Argument,Counter-argument, Refutation Drills

Doris L. W. Chang

Debate III:

Presentation Outline

Sample Analyses: argument, counter-argument

Refutation Tips & Sample (Verderber 306) Debate Sentence Pattern Drills (Johnston 1

27-131)

Organize & Present Refutation

1. State the argument you’ll refute concisely

2. State what you’ll prove, and preview how you’ll prove it for the audience to follow.

3. Present reasons and data completely with documentation

4. Draw a conclusion; don’t rely on the audience to draw it for themselves.

Sample Refutation Steps

1. Mr. Jackson has said that buying insurance provides systematic, compulsory savings.

2. His assumption is that systematic, compulsory saving is a benefit of buying insurance while you are young. But I believe the opposite is true; I believe that it has at least two serious advantages.

State the argument to be refuted

State what and how you’ll refute

Sample Refutation Steps

3.First, the system is so compulsory that if you miss a payment, you stand to lose your entire savings and all benefits. most insurance contracts include a clause giving

you a 30-day grace period, after which the policy is canceled. (evidence)

Second, if you need money desperately, you have to take a loan against your policy. The end result of such a loan is that you have to pay

interest in order to borrow your own money. (evidence)

Present reasons and data to support your refutation

Sample Refutation Steps

From this analysis, I think you can see that this systematic, compulsory saving is more disadvantageous than advantageous for people who are trying to save money.

Draw a conclusion to show how your reasoning

overthrows the refuted argument

Sentence Pattern Drills

Introduction Introduce your proposition (contention) Preview how you will prove the contention

Debating on Def., Harm, Plan solvency Conclusion for the Round

Conclude your argument in a round Refute your opponent’s arguments Summarize the impact of your refutation

Introduce Your Proposition (Contention)

1. We will be contending that + contention.2. We will establish/show that + contention.

demonstrateAff.:We will establish that there are significant shor

tcomings in the present system.Neg.:We will demonstrate that the shortcomings in t

he present system are not significant.

Aff.1. By the term ABC, we mean definition of key words.

2. It will be necessary to establish whether the present system is responsible for the problem.

3. We will demonstrate that our plan to implement the proposition shall solve the problems.

Neg. 1. Even if we conceded that + statement, we believe that t

he aff. has still failed to demonstrate that the problems are inherent in the present system.

2. We will demonstrate that adopting the proposed policy will outweigh the alleged benefits.

Debate on Def., Harm, Plan Solvency

1. Our opponents have contended that Opponent’s

Contention,

but we have show that this is not necessarily true.

far from certain.

unlikely (improbable)

Impossible.

Irrelevant to the main issue.

Conclusion for the Round

2. Our opponents have argued that + sentence. asserted proposed

denied admitted pointed out

3. We have established that + sentence. demonstrated shown

Refutation

4. Our opponents have attempted (failed ) to establish that + Sentence. Our opponents have attempted to establish that

the present system is the cause of the problem.

5.Our opponents have failed to infinitive phrase. Our opponents have failed to present a

feasible plan for implementing their proposal. Our opponents have failed to present any

updated evidence to support their contention.

Refutation Summary

4. Even if we concede that Opponent’s Contention,

we have shown that conclusion of your refutation.

Neg.: Even if we concede that there is a problem in the

present system, we have shown that the proposed measures will not solve it.

Even if we concede that motorcycles cause traffic accidents, we have shown that banning them is not the best solution.

Refutation Summary

Sample Sentences Our opponents have failed to

1. establish that the source of their evidence is an authority in the field.

2. present a feasible plan for implementing their proposal.3. present a plan that would provide a precise law.4. present any evidence to support this conclusion.5. provide proper documentation/sources for their evidence.6. answer our refutation on this issue.7. demonstrate a causal connection between the two items.8. challenge us on this issue.9. explain what they mean by the statement.10. refute our position on this issue.

Conclusion: Impact of Refutation

In view of their failure to V…, we must reject their proposal on the grounds that

it is unfeasible. plan

conclusion

statement

evidence

assumption of a causal relationship

it will not solve the problem.

it is an unsupported assertion.

it is meaningless for debating purposes.

there is insufficient evidence to establish it.

Works Cited

Goodnight, Lynn. Getting Started in Debate. 2nd Ed. Lincolnwood, Chicago: NTC, 1994.

Johnston, Greg. The Logic and Language of English Debate: A Practical Guide for Chinese Students of EFL. Taipei: Bookman, 1994.