"This house" motions are typical of, though by no means limited to, UK debate circuits. Motions expressed as "this house" motions fall into several subcategories. The precise wording of the motion has important implications for the burden of each team in the debate, so it is important to read these motions carefully.

POLICY MOTIONS

• Expressed as "this house would" (THW)

• These motions require the proposers to advocate for a specific policy. Therefore, the government/proposition teams would be required to explain how they would enact the proposal in the policy.

BELIEFS MOTIONS

• Expressed as "this house believes" (THB)

• Unlike policy motions, beliefs motions do not require government/proposition teams to outline a specific model. Instead, they are required to argue that the world would benefit from a particular thing happening, or that a particular thing is true.

SUPPORTS MOTIONS

• Expressed as "this house supports" (THS)

• Similar to beliefs motions, supports motions do not require government/proposition teams to outline a particular model. Instead, they generally require the proposers to affirm the value of an existing or an emerging trend.

REGRETS MOTIONS

• Expressed as "this house regrets" (THR)

• Regrets motions look similar to supports motions, but there are some important differences. These motions ask government/proposition teams to argue that something that has already happened is a bad thing. As a result, the proposers are required to build a counter-narrative of what, in their view, would have happened had the event in question not occurred.

ACTOR MOTIONS

• Expressed as "this house, as X, would" (TH, as X)

• These motions require all teams (both the government/proposition and the opposition) to argue exclusively from the perspective of a particular person or group. This means that teams should argue that the motion is (or is not) in the interest of the actor specified, rather than the wider world.

• Note that actor motions are sometimes seen in combination with the other types - you could have a motion beginning with "this house, as X, believes/supports/regrets..."

These are not the only possible phrasings/categories - it is also possible to see motions beginning with "this house prefers", "this house opposes", so on and so forth.

"Resolved" motions, or resolutions, are more typical of many US debate circuits, most notably those of the National Speech & Debate Association. These motions can vary more in structure and in phrasing than "this house" motions, and will require you to pay particular attention when dissecting them to determine where burdens will fall during the debate.

Resolutions can contain any of the following, though a specific resolution may not necessarily contain all of them:

• Specification of a location or context in which the topic is to be discussed

• The level of proof upon each side in the debate (compare and contrast the implications of "should"/"ought to", "must"/"is obliged to", and "more harm than good"/"more benefits than harms")

• A specific value framework or metric by which the round must be judged (justice, liberty, equality, etc.)

• A particular policy or category of policies

• A particular theoretical, philosophical, or political concept

• Potential lines of argument (i.e., if the motion mentions implementation or abolition of a policy, it is inviting you to discuss the feasibility of doing so)

The website of the National Speech & Debate Association can be useful for examining the current and former topics used by the NSDA to practice how to dissect and analyze them.

Question for Reflection: What cultural distinctions might be implied by the distinction between "this house" motions in British-style debate formats and "resolved" motions in American-style formats?