Debate Writing, Format, Solved Examples, Previous Years' Papers




Debate Writing


A debate is formal competition of argumentation in which the participants try to convince the audience through facts, examples and arguments in a formal manner. It is different from speech as the speaker speaks either for the motion or against the motion.

FORMAT
1.      Salutation :The jury and the audience should be addressed as “Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and dear friends.”
2.      Introduction : A quotation/ question or a metaphorical expression in the beginning is always impressive.
3.      Exposition      : The speaker should make the stand very clear in the beginning and later on should substantiate it with relevant examples and statistics.
4.      Conclusion     : The speaker should emphasize his stand again stating his opinion.

·        Allocation of Marks

a.   Lay Out                                  1 Mark
b.   Content                                  41/2 Marks
c.   Expression                             41/2 Marks       

1.   You are Mudit/ Mudita participating in an inter-school debate competition. The topic of debate is “Should Class XII students be given unlimited freedom?” Prepare a speech for or against the motion in about 200 words.

      Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and my dear friends, I, Mudit of Class XII going to express my views for the motion of “Should Class XII students be given unlimited freedom?” I strongly feel ‘no.’Though they stand at the threshold of adulthood still they are not adult; they are not mature enough to analyze a situation in all its aspects and take a wise decision.

      It is always better to have a monitoring. The guidance of an adult will never let them go astray. Today all knowledge is available at a click but a click on a wrong button may take them in a wrong direction and their whole life may be spoilt.

      One can argue that are they not able to take decision for themselves? This can be answered ‘yes’. But there is other side also. They are also at the stage of furious learning and at such a stage there are more chances that their curiosity may overpower their reasoning. Parental guidance may work for their betterment regarding which books to be read, the movies to be watched, friends to be had etc. They may get misled in such kind of things which can be avoided by proper control and guidance.

      Some of us may say that one should be allowed to enjoy life in one’s own way and learn from life. But my respected friends we cannot allow children to learn everything through personal experience. This policy may ruin them forever. Life is too short to learn everything from experience so there are things to be learnt from other’s experience.

      Therefore, I would say that the teenagers should be allowed to follow their urges and to satisfy their curiosity without much interference from their parents until and unless they cross the boundaries of morality. On the other hand, children should also not insist on making their own choices and living their own life.
      Thank you.

2.   Suppose yourself to be Amit/ Amita of Class XII participating in a debate entitled “Online Smart Classes are Future Education Style.” Prepare a speech either in favour or against the motion.

      Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and my dear friends, I, Amit of Class XII, am going to express my views in favour of the topic, “Online Smart Classes are Future Education Style.

      Today most parents think that computers only distract their children. But I must tell you that the young generation has travelled far beyond that with computers. When we talk of computers, the first thing that comes to the mind of most of the parents is social networking sites such as – facebook, twitter etc. But there is far more than that. Of course, I am not here to discuss that socializing websites are good or bad, they have both. I am here to discuss the endless possibilities of computer and internet based teaching and learning.

      There are a lot of websites which provide online education and some of them are free. Khan’s Academy is one of the biggest portals providing education across the world. It has more than 30 million beneficiaries all over the world. Not only the students but also the teachers use these websites to learn and to teach. Today with a smart phone in every hand, village and city alike, this treasure of knowledge is in everyone’s reach and ‘google’ has become the modern guru.

      With 7.125 billion population in the present and receding number of trees, it is the need of the hour to save trees by reducing the use of paper and computer based learning is the best alternative for it. Apart from making learning faster, it will be a great contribution to our deteriorating nature. I hope, you all will concede to me on this issue.
      Thank you

3.   Suppose yourself to be Pulkit of  Class XII. Prepare a debate on “CCE System is a Boon to Students” in about 150-200 words.

Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and my dear friends, I, Amit of Class XII, am going to express my views in favour of the topic, “CCE System is a Boon to Students.”

CCE pattern launched by Kapil Sibal is really a boon for the students. It is the road to improve student’s performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties at regular time intervals right from the beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measures for enhancing their learning performance. It also encourages students to showcase their creative skills.

CCE system intends all round development of a student in scholastic and co-scholastic areas. You might be a topper and score 99% marks but they are useless unless you have learnt anything.

CCE lessens stress of competition among the students. This obsession for competition results in suicides. Even the students scoring more than 95% marks commit suicide because of the feeling of competition. This system reduces the pressure of competition but not the competition because competition remains there in one form or the other. Thus the stress is eased but fire of competition is kept ignited.

      For the development of a country skilled intellectuals are required not educated idiots and CCE pattern helps in building an all round personality which makes an ideal citizen for the nation. This system can work much better if the student-teacher ratio is kept low. Earlier the performance of a student was judged by one final exam but CCE has allowed the schools to evaluate the students throughout the year. It allows children to open-up and be versatile rather than end up being a book worm.
      In the end I would like to say that CCE is for the better of the children. Therefore, rather than finding faults, people should support it.
      Thank you.

4.   Suppose yourself to be Aakash of Class XII. Prepare a debate on “Should Uniforms be Mandatory in Schools?” in about 150-200 words.

      Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and my dear friends, I,Aakash of Class XII, am going to express my views for the motion, “Should Uniforms be Mandatory in Schools?”

      I strongly support the point that uniform should be mandatory in all the schools. Though there are conflicts on this point yet most of the people agree that uniform should be a part of the code of conduct a school. There are several arguments that can be offered in support of this point.

      Uniforms help parents save money on dresses as they don’t have to spend money on sending their children to school in fancy dresses looking like movie stars. Two pairs of uniform can work for the whole week which otherwise may result in spending a lot of money on dresses and may promote unhealthy competition among children. It may cause ill-will and depression among children as all will not be able to spend money on good dresses and the atmosphere of class and school will deteriorate.

      The other important aspect of uniforms is that they can improve punctuality as every morning the children won’t have to confuse themselves with what to wear and what not to wear? Their time will be saved and they will get ready on time as there will always be a certainty about things.

      One of the problems of the present generation is the fact that it is influenced by gang culture. But with uniforms they can’t go exclusively out for that and this reduces the chances of on campus crimes.

      A good portion of school time can be saved by having uniform at school which otherwise may be wasted in checking whether the children are wearing acceptable dress at school or not. According to a study conducted in UK uniform is a major contributor in building up the feeling of pride. Moreover, students wearing uniform are more likely to develop community spirit which can be utilized in nobel causes like fundraising campaigns.

Today’s parents are quite concerned about the safety of their children and uniform solves this issue as a student in uniform is easily identifiable from others or students of other schools so any mishappening or anything happening to a student can easily be checked or at least confirmed.
On the basis all the points mentioned above I once again strongly support the point of uniforms in schools.
      Thank you.

5.   Suppose yourself to be Prabhat of Class XII. Prepare a speech on “Should Plastic Bags be Banned?” in about 150-200 words.

Respected Chairperson, members of the jury and my dear friends I, Prabhat of Class XII, am going to express my views for the motion, “Plastic BagsShould be Banned”

Over the years we have seen the damage the plastic bags are causing to our environment. Though they are helpful in many ways but more are the drawbacks. If we look at the benefitsonly and overlook the harms, the situation will further deteriorate.

Plastic bags are one of the most visible signs of the pollution problem that extends across our planet. It is rare to see a strip of road, river bank or sea front that does not have a few plastic bags littering the environment. The result, besides being an eyesore, is often the death of wildlife.

Plastic bags are non-biodegradable. Our animals eat them which cause tumors and several other diseases in their body. Not only on land, they are causing havoc in the sea as well. The sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean choke on them as they think of them as jelly fish. They also clog our drainage system which gives birth to mosquitoes and other insects, putting our life in danger.

There are several cities and countries which have banned the use of plastic bags keeping in view its harms. Therefore, on the basis of the reasoning provided above, I strongly recommend the ban on the use of plastic bags.
Thank you.


Dos & Don’ts for Long Composition

·         Make a rough draft.
·         Frame 10 – 15 Wh. Questions (not to be written) and go on answering them.
·         Try to link the topic with society, culture, economy, politics, legal and technical aspects.
·         Use metaphoric expressions.
·         Learn some quotations related to some common topics.
·         Use facts and figures.
·         Use short and tag questions wherever necessary.
·         Try to explain the topic.
·         Mention the problem, causes, consequences and solutions.
·         Mention the role of individual, society and government.
·         Offer suggestions or warnings.
·         Avoid repetition and cancellation.
·         Be relevant neat and tidy.

PREVIOUS YEARS' QUESTIONS

(2019)    Write a debate in 150-200 words either for or against the motion:
               "Stray dogs should not be put to sleep"
(2018)    Academic excellence is the only requirement for a successful career.” Write a debate either for or against the motion. (120-150 words)                                                             [10 Marks]
(2017)    “Private cars should be banned in the congested commercial areas of the cities.” Write a debate in 150-200 words either for or against the motion.                                      [10 Marks]
(2016)    Brain drain is not a bane for a developing country like India.” Write a debate in 150- 200 words either for or against the motion.                                                                    [10 Marks]
(2015)    The government has banned the use of animals in the laboratories for the purpose of dissection. Write a debate in 150 - 200 words either for or againstthis decision.
                                                                                                                                                [10 Marks]
OR
              Some people feel that electronic media (TV news) will bring about the end of print media (newspapers). What are your views on the issue? Write a debate in 150 - 200 words either for or against this view.

          *        use of visuals on TV                             *       authentic and fast
          *        not enough news for 24-hour telecast  *       may fabricate news
          *        become repetitive and dull                   *       even scandals become news
          *        print media - time tested                      *       analysed, verified news
          *        editorial comments                               *       cater to all interests

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