The Burdens of a Debate

1. The Burdens of a Debate What to prove and how do I do it

2. What is a burden? • A burden is one of the things you need to prove for your side of the motion to be true • It is NOT a specific argument – burdens are proved by them • Prop and Opp will have different burdens – Prop will often have to prove all these things, Oppmay only need 1 or a couple • It is still a good idea on Opp to hit as many burdens as possible

3. Why are burdens important • That you prove all the things you set out to prove in your speech does not mean you will win • You will often be told another team beat you for fulfilling their “burdens” better • Teams will sometimes try to tell the judge what your burdens are, they often lie about this • Thinking about burdens in prep time keeps you relevant to the debate • List them during prep on your page and build arguments around proving them

4. Example: THW reintroduce corporal punishment to schools Prop burdens: • Chosen educational outcome(s) (academic results, life skills) are important • Corporal punishment is more effective than current methods of punishment at furthering that/those outcome(s) • The violence will seldom if ever be excessive (potential for abuse is non-existent or low) • Hitting children is a justifiable way of instructing Not Prop burdens: • Bad class control leads to bad outcomes in education • Bad educational outcomes lead to bad life prospects • Teachers want this power

5. Example: THW reintroduce corporal punishment to schools Opp burdens: • Hitting children is never justified • Hitting children leads to poor educational outcomes • The system will be so open to abuse that good outcomes are outweighed by abusive ones Not Opp burdens: • Most teachers will not use this • Parents will disagree with it