THE WHITMAN PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE BALLOT

Here is what a Public Forum Ballot looks like at the Whitman Tournament:

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ROUND Confirm you know who each speaker is so you record points and sides accurately on the ballot. THE FIRST PRO SPEECH needs to start by the deadline noted on the ballot. AT THE END OF THE DEBATE: 1) Provide comments for each debater. 2) Rate each debater with a score between 24 and 30 (most scores are 26 to 28). 3) Circle the team you voted for. 4) Sign your name and School 5) Write an explanation of your decision YES—YOU CAN GIVE ORAL DECISIONS/COMMENTS. BUT MAKE SURE YOU TURN IN YOUR BALLOT BY THE DEADLINE NOTED.

GIVE COMMENTS ON WHAT THEY DID WELL AND HOW THEY COULD IMPROVE

· Avoid vague "you need to improve" and "you did a good job." Be specific--"You need to look at the judge more" and "Your reasoning was very strong."

· Avoid leaving people without a way to improve. Give specific suggestions--"You should practice in front of your coach." "Work on cutting out long transitions."

· Avoid commenting on things like "Your voice just sucks." Focus on things people can change. "You need to rework your argument. Focus more on turns against this disadvantage . . ."

HOW SHOULD I MAKE A DECISION?

List out the arguments for and against the Pro Team’s Case.

Do the arguments for outweigh the arguments against?

COUNTERPLANS, OFFCASE DISADVANTAGES, AND OFFCASE KRITIKS ARE NOT PERMITTED. ONLY ARGUMENTS DIRECTLY ABOUT THE CASE ARE PERMITTED.

USE THE NOTES YOU TAKE DURING THE DEBATE TO HELP.

Here is an example, a short decision from the mental health topic:

· "I felt the affirmative showed that their mental health policy would stop intrusive searches of mentally ill people. The negative tried to say that police officers would still intrude. But the affirmative evidence showed that officers using the mental health policy have improved and change their behavior. So, I voted for the pro team."

WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR DECISION

· Explain why you voted the way you did. A good means for doing this is to explain why the advantages outweighed the disadvantages (or vice versa)? EXAMPLE: "I voted Pro because they showed a new math program would increase learning, school satisfaction, and future economic growth. The Con argument about the humanities suffering is a good argument but was not developed enough . . ."

· Explain why you did not vote for the arguments of the losing team. Try to point to arguments that the winning team made that convinced you against these arguments. EXAMPLE: "The Con arguments about lowered achievement ignored the three Pro studies showing improved achievement."

· Explain what the losing team needed to do to win the debate. EXAMPLE: "The Con needed better evidence that showed why these programs would not work."

CAN I INTERJECT MY OPINION INTO MY DECISION?

You should NOT make a decision based solely on your beliefs. For example, it would be wrong to vote against a case simply because you didn't like it or because you didn’t think it was topical.

DO NOT MAKE ARGUMENTS AGAINST A TEAM. Make your decisions based on the arguments that the teams present in the debate.

Now, if you find one team's arguments unpersuasive, then that may be okay. But, if a team gives a good reason for something AND their opponents do not respond, you probably should vote for the team's argument even if you do not agree with it. Blame the opponents that couldn't even make a response to the weak argument.

Click here to WATCH AND JUDGE A REAL SHORT PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE