Cross-Examination Debate
If you’ve never shied away from an argument and you have a zest for winning, give Cross-Examination Debate a try. As part of a two-person team, you will prepare your stance on a particular policy in advance and then face an opposing team in competition. You’ll have to think on your feet to defend your ideas.
Cross-Examination Debate trains students to analyze a problem, conduct thorough and relevant research, and utilize principles of argumentation and advocacy in presenting the most effective case for or against a given proposition. Debate provides invaluable training in critical thinking, quick responses, defending worthy ideas, and attacking invalid ideas. It teaches students to tolerate other points of view. Debate exists only in democratic societies, and no democratic society can exist without debate.
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
In this one-on-one values debate, you’ll prepare to argue for or against a given resolution. After researching the topic in advance, it will be up to you to make arguments that defend your point of view and debunk invalid claims from your opponent.
Lincoln-Douglas debate provides excellent training for development of skills in argumentation, persuasion, research, and audience analysis. Students are encouraged to develop a direct and communicative style of delivery. It is a one-on-one argumentation in which debaters attempt to convince the judge of the acceptability of their side of a proposition. In a given round, one debater will argue the affirmative side of the resolution and the other will argue the negative.