Student Expectations & Obligations

DISCLAIMER: The process of planning debate events and tournaments involves many moving parts and a lot of uncertainty. As a result, there may be last-minute changes to the scheduling of such events. The director and coach will do everything in their power to avoid such last-minute changes, however, these changes are often out of our control due to our work with partner institutions, and we ask for your patience as a result.

• Group classes are from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM on Mondays and Fridays in room 81037.

  • Classes will sometimes begin at 8:45 AM when we hold practice debates, to ensure there is adequate time to cover all material. You will be informed in advance if the following class will begin early.

• There will be additional workshops and practice debates on Friday afternoons (~1:00 PM to ~3:00 PM pending in-class discussion), led by guest speakers, the director of debate, the coach, or students.

• Attendance at all group classes and workshops is mandatory.

• In addition to these classes and workshops, you should expect to have smaller practice sessions with the coach in the run-up to tournaments and events.

  • These sessions will be between the coach and a pair or trio of students within the larger team. Their scheduling will be dependent upon your and the coach's availability; however, you should expect to have these sessions at least once a week during the busiest part of the year in February-March.

• You must ensure that:

  • You can attend all regularly scheduled debate sessions.

  • There is no conflict between our travel schedule and other activities in which you may be involved.

  • If you have any problems or conflicts, please inform us right away. You will find an attendance spreadsheet on this website where you should indicate in advance if you will be absent from class; if the problem is with the scheduling of a tournament, please inform us in-person or by email immediately.

• The English program ends on April 7th, but the debate program ends in late June, and important events such as the Lafayette debates and the US Army War College debates occur after the final group class. As such, training sessions will continue beyond that date.

  • These sessions will involve groups of two to four and the coach, and focus on practice debates, case refinement, individual coaching, and public speaking.

• At the start of the program, the coach will set up an individual meeting with you to discuss your personal expectations & objectives. There will be subsequent individual meetings throughout the year to keep track of your progress towards the accomplishment of these goals.

• Group classes will contain a mixture of theory and practice.

  • Many classes will contain practice debates, in which you will rotate between participating in debates and providing feedback to your peers.

• We will work to ensure that you debate a variety of motions throughout the year, and that these topics will cover both familiar and unfamiliar subjects.

• Feedback will focus on your lines of argument, strategy, and delivery. You should also expect specific feedback on language.

• The coach will be available throughout the year to help you with anything related to debate. However, do not contact the coach for administrative matters regarding logistics such as traveling information and schedules.

  • If you have questions about administrative matters, please directly contact Emilie Cleret, the director of the debate program, and the administrative staff of the English department.

• For you to become a better debater, and for our teams to win, it is essential that you are prepared to work on your debating skills outside of the classroom.

• Accordingly, the coach will assign you homework to complete. You must complete these tasks before the next class.

  • Homework assignments include but are not limited to watching videos, reading articles or chapters from a book, researching, or preparing ideas to share with the group.

• The debate program works at its best when everyone comes to class fully prepared and willing to share their ideas with the group.

• Remember, debate is an area where one learns by doing, and you will be one of the most important agents in your own pedagogy.

• The students who gain the most from this program are the ones who work to hone their skills beyond the syllabus. Previous participants have beat much more experienced teams and won Best Speaker awards at the tournaments they have attended. You have been selected for this team because we think you are capable of doing the same, so please believe in your abilities and take on the challenge!

• A good way to train for debates is through watching others. This sort of exposure is also one of the best ways to improve your English. Take advantage of the internet to watch as many debates as possible, using the videos on the "learning resources" page as a starting point.

  • When watching recordings of debates, you may find it helpful to try judging them. You can identify how arguments are structured, analyze how debaters keep their arguments clear and concise, scrutinize how rhetoric is employed to make arguments more persuasive, and look out for logical gaps and fallacies. Putting yourself in the position of the judge will also help you to understand what judges are looking for, and how you can better appeal to them.

• Finally, the single best thing you can do outside the classroom is to practice debate in your own time.

  • At the beginning of the year, we will focus on teaching you how to do an impromptu debate (in which you are given a short period of time to prepare a case rather than having lots of prior research). Once you have learned how to do these, you can gather a group in your own time and practice debate together without extensive preparation in advance – the coach will be able to provide you with motions for this purpose.

Question for Reflection: How do these expectations compare to your own expectations for the class?