoracceptanyPointsofInforma-tion,orifspeakersdon’tengageinrebuttalduringtheirownspeech.

✓Rewardspeakers(especiallyasthedebateprogresses)foradaptingtheirspeechestorespondtowhathasbeensaidearlierinthedebate.

✓Allowteamstoapproachyouforindividualfeedbackafterthedebateandmakesurethatallthecommentsyoumakearepositiveandpolite.

Don’t...

✗Don’tbringyourownopinionstobearonthemotion;theteamshavenotchosenthesidetheyarearguingfor.

✗Don’ttakeintoaccountaccent,appearance,dressorbackgroundofthespeakers,orwhatschooltheyattend.

✗Don’tcompareateam’sperformancetotheirreputationoryourexpectations;astrongteamisastrongteam,andaweakoneaweakone,wherevertheycomefrom.

✗Don’tallowonecategorytodomi-nateyourthinking(especially‘Expres-sion&Delivery’).Allcategoriesareequallyweighted.

✗Don’tapplycertainrulesarbitrarilyordogmatically.Lotsofthingsindebatingareverybadorverygood,butnoneresultinanautomaticdefeatoranautomaticvictory.



Guidelines for judges 2: The mark scheme and note-taking


40 marks for main speeches+ +

Listening & Response5 marks for first proposition*10marksforothermainspeeches

• Rebuttal: Have speakers been listeningcarefullytotheiropponentsandshown,intheirownspeeches,whytheydisagree?

• Making Points of Information: Havespeakers made good Points of Information,showingthey’vebeenlisteningandpickingoutimportantpointstochallenge?**

• TakingPointsofInformation:Havespeakerstaken two or three of the points offered tothem in their speechand responded to themimmediatelyandcapably?**

* The lower mark for first proposition is because they haven’t yet heard an opposition speech to respond to throughrebuttal.Theyshould,however,showsomelisteningabilitythroughtakingandmakingPointsofInformation.

** Speakersshouldnotbepenalisedifnopointsareofferedto them, or if they offer enough points but none areaccepted.

Expression & Delivery10marksforallmainspeeches

Expression is about how the speakers comeacrossratherthanwhattheysay.Themarkisforhowmuchtheyengagetheaudience,including:

• Use of notes: Speakers should have somenotes from which they speak fluently. Speakers should be penalised for reading speecheswhichtheyhavewrittenoutinfullbeforehandorforrecitingobviouslymemorisedspeeches.

• Use of voice: Are the speakers audibleand clear, while varying speed, volume andintonation to keep their speeches interestingandtoaddconvictionandauthority?

• Useofwords:Islanguagevaried,persuasive,appropriateandprecise?

• Useofbodylanguage:Howeffectivearehandgestures,eyecontactandfacialexpressions?

• Rhetoricandhumour:Isthereanappropriatelevelofrhetoricandrelevanthumour?

Reasoning & Evidence15 marks for first proposition*10marksforothermainspeeches

Reasoningisaboutthecontentoftheindividualarguments each speaker makes and how welltheyareexplained.

• Clarityandlogic:Aretheargumentsexplainedclearlyandlogically?

• Examplesandanalogies:Aretheargumentsbackedupwithplentyofwellchosenexamplesandanalogies?Facts,statistics,casestudies,news stories, historical reference, laws ofscience etc. all benefit from being relevant, clear,well-knownandtopical.

• Linkstothemotion:Aretheargumentsshowntoberelevanttothemotion?

* The higher mark for first proposition reflects the particular importanceofgoodcontent insettingupthebasis foragooddebate.Itshouldalsorewardthosegivingasensible,concise, comprehensive definition of the motion.

Organisation & Prioritisation10marksforallmainspeeches

• Team structure: Did the team’s speechescomplement each other? Did the first speaker lay out a clear case which both members ofthe team followed?Were themost importantarguments in a position which gave themappropriateemphasis?

• Individual structure: Was each individualspeech well structured and easy to follow?Were individual arguments grouped into alogical and coherent whole? Were the mostimportantargumentsemphasised?

• Adaptability: Did the speakers show thatthey were able to reorganise their material ifdevelopmentsinthedebatenecessitatedit?

• Timing: Did the speakers speak forapproximatelytheirallottedtimeof7minutes?Did they divide their time sensibly betweentheirdifferentpoints?

Speechesarejudgedaccordingtothefourcategorieslaidoutbelow.Teams’totalscoresconsistofatotalof100points:40points for the first speech, 40pointsforthesecondspeechand20pointsforthesummary.


20 marks for summaries+ +

Listening & Response5marks

• Own team:Has thespeaker listened to theirown team, reflecting what was actually saidratherthanwhatwasplannedbeforehand?

• Rebuttal: Has the summary speaker listenedcarefully to their opponents and shown whytheydisagreewiththekeyarguments?

• Floordebate:Weresomepointsreferredto?• Points of Information: Points of Information

are not allowed in summary speeches; thespeaker’sabilityinthisareaisassessedaspartoftheirmainspeech.

Expression & Delivery5marks

Asformainspeeches.

Reasoning & Evidence5marks

• Clarity and logic: Are the arguments stillexplainedclearlyandlogically?

• Revisited material: Did the speaker choosethemostpowerfulexamplesandanalogiestorevisitintheirsummaryspeech?

• Newmaterial:Newmaterialisonlypermittedifitelaborates-orrespondsto-materialalreadymentionedbyanotherspeaker in thedebate.A small amount of interesting, relevant newmaterialof this typecanberewarded.Totallynewmaterialshouldbepenalised.

Organisation & Prioritisation5marks

• Choice of arguments: There is not time tosummariseeveryargumentraisedinthedebate.Summaryspeakersshouldconcentrateonthemain points of contention that are key to towinningovertheaudience.

• Structure:Wasthespeechwellstructuredandeasytofollow?Wasitlogicalandcoherent?

• Adaptability: Did the speech reflect the debate as it actually happened, rather than havingbeenwrittenoutbeforethedebatestarted?

• Timing:Wastheallottedtimeusedwisely?

The basic principles of note-taking for judgingExperiencedjudgesallagreeaboutthebasicwaytotakenotesforjudging,althoughtheyoftenusetheirowngridsandshorthandwhichtheydevelopovertime.Ourspeciallydesignedformsonpages42-43willbeusefulasastartingpoint.

• First,notedownallthecontent:Usethebigspaceontheleftofeachspeaker’sgridtomakebriefnotesofeverythingsaid.Ensuringyouhavethe‘headlines’andthedetailsofallpointsmademeansyouarethree-quartersofthewaythere:

• Havingthe‘headlines’foreachpoint,youwillbeabletooverviewtheOrganisation&Prioritisation.

• YoucanuseyournotesofthedetailstolookbackattheendofthedebateandanalyseandcompareReasoning&Evidence.

• Comparing points raised by one side with those dealt withsubsequentlybytheothershedslightonListening&Response.

• At theendofeachspeech,makenotesonstyle:Detailsof eachpoint areforgotten quickly, so concentrate on noting content down while speakers aretalking.Aslongasyoulookupoccasionallytotakeintheirvisualstyle,youcanleaveituntiltheendofthespeechtomakenotesonExpression&Delivery.

InstinctThesetechnicalitiesareimportant,butjudgingstillcomesdowntoasimplequestion:“Hasthespeakerbeenpersuasive?”.

Ratherthantryingtoassignpointsandthenworkoutwhowon,youshouldnormallyhaveaprettygoodinstinctaboutwhoarguedbest,andassign points to fit.


Notesonsummaryofdebate,whichshouldinclude:(a)referencetopropositionarguments,(b) reference to team’s rebuttal of opposition’s arguments, (c) some reference to the floor debate

Reasoning&Evidence

Organisation&Prioritisation

Listening&Response

Expression&Delivery/5 /5 /5 /5 /20

Notesonuseofvoice,language,body,faceetc.:

Prop Summary NAME:

MOTION:

Notesonargumentsmade:

Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response



PointsofInformationoffered:

To 1st opposition

To 2nd opposition

2nd Proposition NAME:

Rebuttal(ifmadeseparately):


Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st opposition

To 2nd opposition

1st Proposition NAME:

Team total /100

Guidelines for judges 3: How to fill in a judging notes sheet

This House would abolish the United Nations

Belle

Sebastian

1 2 IGNORED 3 REPUTATION

1 REGIONS 2 COSTSEBASTIAN:

1 PEACE: UN failed to either prevent wars, or stop after they’ve started (e.g. Balkans, Lebanon)

2 COUNTRIES IGNORE UN: (e.g. US in 2004 over Iraq, Israel (SC Res. 446), Iran / N Korea nukes)

An org can never be useful if ignored.3 REPUTATION FOR FAVOURING THE WEST (for

example Israel v. Palestine) Creates tension, esp. in Islamic countries leads to terror ✔

PEACE

D Abolition now + complete, inc. orgs like UNESCO

1 REGIONS 2 COST

1 REGIONS: Individual countries benefit much more working in their own regions than through the UN (e.g. EU, ASEAN make millions of pounds for their members).

2 COST: UN costs a lot of money to run. Money could be better spent on other things like health ( ✘No examples given)

✘Stopped speaking before second bell at 5:35

R NATO did all the work in Kosovo, not the UN

R People will still give aid without the UN( ✘Doesn’t say how)

Belle

1 UN helps create peace? 2 Regions better?

1 PEACE? Not in the past (e.g. Balkans) + doesn’t look good for future (rogue states + provoking terrorism through bias in favour of West)

3 ?s: 3 Value for money?

2 REGIONS – EU/ASEAN + point from floor re. optimal size for collaboration

3 VFM? Running costs + Aid money more effective through govts/charities

Smallarrowscanbeusefultoshowwhenaspeakerhasbeenmakinggoodlogicallinkswithinaspeech.

Ticksandcrossescanbeusefultomarkuppointswhichstrikeyouasbeingparticularlygoodorparticularlypoorwhileyouaremakingyournotes.

Significant over-orunder-runningoftheallottedtime(here7minutes)ispenalisedin‘Organisation&Prioritisation’.

Inintroductionadebaterbriefly lists their argumentsandthoseoftheothermemberoftheteam.Itisimportanttomakeanoteofthesesoyoucan,forexample,checkbacktoseewhethertheycoverwhattheypromiseto.

Thismodelsummationdistillsthebiggestareasofdisputeinto3prioritisedpoints.‘Peace’wascertainlythetopissueinthedebate.Seehow‘Costs’&‘Aid’arecombinedinto‘Valueformoney’.

Every judge developstheir own shorthand forcommon elements in adebate. This judge uses

D to mark the definition, R tohighlight rebuttaland1 2 3 toshoweachpoint

thataspeakerismaking.

PointsofInformationareabsolutelycentraltogooddebating;alldebatersmustofferatleast2or3duringeverymainspeechtheyhearandtakeatleast1(preferably2or3)duringthemainspeechtheymake.Tomakesuretheydo,itisvitaltokeepatally:

•Points offered: Belle has offered a good number of points through the debate(although7inonespeechmaygetclosetodisagreeable‘barracking’).Sebastianhasofferedfartoofewandmustbepenalisedunder‘Listening&Response’.

•Pointstaken:Thisjudgeringspointswhenaccepted.SowecantellthatLilytooktwopointsandAllentookone.Thetextremindsuswhatthepointwasabout.

I I Evidence II I USA II

I e.g. Red Cross II

I

Loud, clear voice

Too much walking about

Very enthusiastic

Good volume and changes of tone

Great rhetorical language use (e.g. “UN = Uncooperative Nationalists”)

Head down in his speech all the way through

Shuffles about a lot

Barely audible during second point

Little presence

8 1/25913 351/2

3556 191/21/2

4555 19

Stay still! + a bit loud

Emphatic pauses after lists of questions

Strong closing statement

74


Notesonsummaryofdebate,whichshouldinclude:(a)referencetooppositionarguments,(b)reference to team’s rebuttal of proposition’s arguments, (c) some reference to the floor debate

Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response



Opp Summary NAME:

/100Team total


Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st proposition

To 2nd proposition

1st Opposition NAME:



Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st proposition

To 2nd proposition

2nd Opposition NAME:


Too quiet, but a very calm and reasonable tone

Eye contact with the audience throughout the speech

Some interesting adjectives to contrast proposition and opposition cases

I I Regions + UN II

Lily

The UN has helped peace – e.g. Kosovo and East Timor. Many UN ‘blue helmet’ peacekeepers are highly skilled. Peace now in both countries. Media never reports successes, only failures.

R Terrorism – UN stops terror through giving aid to countries ( ✘ Simple assertion - no evidence given for this). If UN abolished, aid organisations like UNESCO (£1 billion for 2004 Tsunami) and UNICEF go with it. UN General Assembly and Security Council provide a forum for countries to get together and debate without using violence.

✘No introduction of arguments R Just because some countries ignore UN doesn’t means it’s bad

R UN helped peace in Kosovo

Lilyhasdeliveredareasonablespeech,withrebuttaland 3 arguments (‘Peace’, ‘Terrorism/Aid’ and‘Forum’) but the notes don’t show that structureclearly.Therecouldbetworeasonsforthis:

• Itwasn’tdeliveredclearlywithsome‘signposting’(e.g.anintroductionor‘preview’atthestart)andstylisticaspects(e.g.pausing)usedtoaddclarity.In this case, the speaker should be penalisedslightly under ‘Organisation & Prioritisation’and/or‘Expression&Delivery’asappropriate.

•Thejudgewasn’tpayingenoughattention;manytop speakers don’t follow the slightly clichéedtraditionofsaying“...andnowmysecondpointwillbe...”andusesubtlebutclearsignposting,whichjudgesneedtobealertto.

The ‘Terrorism’ argumentis problematic for tworeasons:

•Firstly, as noted, theargument that aid stopsterror has been simplyasserted, rather thanbeing backed up eitherby logical reasoning (ahypothetical example,for instance) or by firm evidence. This shouldbe penalised under‘Reasoning&Evidence’.

•The ‘Terrorism’ point isbased on the fact thatthe UN gives aid. Thesimple fact that the UNis a large aid distributoris also a stronger pointthanthecontentious(andunproven) point aboutterror. So it would havemade more sense tomake the ‘Aid’ point first andthenfollowitwiththe‘Terrorism’pointeitherasasub-pointorasubsequentmain point. This kind offlawed progression should be penalised slightlyunder ‘Organisation andPrioritisation’.

Bellemayhavebeenthebestspeaker,butSebastianwasweak.Theoppositionwasmoreconsistentinquality,soLilyandAllenwinthedebatebyasmallmargin.

Many speakers start by replying to (‘rebutting’)arguments made by the other side. Rebuttal isessentialforagood‘Listening&Response’mark,butdoesn’thavetocomeatthestart.

Somespeakers‘interweave’someoralloftheirrebuttalinthemainbodyoftheirspeech.Thisisequallyasvalidintermsof‘Listening&Response’andmaybebetter‘Organisation&Prioritisation’.

For example, Lily starts with rebuttal aboutpeopleignoringtheUN.Hernextpointofrebuttalis actually very substantial - it’s really her first mainpoint,sothejudgehascarrieditovertotheleft-handside.She’salsomadeitclearthather‘Terrorism’point lateron is rebuttal,sothiscanbecountedin‘Listening&Response’,too.

Itisimportantnottogetsocaughtupinintensivenote-making that you ignore thespeakers’ ‘Expression &Delivery’andforgettomakesomenotesonitattheendofeachspeech.

Ajudgingpanelof3ormorecould consider agreeingthat one member makesfewernotestoenablethemtotakeinthedebateastheaudiencehearsandseesit.

Allen

Repetitionofthiskindmaybelazyorgoodteamwork;itdependsonthecontext...

1 POPULARITY 2 POOR PEOPLE

1 POPULARITY: Just because some people don’t like the UN doesn’t mean we should abolish it – US and Somalia haven’t signed UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child; that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good thing/children don’t have rights ✔

R NATO stopped war in Kosovo, but it would have started again without the UN

R EU & ASEAN only do money, not peace

2 POOR PEOPLE: Will be worse off without the UN (e.g. UNESCO gave £1 billion in aid to tsunami disaster relief). Individual govts. can’t do that.

Allen

1 THE UNITED NATIONS & PEACE: Kosovo, East Timor, Forum for debate Doing a good job

Dealt with some floor then summed up 2 MAIN ISSUES:

3 THE UNITED NATIONS & AID Giving more than any country, and more effectively.

II I China & Russia

I I 99% support

I

8767 291/21/2

Powerful speech, very statesman like

Great use of gestures and body language

Spoke excellently from notes, contributing to a conversational but definite style

9886 311/21/2

Excellent use of a reasonable tone

Really engages with the audience and delivers speech with impact

5444 17

771/2


Notesonsummaryofdebate,whichshouldinclude:(a)referencetopropositionarguments,(b) reference to team’s rebuttal of opposition’s arguments, (c) some reference to the floor debate

Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response



Prop Summary NAME:

MOTION:

/100


Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st opposition

To 2nd opposition

2nd Proposition NAME:



Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st opposition

To 2nd opposition

1st Proposition NAME:

Team total

Judging notes sheet – Proposition

10/10= 15/159/10 = 13½/158/10 = 12/157/10 = 10½/156/10 = 9/155/10 = 7½/154/10 = 6/153/10 = 4½/152/10 = 3/151/10 = 1½/15

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Judgingnotessheet|Page42

Thekeyquestiontoaskyourselfwhilejudgingis“Hasthespeakerbeenpersuasive?”.Allthecategoriesinthemarkschemerelatetothisquestion.It’s important to remember that, following the first proposition’s speech, all speakers should be responding to (‘rebutting’) arguments made by the otherside;theymaydosoaspartoftheirmainarguments,somakesureyoulookoutforthisandreward‘Listening&Response’appropriately.

Notesonsummaryofdebate,whichshouldinclude:(a)referencetooppositionarguments,(b)reference to team’s rebuttal of proposition’s arguments, (c) some reference to the floor debate

Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response



Opp Summary NAME:

/100Team total


Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st proposition

To 2nd proposition

1st Opposition NAME:



Reasoning&Evidence


Listening&Response




To 1st proposition

To 2nd proposition

2nd Opposition NAME:


Judging notes sheet – Opposition

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Judgingnotessheet|Page43


Hosting a round of the Schools Mace

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Hostingaround|Page44

SchoolsMaceroundstakeplace locally,sowerelyon approximately a quarter of entrants hosting aroundeveryyear.Werecognisetheextraeffortthathostteachersputintothecompetition,buthopethatthey also enjoy many benefits.

Why host a round?Hosting enables you to involve a much largernumber of students in the debate than just yourtwocompetitors:

-ChairpersonsandTimekeepers -Hoststowelcomegueststotheschool -andhelpserverefreshments -Moreaudiencemembersthanyou -can fit in a minibus Thisisinvaluableinintroducingyoungerpupilsto

debatewhomayonedayformpartofyourteam.Hosting raises the profile of debating at your school, particularly among key members of staffsuchastheSeniorManagementTeam.Finally,hostingmeansthatyouwon’thavetotraveltotakepartinyourround.

Many of you will already have indicated yourwillingnesstohostonyourentryform.Ifyoudidn’t,butwouldnow like toaddyourname to the listofpotentialhosts,pleasecontactyourAreaOrganiser.

How does the ESU support host schools?We will send you a list of teachers who havesuggested that they may be available to judgedebatesinyourarea(ifyouwouldliketobeaddedtothislist,[email protected]).YourAreaOrganisermay also be able to help in finding suitable judges ifyouhaveproblems.Wewillsendyouahostpackbeforeanyroundyouare hosting containing any additional informationweareabletogiveyouandfeedbackformsforyoutoreturntoyourAreaOrganiser.The ESU can help schools financially if they do nothaveanavailablebudgettocoverthecostsofhosting.

Problems with hosting a roundMost rounds are reasonably trouble-free. However,fromtimetotimeproblemsdooccur.Herearesometipsonwhattodo:

Ifateamislate:Hostareallowedtochangetherunningorderofdebatesattheirdiscretion.Ifateampullsoutseveraldaysormorebeforethe debate: We would like to remind all teamsthat they (and their headteachers, who signed a

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declaration on your entry form) have committedthemselvestothecompetitionandthatpullingoutofadebatecausesmajorinconvenienceforotherteams.Inexperiencedteamsoftendoverywell inthecompetitionandshouldbeencouragedtohaveago,eveniftheygetlastminutenerves.However,ifateamdoespulloutofyourroundthehostschoolisnormallyaskedbytheAreaOrganisertoput ina‘swingteam’.Weappreciatethattheymayhavelesstimetoprepare,butit’sagoodchancetogivenext year’s team some experience and the mainthing is to make sure that all the visiting teamshavesomeonetoargueagainst.Theswingteamisallowedtogothroughtothenextroundiftheyareconsideredgoodenough,withtheprovisothatonlyoneteamfromanyoneschoolcangothrough.Ifateampullsoutontheday:Onceagain, it ispreferable to field a swing team. As a last resort, a pairofteachersmaydebatesothateveryonehassomeonetodebateagainst.

Please contact your Area Organiser immediately ifyouhaveproblemsyouareunabletoresolve.

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MotionsForeachroundtheESUwillreleasesixmotions,from which host schools choose two or three,dependingonthenumberofdebatestakingplaceintheevening.

Motionsineachroundfallintotwocategories,‘A’and‘B’–category‘A’motionshavebeenchosento reflect the competition’s partnership with the DepartmentofConstitutionalAffairs.Hostschoolsshouldchooseatleastone‘A’motionandatleastone‘B’motionwhenselectingmotions.

‘A’motionsfortheFirstRoundThisHousewouldcreateanationalparliamentforEngland(fordebatesinEngland)

or ThisHousewouldcreateafederalstructurefor

theUnitedKingdom(fordebatesinScotland)ThisHousewouldmakevotingcompulsoryThisHousewouldabolishtrialbyjury

‘B’motionsfortheFirstRoundThisHousewouldrequirepeopletoactivelyoptoutiftheydonotwanttheirorganstobeusedfortransplantsThis House would scrap Britain’s nucleardeterrentThisHousewouldallowtheuseofperformance-enhancingdrugsinsport.

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Guidelines for hosts: Checklist of things to do

Your area organiser will contact you to confirm with you that you will be hosting a first round of the competition, and to tell you who the other schoolsinyourroundwillbe.

®

Contact the teachers from the other schools in your round, offeringthemtwoor threedateswhenyoucouldhostyour round.Askthemtoconfirm as soon as possiblewhetherornottheycanmakethosedates,emphasisingthattheyshouldonlydeclinedateswhichareimpossibleforthemtomake.

®

Selectmotions from theboxonpage44of thehandbook.Youshouldrandomlyselectwhichschooldebateswhichmotiononwhichsideandinformalltheschoolsbyletteratleasttwoweekspriortotheround.Youshouldalsocheckthattheschoolshavereceivedthisinformation.

®

Invite three judges. They do not need to be experienced debaters ordebatejudges,butiftheyhavenotjudgedtheSchoolsMacebeforeitisparticularlyimportantthattheyreadtheGuidelinesforjudgesonpages36-41ofthehandbook.Sendalljudgesacopyoftheseguidelines,eveniftheyhavejudgedbefore,asourmarkingschemehaschangedthisyear.

Your judgesshouldnothaveacloseconnectionwithanyschoolinvolved in theheat.Currentorpastparents, teachersorgovernorsshouldnotbeaskedtojudge.Ifyouareableto invite localuniversitystudentdebaters,teachers,orprofessionals who have had some experience of either debating orjudgingdebating,theywillmakeavaluablecontributiontothepanel.Youcouldalsoaskcouncillors,localMPsorMEPsorlocaljournalists,butpleaseemphasisetothemtheimportanceofreadingtheguidelines,astheymaynotbefamiliarwiththisformatofdebate,eveniftheyuseotherformsofdebateaspartoftheirwork.You should not offer to pay adjudicators, although travel expensescanbeoffered(especiallytouniversitystudents)andhostssometimesexpresstheirgratitudewithabottleofwineoramealafterwards.

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InvitesomeolderstudentsfromyourschooltoactasChairpersonsandTimekeepers for the debates. Give them a copy of the Guidelines forChairpersonsandTimekeepersfromthehandbooktoreadbeforehand.

®Arrangewithyourcateringstaffformodestrefreshmentsforthevisitors(e.g.coffee,teaandsnacks).Thesearenormallyservedwhilethejudgesareoutmakingtheirdecision(providesomeforthejudges,too),butyoumayalsowanttogivevisitorssomethingtodrinkwhentheyarrive.

®

Gettheotherschoolstocontactyoutotellyouthenamesofthestudentswhowillbespeakinginthedebateandprepareanorderpaperliketheoneonpage47ofthehandbook.YoucandownloadaWordtemplateforproducingthisfromwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace.

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Preparearoom(seepage46ofthehandbook)andputoutenoughchairsforthesizeoftheaudienceyouexpect. ®Putjugsofwaterandglassesonthetablesforthespeakersandjudges. ®ProvideChairpersonsandTimekeeperswithenoughoftheFlowchartsforChairsandTimekeepersforeachofthedebatestheywillbeinvolvedin. ®Provide each judge with several copies of the A3 note-taking sheet onpages42-43ofthehandbook.Theydonothavetousethesesheets,butmay find them helpful. Also provide each judge with another copy of the Guidelinesforjudgesfrompages36-41ofthehandbook.

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Informthejudgeshowmanyteamsshouldbeprogressingfromyourround(yourAreaOrganiserwillhavetoldyouthis–ifyouarenotsure,checkwithhimorherbeforehand).

®Onceeveryoneisseated,welcometheaudienceandintroducethejudgesbefore handing over to the first Chairperson of the evening. ®

Thank the adjudicators and everyone else for coming. Then fill in your Feedbackform(sentwithyourHostPack)withthedetailsofwhichteamsaregoingthroughtothenextround,andwhichteamhasbeenchosenasthereserve.Thensendthisbyfax,emailorposttoyourAreaOrganiser.

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FirstrounddatesinEnglandshouldbesetbymid-October(earlierinScotland),foraroundtotakeplacebeforetheendofNovember.

SecondrounddatesinEnglandshouldbesetbeforeChristmas,ifatallpossible,forroundsinlateJanuary/earlyFebruary.

Youcouldhaveapairofstudentstochairalldebatesthatevening,orgivemorestudentsagobyhavingadifferentpairforeachdebate.

Thisisagoodwayofgivingexperiencetostudentswhomaycompetenextyear.

Manyhostsareabletocoverthecostsofrefreshmentsthemselves,butyoucanclaimexpensesofupto£50fromtheESUifyourschoolisunabletoaffordit.Todothis,pleasewritetotheCentreforSpeechandDebateattheESU,enclosingacaterer’sinvoiceorreceipts.

Itisparticularlyimportantthatthisformissentbackpromptly,asotherwisetheAreaOrganiserisunabletoarrangethenextroundofthecompetition.

Thisruleregardingimpartialjudgesisparticularlyimportant;you may be able to find contactswithotherschoolsunconnectedwithyourthoseintheroundtohelpjudge.



Guidelines for hosts: How to set up the room

YourroommaynothavechandelierslikeourHQatDartmouthHouse,butalldebatevenuesneed the same things: three tables for the Proposition, Chairperson/Timekeeper andOppositionatthetopoftheroom;chairsfortheaudiencewithanaisledownthemiddle;atablefor3judges.

PROPOSITIO

N OPPOSITION

JUDGES


Whattoprovide:

• Ajugofwaterandenoughglassesforallthedebaters

Whattoprovide:

• Ajugofwaterandenoughglassesforallthedebaters

Whattoprovide:

• Agavelandplinth(ifyouhaveone)• Chairperson’s flowcharts (one for

eachdebate)

Whattoprovide:

• Abell(ifyouhaveone)• Timekeeper’s flowcharts (one for

eachdebate)

Whattoprovide:

• Ajugofwaterandglasses• Judgingnotessheets(frompages

42-43ofthehandbook,enoughfor1perjudgeperdebate)

• Judgingguidelines(pages36-41ofthehandbook,1perjudge)

AUDIENCE&JUDGES



Guidelines for hosts: A sample order paper

Acopyoftheorderpapershouldbeprovidedtoallspeakers,Chairpersons,Timekeepers,judgesandaudiencemembers.YoucandownloadaWordtemplateforitfromwww.britishdebate.com/schools/mace.



Guidelines for Chairpersons and Timekeepers

TheChairpersonandTimekeeperareveryimportantin each debate as they help to make sure thateverythinggoessmoothly,accordingtotherulesofthecompetition.

Both the Chairperson and the Timekeeper havespecially prepared flowcharts to refer to during each debate. If you read the following instructions andkeep to the flowchart you can’t go too far wrong.

Therewillbeseveraldebatesduringtheevening:youmaybechairingortimekeepingforjustone,orforallthree.Whicheveristhecase,wehopeyouenjoyit!

Getting set upThe Chairperson’s first job is to make sure that the speakersaresetupreadytospeak.Theyshouldsitinthe following positions, with the first speaker on each sideclosesttotheChairperson’stable:

PROPOSITIO

N OPPOSITION


AUDIENCE&JUDGES

Make sure they are settled comfortably and havewater to drink. Write down their names on yourflowchart and check tricky pronunciations.

Starting the debate

Yourteacherwillprobablystartoffbywelcomingtheguestsfromtheotherschools.

Nextyouhavetostartthedebate.Ifyouhaveagavel(woodenhammer)thenyoucanbangthattogettheaudience’s attention. The traditional words to saynextare“IcallthisHousetoorder”.Then:

Saywhatthe‘motion’(topic)fordebateisIntroduce the speakers for the proposition andoppositionbynamingtheirschoolsandsayingwhowill be speaking first, second and in summary.Briefly set out the format of the debate, perhaps by usingthefollowingwords:

StandingOrdersinbrief

This evening’s debate will consist of sixspeeches.

Thefourmainspeecheswilleachbe7minuteslong. The first and last minutes of main speeches willbe‘protectedtime’duringwhichnoPointsofInformation may be offered. After the first minute you will hear this sound [Timekeeper makes sound they will use to signal]. Thatmeans thatspeakersfromtheothersidemaystandtoofferPoints of Information. They must wait for theirpoint to be accepted by the person speakingbeforecontinuingand,ifdeclined,mustsitdownagainstraightaway.Atthestartofthelastminuteyouwillhearthissound[Timekeeper gives signal again].ThatmeansnomorePointsofInformationmay be offered. At 7 minutes you will hear adoublesignal [Timekeeper gives double signal],afterwhichpointthespeakermustconcludeassoonaspossible.

Afterthefourmainspeechesyou,theaudience,can make brief comments in the floor debate.

There will then be two four-minute summaryspeeches, first from the opposition and then from theproposition.NoPointsofInformationmaybeofferedduringthesummaryspeeches.

Anvotewillbeheldonthemotionattheendoftheevening,afterthejudgeshaveretired.

Then call on the first speaker:

Youshouldpauseaftereachspeechandcheckforanodfromthejudgesthattheyarereadytogoon.

After that, simply follow the flowchart and call on eachspeakertogivetheirspeechinturn.

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|GuidelinesforChairpersonsandTimekeepers|Page48


Guidelines for Timekeepers

Timing the speechesTheTimekeeperneeds to timeeachspeechwithastopwatchandknockclearly (or ringabell) togivetimesignalstothespeakerstohelpthemduringtheirspeech. There is a special flowchart to help you carry outthisrole.

The times when you should knock or ring are asfollows (they are also all given on your flowchart):

Mainspeeches(7minutes)• Onesignalafter1minute• Onesignalafter6minutes• Doublesignalat7minutes• Doubleagainat7minutes15seconds• Keepsignallingafter7andahalfminutes

Summaryspeeches(4minutes)• Onesignalafter3minutes• Doublesignalat4minutes• Doubleagainafter4minutes15seconds• Keepsignallingafter4andahalfminutes

Keep your stopwatch running throughout eachspeech(youshouldonlystopitforaPointofOrder–notPointsofInformation–oraninterventionfromtheChairperson).

You should write down the full time each speakerspoke for at the end of each speech. At the endof each debate you should hand your sheet to thejudges.

The floor debateFollowing thesecondoppositionspeech, there isafloor debate. Ask the audience members to raise their handsiftheyhaveapointtheywanttomake.

‘Points from the floor’ may be phrased as statementsorquestions,butwillnotbeanswereddirectlybytheteams,whomuststayquietduringthe floor debate; they have an opportunity to refer toaudiencepointsintheirsummaryspeeches.Askpeopletostandupandstatetheirnameandschool when they make floor points.Make sure floor speeches are not too long and that asmanypeopleaswish toget tohavetheirsay.Don’t ask someone to speak twice unless therehavebeenfewerthanthreecontributions.You, your Timekeeper, adjudicators and teachersfromthesameschoolasoneoftheteamsinthedebatearenotallowedtospeak.

Use your own judgement on how long the floor debate shouldgoonfor.5to10minutesisagoodlength.

The audience voteThevotedoesn’ttakeplaceattheendofthedebate,or it might influence the judges. All votes happen after thejudgesretireattheendoftheevening.

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Keeping orderTheChairmustkeeporderduringthedebate.Allthe‘StandingOrders’ (rules)areprintedon thebackoftheOrderPaper(alsoonpage47ofthehandbook).Youshouldreadthesebeforechairingthedebate.

However, in brief, the Chairperson is allowed tointervene ifanyof thespeakersormembersof theaudience are being rude, abusive or going againstone of the rules of the debate. For example, youmighthavetointerveneifspeakers:

Goovertheirtimelimitbymorethan25secondsTalkbackaftermakingaPointofInformationAre‘barracking’bystandinguptoofferaridiculousnumberofPointsofInformation

Onveryrareoccasionssomeonemayoffera‘PointofOrder’ if theythinksomeoneelse isbreakingtheStandingOrders.TheTimekeepershouldimmediatelystoptheclockandyoucangivearulingastowhetheranyonehasbeenactingagainsttherules.Ifyouareindoubt,askoneofthejudgestohelpyou.

Thanking the speakersNormallyspeakersareprettywellbehaved.Sothankthemwhenthedebateends!ThenhandovertothenextChair,orcarryonifyouarechairingallevening.

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Chairperson’s flowchart for running a debate

➊TODAY’SMOTIONIS:

Readoutthe‘StandingOrdersinbrief’fromtheGuidelinessheetbeforeintroducingthespeakers:➋THESPEAKERSONTHEPROPOSITION... ANDTHESPEAKERSONTHEOPPOSITION...

Readouttheschoolsandnamesofthespeakersfromyournotesbelow:

School School

➌1stPROPOSITIONSPEAKER

Name

➍1stOPPOSITIONSPEAKER

Name

➎2ndPROPOSITIONSPEAKER

Name

➏2ndOPPOSITIONSPEAKER

Name

➐FLOORDEBATE

Askforshortquestionsorstatementsfromtheaudience;youmaywanttoaskforpeopletosaywhethertheyarespeakingforthemotion,againstit,orsupportsomepointsfrombothsides.Youmightalsowanttoaskforpointstoeachsideinturn,forexample:“Firstwewilltakeapointagainsttheproposition,andthenone against the opposition”. Unless you have had fewer than three contributions to the floor debate, no one should speak twice in one floor debate. Teachers may not speak during their team’s debate.

➑OPPOSITIONSUMMARY

Name

➒PROPOSITIONSUMMARY

Name

Thankthespeakersandadjournthedebate.ThenhandovertothenextChair,orstartupthenextdebateifyouarechairingallevening.

Afterthejudgesretireattheendofthelastdebatethereis➓THEVOTE

Votesfor: Votesagainst: Abstentions:


Yourjobistoassistthespeakers,theChairpersonandthejudgesbykeepingtrackofthetimingsforeachdebate.Duringeachofthespeechesyouneedtogivesignals.ThesemarkwhenotherspeakerscanstartofferingPointsofInformation,whentheymuststopofferingthem,andwhenthespeakershouldstopspeaking.Youmighthaveaspecialhammer(calleda‘gavel’)toknockwith,orabelltoring.Ifnot,thenuseanythingthatmakesaclearsound!

CopythenameofeachspeakerfromtheOrderPaperintothe‘Name’boxesand,aftereachspeech,writethetotaltimefortheirspeechinthe‘Timing’box.Attheendofthedebate,butbeforethevote,givethesheetwiththetimingsonittothejudges.YoucanalsohelptheChairpersonbyactingas‘Teller’andcountingthevotesattheendofthedebate.

➊FIRSTPROPOSITIONSPEAKER

Whentoknock/ringbell• Onceat1:00• Onceat6:00• Twiceat7:00• Againifstillspeakingat7:15

Name

Timing£minutes££seconds

➋FIRSTOPPOSITIONSPEAKER


Name


➌SECONDPROPOSITIONSPEAKER


Name


➍SECONDOPPOSITIONSPEAKER


Name


➎OPPOSITIONSUMMARYSPEAKER

Whentoknock/ringbell• Onceat3:00• Onceat4:00• Againifstillspeakingat4:15

Name


➏PROPOSITIONSUMMARYSPEAKER

Whentoknock/ringbell• Onceat3:00• Onceat4:00• Againifstillspeakingat4:15

Name


Timekeeper’s flowchart for timing a debate



Other debating formats

British Parliamentary formatTherearemanyotherschoolsdebatingcompetitionsacross the UK. You can find out about these competitions (mostly run by University debatingsocieties) at www.britishdebate.com/schools/othercompetitions.

Theuniversity-basedcompetitionsalluseaformatcalled British Parliamentary which enables fourteamstocompeteinonedebate,withtwoteamsoneachside.Theteamsfaceeachotherdownatable,abit likethefrontbenches intheBritishHouseofCommonsandHouseofLords(hencethename).

Inordertowinthedebateyoumustagreewiththeotherteamonyourside,butarguethatsidebetterthantheydo.

RoomlayoutforaBPdebate

PropositionTeam1

OppositionTeam1

PropositionTeam2

OppositionTeam2

The length of all speeches in ‘BP’ is normally five minutes,andthespeechorderisasfollows:

1stpropositionu1stoppositionu2ndpropositionu2ndoppositionu3rdpropositionu3rdoppositionu

4thproposition(summary)u4thopposition(summary)

MuchoftheinterestoftheBPformatcomesfromthe simultaneousagreement and tensionbetweenthetwoteamsoneachside.

The first speaker from the second team on each sideneedstoshowthat theyareabletoprogressthedebateinsomeway.Theyarerequiredtoofferan ‘extension’ to the first team’s arguments; this can either be an entirely new argument (or set ofarguments) that the first team neglected to mention, or a significant piece of rebuttal which is large enoughandnewenoughtocountasanextension.

Obviously, the first team on each side needs to both takeontheargumentsoftheopposingsideandtrytocoverasmanyoftheargumentsfortheirsideaspossible, so that the second team has difficulty in finding an adequate extension.

ThesummaryspeechesinBParedeliveredbythefourthspeakeroneachside.

PointsofInformationremainvitalandmaybemadeby any speaker from the opposing side duringany speech (including summary speeches). Thereis a minute of protected time on each end of thespeeches. There is no floor debate.

Another key element of BP debating is ‘short-preparation’,whichisdescribedbelow.

ThereisnostandardcategorisedmarkschemeforBritishParliamentarydebates,thoughallthesamefundamental skills are assessed in this format asintheSchoolsMace,eveniftheysometimeshavedifferent names or different weightings applied tothem.

uFindoutmoreabouttheBritishParliamentaryformatatwww.britishdebate.com/schools

Short-preparation debatesShort-preparation debates mean that, rather thanreceivingthemotiontwoweeksinadvancelikeyoudowithmostMacerounds,youaregiventhemotionshortly before you speak. British Parliamentarycompetitions are normally short-prep, with thestandardlengthofpreparationtimeas15minutes.

On the rare occasions when short-prep debatesoccurintheMaceyouhaveanhourtoprepare.

The motions for short-preparation debates mayrequireslightlylessdetailedknowledgethanMacemotions,butagooddebateralwaysneedstoreadthe papers so that they are familiar with current

affairsandtopicalissues.

The key thingwith short-preparation periods is touse the time effectively. Spend the first few minutes insilence,writingdownasmanyargumentsforyoursideasyoucanthinkof.Thenisolatethestrongestarguments, structure them as described earlier inthisbookandthinkofasmanyexamplesasyoucanto support them. Before the debate starts, checkwithyourpartnerthatyou’rebothclearwhateachotherissaying.

uGetmoretipsonhandlingshort-prepdebatesatwww.britishdebate.com/schools

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Otherdebatingformats|Page52


World Schools formatThe World Schools format is used at the annualWorld Schools Debating Championships, anEnglish-speaking competition attended by around35countrieseveryyear.

It closely resembles the Mace style, but withone extra speaker, allowing the argument to bedevelopedalittlemore.

RoomlayoutforWorldSchoolsDebate

PROPOSITIO

N OPPOSITION

Chairperson Timekeeper

Theorderofspeakersisasfollows:

1stproposition(8minutes)u1stopposition(8minutes)u

2ndproposition(8minutes)u2ndopposition(8minutes)u3rdproposition(8minutes)u3rdopposition(8minutes)u

Opposition summary (given by either the first orsecondoppositionspeaker)u

Proposition summary (given by either the first orsecondpropositionspeaker)

There is no floor debate in World Schools style.

Bothlong-andshort-preparationdebatesareusedattheWorldSchoolsDebatingChampionships.Thelong lengthof the speechesmeans that speakersmustbeabletogointotheirideasinconsiderabledepth, even when faced with short-prep debates,sogoodgeneralknowledgeisrequired.MotionsattheChampionshipsaresetonmotionsrelevant toallcountriesandsuccessfuldebatershavetorefertoexamplesfromcountriesotherthantheirown.

The mark scheme rewards Style, Content andStrategy. Style is ranked equally with Content(40% each), with Strategy worth 20%. A specialPoints of Information adjuster is used to rewardor penalise speakers whose Points of Informationwere significantly better or worse than the rest of theirspeech.

Dulwich College holds a one-day tournament inWorldSchools formateachSeptember.Detailsonthecalendaratwww.britishdebate.com.

uFindoutmoreabouttheWorldSchoolsformat atwww.britishdebate.com/schools

TeamEnglandatWorldSchools

2006’s Championships in Cardiff were record-breaking for Team England, as it achievedunprecedentedrankingsforitsfourteammembersontheindividualspeakertab:JamieSusskindwasranked1stintheworldwithLizzieBauer2nd,KitsonSymes3rdandRichardTrainor5th.

The English team is managed by the English-SpeakingUnionfromDartmouthHouse.Arigorousweekend of trials is held each year, leading to anintensive training period for the team under theguidance of a highly experienced coach. Variouscriteriaareusedtochoosewhototrialbut,amongotherstandards,weguaranteetotrialanyonewhohasreachedanAreaFinaloftheSchoolsMace.

Applications to trial for the 2007 tournament inSouth Korea have been open online at www.britishdebate.com/schools/england for severalmonths, but if you are interested in applying tojoin the teamyoumay still have just enough timetodosobefore thedeadlineof22September. Ifnot, checkbackat thesamepage laternext yearfordetailsofhowtoapply for the teamwhichwillberepresentingEnglandatthe2008WorldSchoolsDebatingChampionshipsinWashington,DC.

TeamScotlandatWorldSchools

ScotlandalsohadastrongyearinCardiff,breaking3rdontheteamtab.

The Scottish national team is organised by acommittee which works independently of theEnglish-Speaking Union. However, links betweenthetwoareclose;ESUScotlandinEdinburghliaisesclosely with it and Diana Gotts (our Scottish AreaOrganiser)isoneofthecommittee’smembers.

Scottishselectionforthe2007tournamentinSouthKorea isnowclosed tonewapplications,but youcancontactDiana([email protected])ifyouwouldliketohearabouthowtoapplyfor2008.

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Otherdebatingformats|Page53


Cross-curricular debate: Getting debate into every classroom

Why start a cross-curricular programme?Only a handful of students from each school havethechancetoparticipateintheSchoolsMaceeachyear. But as debate benefits students so much, why shouldn’tallthestudentsinyourschoolbedebatingasacorepartoftheircurriculum?

Asthesepagesshow,debatingcanassistcurriculumdeliveryinyourschoolbymeetingmanystatutoryandexamrequirementsinbothEnglandandScotland.

Andintroducingdebatetomorestudentswillincreaseinterest in extra-curricular debating and give you alargerpooltodrawonforyourteams.

All teachers are teachers of debatingDebating isn’t the preserve of onememberof staff(‘thedebatingteacher’)whoenterscompetitions;it’sakeytoolforteachinganddevelopingoracyacrossallsubjects.Ifyou’recurrentlyknownas‘thedebatingteacher’, rename yourself ‘debating coordinator’ toget thatmessageacross.Or, ifyourschooldoesn’thave one already, take on the wider role of ‘oracycoordinator’.

Inthewaythatallteachersarenowaccustomedtobeing teachers of literacy, whatever their subject,we’dliketoseemembersofstaffinalldepartmentsusingthesuiteofdebatingskills,thedeliveryofwhichcouldbecoordinatedbyyouoracolleague.

Itmightbetheroleofonedepartment(e.g.theEnglishdepartment) to introduce debating to all studentswithinayeargroup,butoncethatisdone,thesuiteofskillscanbeusedanddevelopedbyteachersinallothersubjects.

If your school would benefit from having members ofstafffromone,severaloralldepartmentstrainedin curricular use of debate you might want toconsider a CPD session from Andrew Fitch, theESU’s Debates and Education Officer, and members of our squad of trained university debate mentors.To discuss prices and make a booking, [email protected]. Or we could provide apupilworkshopforaclassorawholeyeargroup.

Debating is not just for the Gifted & TalentedPartipantsintheMaceareveryoftenontheGifted&Talentedregister,butcurriculardebatingisanactivitythatshouldbeaccessible toallstudents,ofallagegroups. Our London Debate Challenge programmehas had considerable success teaching debate toKS3studentsinsomeofLondon’smostchallengingschools, and we have launched Primary SchoolsprogrammesinseveralLondonboroughs.

Many students who have particular difficulty with reading and writing activities first come into their ownacademicallywhentheyaregiventhechancetodebate. Many difficult students are stimulated to listen and encouraged to respect others’ right to speakas theyenjoyplayingby the rulesof thecontrolledcompetition inherent in Points of Information andrebuttal.

TheESU’sforthcomingDiscover Your Voice materialsfully detail the pedagogy behind these ideas andincludeahostofways toexpand thebasicdebateformattoactivelyinvolveall30membersofaclassand engage less confident speakers, or those with English as an Additional Language. [email protected].

Debating in EnglishDebatesinEnglishcanrangefromanyofthestandardMace-typemotions(althoughmanyofthesemaybedonatedtocolleaguesinCitizenship,History,REetc.)to subject-specific motions like “This House believes thatFriarLaurencewasresponsibleforthedeathsofRomeoandJuliet”.Debatealsomeetsmanymajorcurriculumtargets:

• SecondaryNationalStrategy(LiteracyStrand) Takingall the roles involved inadebate, youare

able to meet almost all the Literacy Strategy’sSpeaking&Listeningtargetswiththeexceptionofthosefordrama.

Debating also develops many skills outside thecurriculum’sexplicit‘Speaking&Listening’remit.

Goodspeechesrequireexcellentskillsofresearch(Y7R1&R2,Y8R2,Y9R1),evaluation(Y7R5,Y9R4)andsynthesis(Y8R1,Y9R2).Thevarioususesofnotesindebatinghavealreadybeendiscussedonpages31-33ofthisguide(Y7R4,Y8R3,Y9R3).

TheWriting tripletsareall justasmuchdebatingtriplets, as exemplified by Y8 Wr13 (Persuade, Argue, Advise): “present a case persuasively,makingselectiveuseofevidence,usingappropriaterhetoricaldevicesandanticipatingresponsesandobjections”.

• NationalCurriculumforEnglishatKS4 En1/10a specifies debate as one of the range

of purposes. The format addresses most non-dramatic targets in En1 (Speaking and listening)withtheexceptionofEn1/1d(visualaids),althoughthecompetition’srulesonthiscanberelaxedforclassroomuse.Ourjudgingcriteriaonpages36-41canbeusedinregardtoEn1/1g(self-evaluation).

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Cross-curriculardebate|Page54


RebuttalandPointsofInformationareparticularlypertinentinmeetingalltherequirementsofEn1/2(Listening).

The broad range of demands made of the mainspeakers, and the possibilities for Chairs and floor speakers, meet the stipulation in En1/3 (Groupdiscussion and interaction) that students make“differenttypesofcontributionstogroups”.

• GCSEoralassessments DebatingisidealforassessingIndividualExtended

ContributionsatGCSE.

In general, the competition’s format meets therequirements for oral assessment that students“adopt roles” (AO1 (iii)), engage actively in bothspeakingand listening (AO1(ii))anddeliverclear,imaginative, structured talk in a formal situation(AO1(i)).

Debating in CitizenshipAs our partnership with the Department forConstitutional Affairs demonstrates, debate is anideal tool for introducingyoungpeople to issuesofpoliticsandcitizenship.

DebateisalsoastatutoryrequirementaspartofthenationalcurriculumatKS3andKS4:Ci2c(KS3)statesstudentsshould“contributetogroupandexploratoryclassdiscussions,andtakepartindebates”.Thisisexpandedto“takepartinformaldebates”atKS4.

Debating in ScienceDebating is invaluable in addressing England andWales’ new 21st Century Science curriculum’srequirement that students can “take part confidently in discussions with others about issues involvingscience”. Motions can range from “This Housewouldbangeneticengineering”through“ThisHousebelievesbiofuelsaretheanswertoourenergycrisis”to“ThisHousewouldspendmoremoneyonspaceexploration”.

Debating in the HumanitiesDebating is an ideal tool for meeting curriculumrequirementsacrossthehumanities,bothintermsofskills(e.g.KS3Ge1d“analyseandevaluateevidenceand draw and justify conclusions” or KS3 Hi3b “toevaluateinterpretations)andcontent.

Motions can range from “This House would banabortion”inREto“ThisHouseopposesthebuildingoftheThreeGorgesDam”inGeography.

Historyprovidesopportunitiesforeitherretrospectivedebates (“This House blames Chamberlain for thestartofWorldWarII”)torole-playeddebatestakingplace at a specific time and place in history (e.g. in theHouseofCommonsin1935“ThisHousewould

Specific requirements in ScotlandThe main purposes of Listening and Talking forStandardGradeEnglishareallmetbyourformatof debate. Our clear Standing Orders meet therequirementthatTalkingassessmentatStandardGrade ensures students are clear about “whospeakstowhom,why,aboutwhat,howandwhen(andpossibly,forhowlong)?”Thefactthatspeakerscombineasubstantialcontribution(intheformofamainspeech)withsmallerquestions(intheformof Points of Information) shows how our formatenablesyoutorespondtotheSQA’ssuggestionthata“pupil[may]startwithareasonablylengthystatement of the main concerns, at which pointhemaybeassessedforIndividualTalk.Laterhemay find himself displaying the characteristics of a good group participant, giving and receivingpointsinaresponsiveandtactfulmanner”.

Further questions regarding debate and theScottish curriculum can be addressed to RobMarrs, the Speech & Debates Officer at ESU Scotland,[email protected].

appease Germany”). Or debates can be held tocompareperiods inhistory (e.g.“ThisHousewouldratherliveinRomanLondiniumthanVictorianLondon”fortheGCSEMedicinethroughTimepaper).

Other National Curriculum subjectsHerearesomesamplemotionsforothersubjects:

ICT:“ThisHousebelievescurrentdataprotectionlaws are insufficient”MFL: “This House believes we should be taughtScienceinaforeignlanguage”Music: “This House believes DJs should not bemembersoftheMusician’sUnion”

Key Skills at Post-16Debating covers levels 1-4 for Communication andfulfils some of the requirements for Problem Solving, Working with Others and Improving Own LearningandPerformance.

A-level subjectsPhilosophy: Debate hones skills required inPhilosophy, particularly in regard to AO2 (thedevelopment of argument and counter-argumentwithinthethemesselectedforstudy).Politics: Debate helps towards meeting AO2 andAO3inGovernmentandPolitics.Critical Thinking: Debating is an ideal tool forhelping meet all five assessment objectives for CriticalThinking.

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Cross-curriculardebate|Page55


Extra-curricular debate: Setting up a society

Anunfortunatefactoflifeinanycompetitionofthiskindisthatsometeamswillgetknockedout inthefirst round. The blow of this can be lessened by seeing yourinvolvementintheMaceasthebeginning,ratherthantheend,ofaprocess.

Mostschoolswhoaresuccessful intheMacehaveanactivedebatingsocietywhichhasbeenbuiltupover time; and it benefits not just the debating teams, butthemuchwidercircleofspeakersandaudienceswhotakeparteveryweek,fortnightormonth.

Herearesomeideastostartareally livelydebatingsocietyatyourschool...

Adapting the formatMace speeches are too long for most debatingsocieties(especiallyifyouaremeetingatlunchtimes),soyoumaywanttocutthelengthofspeechesdownto five minutes or less.

Youcaninvolvemorepupilsineachdebatebyhavingthree speakers on each side, with the summaryspeechmadebyaseparatespeaker.

Set up some exciting debatesThemostimportantthingistogetsomereallygooddebates lined up, with interesting motions and(especially for the first few debates) a few speakers in eachdebatewhowillbegoodtolistento.

You can find a list of potential motions to use on our websiteatwww.britishdebate.com/schools.

Youdon’tnecessarilyneedtogofor‘trendy’motionstoattractanaudience;somethingthatiscontroversialandensuresagood,heateddebatewillmakesuretheaudienceenjoysitandthatthewordspreads.

Fromtimetotimeyoumightwanttotrysomenoveltydebates,however.Forexample,‘staffv.students’or‘artsteachersv.scienceteachers’debatescanmakegreatend-of-termevents.

Start up a committeeThemostsuccessfuldebatingsocietiesareorganisedbythestudentsthemselves,withtheactivesupportofoneormoremembersofstaff.Acommitteemighthavethefollowingmembers:

A responsible President to chair the committeemeetingsandrepresentthesocietytotheSchoolCouncilandtheSeniorManagementTeam.An efficient Secretary to take minutes of whathappens at committee meetings, and to keepa special minutes book of all the debatesthemselves.

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ATreasurer to raise and monitor finances for things like publicity materials, refreshments and trips tocompetitions.Anartistically-minded/computer-savvyPublicityOfficertopublicisethedebates.

Toensurethesocietyreachesouttoallyeargroupswithin the school you might aim to elect/coopt atleastonecommitteememberfromeachyeargroup.

Go on a publicity driveThe Publicity Officer should make sure that there areplentyofpostersuparoundtheschoolforeverydebate, and that it has been publicised on thedailynewsbulletin, inassembliesandintheschoolnewspaper. He or she should also make sure areportoneachdebategetswrittenupfortheschoolnewspaperaftereachmeeting.

Consider having some debates in assemblies topublicise the society and make sure that teacherswhoareusingdebateinthecurriculum(seeprevioustwopages)arekept informed,sotheycanplugthesocietytotheirstudents.

Be ready to expandAs thesocietygrows,youcandoseveral things tomeetthedemandfordebating:

Splitthesocietyupintoajuniorandseniorsociety,oroneforeachdifferentKeyStage.Entermorecompetitions like ICYDor theBristol,Cambridge, Durham and Oxford Schoolscompetitions (see www.britishdebate.com/schools/othercompetitions).

Stay involved in the MaceWhynotorganisesomeclubtripstoseeotherroundsoftheSchoolsMacetakingplace?

Thedate(intheSpring)foryourAreaFinalwillbefixed at some point during the autumn term. Your AreaOrganiserwillwritetoinviteyoutothisevent;it’sagreatopportunitytoseethetopteamsfromyour Area and give pupils (including next year’steam)achancetolearnfromtheexperience.If knocked out in the first round, you are also welcometoattendanysecondroundheats(contactyour Area Organiser to find one in your locality).TheNationalandInternationalFinalswillbeheldonthedatesonpage24.Youarewelcometoattendeitherorbothof thesebyapplyingforaticket toDartmouthHousefortheEnglishandInternationalFinals,orDianaGotts(ScottishAreaOrganiser)fortheScottishFinal.

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ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Extra-curriculardebate|Page56


Winners

Last year’s England finalists• LeedsGrammarSchool (NorthernAreachampions)

• WolverhamptonGrammarSchool (CentralAreachampions)

• CheltenhamLadies’College (WesternAreachampions)

• Haberdashers’Aske’sSchoolforBoys (EasternAreachampions)

• CityofLondonSchoolforBoys (LondonAreachampions)

• StSwithun’sSchool (SouthernAreachampions)

The winners were Timosha Goldfarb and AndrewRoseofCityofLondonSchoolforBoys.

Last year’s Scottish winnersThe winners of the Scottish Final were Neil DewarandLaurenPringlefromtheHighSchoolofDundee.

Last year’s International FinalLastyear’sInternationalFinalwasheldinCommitteeRoom 14 of the Houses of Parliament and waspresided over by Lord Hunt, chairman of the ESU,following a welcome from Lord Falconer, Secretaryof State for Constitutional Affairs. The participantswere:

• CityofLondonSchoolforBoys (Englishchampions)

• ColáisteanSpioraidNaoimh (Irishchampions)

• HighSchoolofDundee (Scottishchampions)

• WhitchurchHighSchool (Welshchampions)

ThewinnersoftheESUSchoolsMacefor2006wereTimoshaGoldfarbandAndrewRosefromtheCityofLondonSchoolforBoys.

Former winners of the ESU Schools Mace2006 CityofLondonSchoolforBoys2005 StBonaventure’sRCSchool2004 GeorgeHeriot’sSchool2003 TheBishop’sStortfordHighSchool2002 Haberdashers’Aske’sSchoolforBoys2001 GeorgeHeriot’sSchool2000 SandfordParkHighSchool1999 HighSchoolofGlasgow1998 HighSchoolofGlasgow1997 ColáisteanSpioraidNaoimh1996 WestminsterSchool1995 GeorgeHeriot’sSchool1994 HarrogateGrammarSchool1993 DurhamJohnsonSchool1992 AylesburyGrammarSchool1991 WatfordGrammarSchool1990 SolihullSixthFormCollege1989 WestminsterSchool1988 RiponGrammarSchool1987 LancingCollege1986 LowlandsSixthFormCollege1985 LiverpoolCollege1984 St.George’sCollege,Weybridge1983 SolihullSixthFormCollege1982 WinchesterCollege1981 HerefordCathedralSchool1980 Haberdashers’Aske’sSchool1979 SuttonHighSchoolforGirls1978 CityofLondonSchool1977 Haberdashers’Aske’sSchool1976 MarlboroughCollege1975 AmpleforthCollege1974 TynemouthCollege1973 TudorGrangeGrammarSchool1972 HerefordCathedralSchool1971 QueenElizabethGrammarSchoolforGirls,

Barnet1970 ConventoftheHolyChild,Blackpool1969 HamptonGrammarSchool1968 BromsgroveSchool1967 StLawrenceCollege1966 KingEdwardVICampHillSchoolforGirls1965 EtonCollege1964 EtonCollege1963 AmpleforthCollege1962 DulwichCollege1961 FelstedSchool1960 Christ’sHospital1959 CityofBathSchoolforBoys1957 FelstedSchool

ESUSchoolsMaceHandbook2006-7|Winners|Page57

The Centre for Speech & Debate TheCentreforSpeech&Debate–basedattheEnglish-

Speaking Union’s Headquarters in London – wasestablished in 1995 to coordinate the ESU’s work indebate,publicspeakingandeffectivespokenEnglish.Herearesomeofitsactivities:

• CoordinationoftheSchoolsMaceandinitialstagesofthePublicSpeakingCompetitionforSchools:everyyearwemailover6000contactsinschoolsthroughoutGreat Britain. We then collate entries before handingovertherunningofthePublicSpeakingCompetitiontotheESU’sBranchesDepartment.TheCentre runs theSchoolsMacerightthroughtotheInternationalFinal.

• www.britishdebate.com:TheCentre’sownwebsiteisfull of further information about debate, including theadditional material referred to in this handbook anddetailsofalltheCentre’sactivities,plusacalendarforotherdebatingcompetitionsacrosstheUK.

• SchoolsMaceRoadshow:Thisyear’sworkshopsfornewentrantstotheMacewillhavetakenourteamtoAberdeen,Stirling,Bolton,Leicester,London,Norwich,Lincoln,Darlington,Penrith,Stoke-on-Trent,Maidstone,Southampton,Exeter,CheltenhamandMiltonKeynes!

• Continuing Professional Development Days forteachers: this year, our CPD programme includesdays in Manchester (13 September), Exeter andDarlington(20September)andLondon(IntroductiontoDebatingon27September,AdvancedDebatingon28SeptemberandPublicSpeakingon3October).Furtherinformationondatesthroughouttheyearisavailableatwww.britishdebate.com/schools/training.

• LearningMaterialsDevelopment:theESUhasrecentlyappointed a new Multimedia Learning Producer tospearheadtheproductionofnewlearningresourcesforstudentsandteacherswiththeaimofgreatlyincreasingtherangeofbooks,videosandDVDscurrentlyavailableatwww.britishdebate.com/schools/materials.

• Discover Your Voice workshops for students: Ourimmensely successful London Debate Challengemodel for workshops involving 40 to 150 students isnowavailabletoschoolsnationwide.Contactmichael_edwards@esu.orgforinformation.

• TheGreatShakespeareDebate:AnannualprogrammeforA-levelstudents,debatingShakespeareinStratford-upon-Avon.ApplybytheendofNovemberusingtheformatwww.britishdebate.com/schools/shakespeare.

• DebateAcademy:TheCentrerunsanannualfour-dayresidential summer camp for students and teacherswishing to learn more about debate. To find out more visit www.britishdebate.com/schools/debateacademy.

www.britishdebate.com:theCentreforSpeechandDebate’sdedicatedportal for persuasive spokenEnglishlearningandfortheBritishdebatingcommunity.

RobRobinson,oneofourspeciallytraineduniversitydebatementors,workswithschoolstudentsduringthehighlysuccessfulSchoolsMaceRoadshow2005.

Last year’s winners of the GreatShakespeare Debate, from theKing’s High School for Girls inWarwick.Nextyear’seventwillbetakingplaceinFebruary2007.

Meet the team at Dartmouth House JamesProbert HeadoftheCentreforSpeechandDebate• OverseestheSchoolsMaceandalltheotheractivitiesoftheCentrefor

SpeechandDebate(suchasourCPDprogrammes,Discover Your Voice andwww.britishdebate.com)

MerielTalbot DirectorofBranches/ NationalOrganiser,PublicSpeakingCompetition• OverseestherunningoftheSchoolsPublicSpeakingcompetitionandthe

competition’sBranchandRegionalorganisers.

NatashaPlaister BranchesAssistant/NationalCoordinator,PublicSpeaking Competition([email protected])• Coordinates between Dartmouth House and the Branch and Regional

OrganisersforthePublicSpeakingcompetition.

AndrewFitch Debates and Education Officer• Delivers our teaching programmes for the Schools Mace (including the

roadshow and our series of INSET days) and for the Public Speakingcompetition(suchasourINSETdayatDartmouthHouse).

• AlsoresponsibleforpedagogicalaspectsofDiscover Your Voice.

HaroldRaitt MultimediaLearningProducer([email protected])• DevelopsteachingresourcesfortheSchoolsMace,thePublicSpeaking

competitionandprogrammeslikeDiscover Your Voice.• Heeditedanddesignedthishandbook;dopleasecontacthimifyouhave

commentsorsuggestionsthatwecanincorporatenextyear.

VivienneThomson Speech and Debate Programmes Officer • Vivienne is Event Organiser for the England and International Mace

Finals.MostofVivienne’sworkinvolvesotherprogrammes,suchasourUniversitiesdebatingandmootingcompetitions,parliamentaryexchangestudentshipsandourdebatingsocietyatDartmouthHouse.

JennyZhu Administrator([email protected])• CollatestheonlineandpaperentriesforthePublicSpeakingandSchools

Macecompetitions,chasesupschoolswho forget toenterandmakessurewegetallyourchequeswiththeentryfees.

MichaelEdwards Schools Officer ([email protected])• Responsible for theday-to-day runningof theSchoolsMace, including

liaisonwithourteamofAreaOrganisers.• AlsoresponsibleforlogisticalelementsofprogrammeslikeDiscover Your

Voice.

Debating and Public Speaking competitions around Britain

TheESUexiststocreateglobalunderstandingthrough the shared use of the Englishlanguage. We achieve our aim throughconferencesandseminars,scholarshipsandexchangeprogrammes,debatingandpublicspeakingactivitiesandournetworkof tensofthousandsofmembersworldwide.

The young people who take part in ourprogrammes nationally and internationallyemerge better equipped to contribute totheir societyand toabetterunderstandingoftheworld,byusingasharedlanguagetoreachacrossthebarriersofgeographyandtraditionaldivisions.

The ESU in London works in partnershipwith over 50 ESUs worldwide, which havebeen established, since our foundation inthe United Kingdom and United States in1918, in every continent; most recently wehaveseenrapidexpansioninEastAsia,theMiddle East, Eastern Europe, Africa andLatinAmerica.

TheESU isa registeredcharity,dependenton the generosity of our members, alumni,volunteers and individual donors andcorporatesponsors.Withtheirsupport,usingcommunicationtobuildtrust,toleranceandunderstanding,weare takingadvantageofthe powerful currents of twenty-fi rst century globalisationtotacklesocialandeducationalexclusion and empower individualsworldwide.

Dartmouth House in Mayfair,London:InternationalHQoftheEnglish-SpeakingUnion

Patron HerMajestytheQueenPresident HRHThePrincePhilipDukeofEdinburghKGKTChairman TheRtHonTheLordHuntofWirralMBEPCDeputyChairman MrEdwardGouldDirector-General MrsValerieMitchellOBE

About the English-SpeakingUnion’s mission

TheEnglish-SpeakingUnion CentreforSpeechandDebate

DartmouthHouse 37CharlesStreet LondonW1J5ED

Telephone:02075291550 Fax:02074956108 Email:[email protected] Web:www.britishdebate.com(Debating) www.esu.org(General)

RegisteredcharityNo.273136

CompetitionsrunbytheESUinLondon

✓ESUSchoolsPublicSpeaking✓ESUSchoolsMaceDebating


✓ESUSchoolsPublicSpeaking✓ESUSchoolsMaceDebating

CompetitionsrunbyESUScotland

✓ESUScotlandJuniorsDebating (formoreinformationvisit www.esuscotland.org.uk)


✓ESUSchoolsPublicSpeaking

CompetitionsrunbyCEWC-Cymru

✓WalesSchoolsDebatingChampionships(formoreinformationvisit

www.cewc-cymru.org.uk)

OtherdebatingcompetitionsforallofGreatBritain

OtherorganisationsalsorundebatingcompetitionsforthewholeoftheGreatBritain,fromICYD(fordebatersunder15)toseniorcompetitionsrunbyuniversitiesintownslikeBristol,Cambridge,DurhamandOxford.Forafulllist,checkourwebpagesatwww.britishdebate.com/schools/othercompetitions.

Documents

The English-Speaking Union Centre for Speech and Debate