Intro to Casing!

The very basics!

Casing = preparing the sets of arguments your team will present in the debate

Think of and flesh out 2-4 independent arguments defending your side of the motion during the 15 minutes of prep!

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Arguments don’t have a perfect formula: there are always different things or ways to organize your material, but in general 3-4 sections should be present somewhere in each argument.

What an argument should contain

Tagline/assertion/claim: the title or memorable tagline for your argument, essentially a few word description of what you’re going to prove

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What an argument should contain

Tagline/assertion/claim: the title or memorable tagline for your argument, essentially a few word description of what you’re going to prove

Reasoning/explanation/warrant: Explaining what your argument is and how it works. This should be the longest section, where you explain HOW your reasoning works and proving everything that needs to be proved it order for it to be true

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What an argument should contain

Tagline/assertion/claim: the title or memorable tagline for your argument, essentially a few word description of what you’re going to prove

Reasoning/explanation/warrant: Explaining what your argument is and how is works. This should be the longest section, where you explain HOW your reasoning works and proving everything that needs to be proved it order for it to be true

Example: Optionally add an anecdote or example to allow the judges to visualize your argument

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What an argument should contain

Tagline/assertion/claim: the title or memorable tagline for your argument, essentially a few word description of what you’re going to prove

Reasoning/explanation/warrant: Explaining what your argument is and how is works. This should be the longest section, where you explain HOW your reasoning works and proving everything that needs to be proved it order for it to be true

Example: Optionally add an anecdote or example to allow the judges to visualize your argument

Impact: the WHY! WHY your argument matters, what the impact of your argument is, and WHY your argument is important to the debate (*NOTE** ALWAYS IMPACT YOUR ARGUMENT FULLY, TO THE MOST HUMAN IMPACT, YOU SHOULD BE PULLING THE HEARTSTRING)

Example: THW raise the minimum wage

Assertion: Raising the minimum wage is good for the economy

Reasoning: Raising the minimum wage means people are paid higher wages, meaning workers that wouldn’t have otherwise now have disposable income. This means more people are putting more money back into the economy in the form of spending, stimulating the economy!

Example: A family that didn’t have enough money to spend besides paying rent and food costs now receives more money because of the raise in pay. This means they can buy new shoes, clothes from a local business, food from the local farmers market, etc, which puts more money back into the economy

Impact: Stronger national economy → generally more successful businesses, job security for workers, job opportunities, room for innovation :)

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

1. Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)
2. Examine different places → does the motion apply to only one area in the world? How might it look in the developed vs the developing world?
3. Examine a comparative, or think about what the reasonable alternative to the motion might be, and how you could prove it to be better or worse than the motion (ex. In a debate about sanctions, explain why the reasonable alternative to a diplomatic conflict is military intervention)
4. Examine incentives → what does each group being debated about want, or how do they normally act? What might that do? (ex. In a debate about corporations, think about the incentive to make a profit: how might that lead to good or bad behavior?)
5. Political/Economic/Rights/Morality/Social perspectives! Go through this list and think about how a motion might impact all of these!

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)... Who are the actors?

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)... Who are the actors?

THBT religious leaders should not endorse candidates for political office.

Who are the actors involved?

• The supporters of the religious leaders (eg. catholics, etc)
• Religious Leaders (e.g. priests, ministers, reverends, Pope)
• Politicians
• Democrats and republicans would be affected in dif ways
• Republicans already align themselves w christianity quite a bit so religious leaders may benefit them
• Voters (democrats, republicans, liberals, conservatives, etc. -- black voters, white voters, queer voters, cis voters, etc.)

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How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)
• Examine different places → does the motion apply to only one area in the world? How might it look in the developed vs the developing world?

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THP secular governments that exclude all religion from public spaces to those that allow all religions in public

What examples might this be referring to? What sort of religious symbols? What countries might this refer to?

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)
• Examine different places → does the motion apply to only one area in the world? How might it look in the developed vs the developing world?
• Examine a comparative, or think about what the reasonable alternative to the motion might be, and how you could prove it to be better or worse than the motion (ex. In a debate about sanctions, explain why the reasonable alternative to a diplomatic conflict is military intervention)

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THP secular governments that exclude all religion from public spaces to those that allow all religions in public

What examples might this be referring to? What sort of religious symbols? What countries might this refer to?

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)
• Examine different places → does the motion apply to only one area in the world? How might it look in the developed vs the developing world?
• Examine a comparative, or think about what the reasonable alternative to the motion might be, and how you could prove it to be better or worse than the motion (ex. In a debate about sanctions, explain why the reasonable alternative to a diplomatic conflict is military intervention)
• Political/Economic/Rights/Morality/Social Values! What values are at stake here? Freedom? Secularism? Equity? Justice? Respect for Authority? Stability? How are these defined? (Remember: Values matter to different actors for different reasons.)

TH, as religious leaderships, would shift their strategy from increasing the number of believers towards prioritizing boosting loyalty amongst adherents to the religion.

What values may matter to a religious leader?

What is the comparative being laid out here?

How to come up with material!

Sometimes you get stuck! Here are some tips for how to come up with arguments when casing!

• Examine the different groups of people affected by the motion to find different arguments– and get specific! (eg. voters → democrats vs republicans, decided vs undecided, moderate vs radical voters)
• Examine different places → does the motion apply to only one area in the world? How might it look in the developed vs the developing world?
• Examine a comparative, or think about what the reasonable alternative to the motion might be, and how you could prove it to be better or worse than the motion (ex. In a debate about sanctions, explain why the reasonable alternative to a diplomatic conflict is military intervention)
• Political/Economic/Rights/Morality/Social Values! What values are at stake here? Freedom? Secularism? Equity? Justice? How are these defined?
• Tell a Story! Let’s go Creative Writing. What is someone’s life under your side of the motion? How does their day-to-day life change in positive or negative ways under this motion.

This house would ban government funding of religious schools

What examples might this be referring to? What sort of religious symbols? What countries might this refer to?