The Importance of Evidence in Debate

Oct 14, 2024

Lecture on Debate and Evidence

Introduction to Evidence in Debate

  • Logic and common sense are often initially used to develop arguments.
  • Real debates require evidence to support claims.
  • Evidence differentiates which argument is stronger.
  • Importance of presenting evidence from experts.

Role of Evidence in Debate

  • Evidence provides robust warrants for arguments.
  • Structure of an argument: Claim, Warrant, Impact.
  • Types of evidence include data, statistics, empirical examples, historical effects, case studies, and testimonies.
  • Evidence is presented in a "card" format, where larger sections are read aloud.

Presentation of Evidence

  • Full articles or significant sections are read, unlike typical speech where evidence is often paraphrased.
  • "Cards" originate from the practice of pasting articles onto note cards.
  • Example: A negative piece of evidence on U.S. education reform.
    • Underlined relevant sections.
    • Highlighted key ideas to read aloud.

Reading a Card

  1. Tag: Summary of the argument in your own words.
  2. Citation: Source of evidence, including author, qualifications, and date.
  3. Highlight: Read highlighted evidence text.
  4. Summarization: Explain the argument's impact.

Evaluating Evidence

  • Compare your evidence to your opponent's.
  • Qualities of Strong Evidence:
    1. Credible Author and Publication
      • Author qualifications and publication credibility.
    2. Evidence Supports Claims
      • Directly backs up the claim you want to make.
    3. Strong Warrants
      • Clear explanation of why claims are true.
    4. Recency
      • How recent the evidence is matters, especially in rapidly changing fields.

Example Analysis

  • Discussed several examples to evaluate the quality of evidence based on the above criteria.
  • Emphasis on the importance of author qualifications, the support of claims, strong warrants, and recency.

Conclusion

  • Understanding and evaluating evidence is crucial in debates.
  • Evidence helps in establishing stronger warrants for claims.
  • Success in debate often hinges on the ability to convincingly present superior evidence compared to opponents.