1. Introduction

There are two major ways to evaluate debate.  One is to decide the winner of the debate in light of the strength of the arguments.  The other is to evaluate essential skills in debating.

2. Deciding the Winner

 The winner of the debate is decided by the judges.  Sometimes the entire audience casts votes.  The decision of the debate is usually based on the quality of the arguments presented in the debate.  Judges ask themselves if the affirmative team has proven that the proposition is probably true.  If the affirmative was successful in doing so, it wins the debate.  Otherwise, the negative wins the debate.  There is no tie.  If there are several judges in the round (usually the odd number), they will individually decide the winner and the team with the majority votes wins the debate.
 In making the decision, judges must only consider what the debaters said in the debate.  They must disregard their personal opinion about the proposition or other issues in the debate.  They must believe debaters' arguments as long as they are supported by reasonable amount of evidence and sound reasoning even if judges themselves do not personally believe them.

3. Evaluating Skills

 If there is a ballot sheet with analytical categories such as analysis, evidence, reasoning, organization, and delivery, judges give scores to each category while the debate is in progress.  The total scores are added for each team at the end of the debate.  Judges may award the winner either based on or regardless of the scores.  These scores are used for feedback and sometimes for other purposes (selecting the finalists or top debaters in a contest).

3.1. analysis
"Analysis" is concerned with the analysis of the proposition.  It is also concerned with refutation and rebuttal if there is no separate category for them.  The judge must ask: Did the team present important issues relevant to the proposition?  Did it find strong arguments to support their position and to refute the opponent's position?

3.2. evidence
"Evidence" is rated high if the team presented strong evidence in abundance.  It is also rated high if the team effectively attacked the opponent's evidence or defended their own evidence.  Evidence includes experts' opinion, examples (facts), and statistics, usually quoted from books and articles.  Evidence can also be a claim established in a debate or a claim made by the opponent's.

3.3. reasoning
"Reasoning" is concerned with the ability to connect evidence and claim.  The judge must ask: Did the speaker give a logical explanation about how the conclusion is drawn from the evidence?  "Reasoning" is rated low if the speaker committed logical fallacies such as hasty generalization.

3.4. organization
"Organization" is good if you can easily follow the flow of arguments in the speech.  It is also good if the speech has effective numbering and labeling arguments.  It is also concerned with the allocation of time within the speech and the division of labor between the speakers.

3.5. delivery
"Delivery" is concerned with the effectiveness of oral presentation of the speech.  It includes loudness of the voice, rate of speaking, and articulation (pronunciation).  It also includes the quality of English; if the English in the speech is easy to understand in terms of vocabulary and grammar, the score will be high.

4. Ethical Consideration

Unethical practices such as fabricating and distorting evidence will result in an automatic loss of the team.  You may not disturb other debaters during the debate, especially in speeches and cross-examination periods.
 
 

Sample Debate Ballot Forms

Affirmative: _______  grand total ____/120
1st Affirmative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
answering in cross-exam _____/5
questioning in cross-exam _____/5

2nd Affirmative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
answering in cross-exam _____/5
questioning in cross-exam _____/5

1st Affirmative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Affirmative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
 

Negative: _______  grand total ____/120
1st Negative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
answering in cross-exam _____/5
questioning in cross-exam _____/5

2nd Negative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
answering in cross-exam _____/5
questioning in cross-exam _____/5

1st Negative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Negative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
 

Affirmative: _______  grand total ____/100
1st Affirmative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Affirmative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

1st Affirmative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Affirmative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25
 

Negative: _______  grand total ____/100
1st Negative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Negative Constructive Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

1st Negative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25

2nd Negative Rebuttal Speaker
________________________
analysis   _____/5
evidence  _____/5
reasoning  _____/5
organization  _____/5
delivery   _____/5
 total    _____/25