Parliamentary debate (also referred to as "parliamentary" or "parli") is an academic

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

event. Many university-level institutions in English-speaking nations sponsor parliamentary debate teams. In addition the format is currently spreading to the high school level. Despite the name, the parli is not related to debate in governmental parliaments beyond formal speaker titles such as "Opposition Leader" and "Prime Minister".

British Parliamentary debate

British Parliamentary style debate, Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine

British Parliamentary debate is very widespread. It has also been adopted as the official style of the

World Universities Debating Championship The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) is the world's largest debating tournament and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. WUDC is held in the British Parliamentary Debate format (involving four team ...

and the

European Universities Debating Championship __NOTOC__ The European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Europe. The competition uses the British Parliamentary Debate format (the same debate format used at the World Uni ...

(at which the speakers are given only fifteen minutes' notice of the motion). Speeches are usually between five and seven minutes in duration. The debate consists of four teams of two speakers, sometimes called ''factions'', with two teams on either side of the case. Because of the style's origins in British

parliamentary procedure Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or t ...

, the two sides are called the ''Government'' and the ''Opposition'', while the speakers take their titles from those of their parliamentary equivalents (such as the opening Government speaker, called the ''Prime Minister''). Furthermore, since this style is based on parliamentary debate, each faction is considered to be one of two parties in a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

. They must therefore differentiate themselves from the other team on their side of the case in order to succeed in their own right. All speakers are expected to offer Points of Information (POIs) to their opponents. POIs are particularly important in ''British Parliamentary'' style, as it allows the first two teams to maintain their relevance during the course of the debate, and the last two teams to introduce their arguments early in the debate. The first and last minute of each speech is considered "protected time", during which no POI may be offered. Depending on the country, there are variations in speaking time, speaking order, and the number of speakers. For example, in New Zealand, both the leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister offer a short summary as the last two speakers.

In the United States

''American parliamentary debate'' is supported by a number of organizations in the United States at the tertiary and secondary levels. University level The most popular intercollegiate parliamentary debate style is supported by the

National Parliamentary Debate Association The National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) is one of the two national intercollegiate parliamentary debate organizations in the United States. The other is the American Parliamentary Debate Association. Its membership is national with ...

(NPDA), which was born in western US in 1991. NPDA circuit consists of a loose confederation of local leagues and a number of invitational tournaments. The NPDA season culminates with two national tournaments – NPDA Nationals and the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence (NPTE). NPDA Nationals (founded in 1994) is open to all and attracts about 200 teams each year. NPTE (founded in 2001) is qualification-only and invites the top 64 teams of the approximately 1000 teams that compete in NPDA/NPTE-sanctioned invitationals throughout the season. Phi Rho Pi Nationals for junior and community colleges have an NPDA-style division, as do Novice Nationals. The chief online forum for the NPDA circuit i
Net-Benefits.net
started in 2002 by Jed Link.

American Parliamentary Debate Association The American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA) is the oldest intercollegiate parliamentary debating association in the United States. APDA sponsors over 50 tournaments a year, all in a parliamentary format, as well as a national champion ...

(APDA), the oldest intercollegiate parliamentary debate league in the US, was founded in 1982. APDA currently has around 40 member universities, primarily on the east coast. A number of smaller intercollegiate debate leagues, such as the Lincoln Parliamentary League (LPL) and International Public Debate Association (IPDA) also exist. The

British Parliamentary Style British Parliamentary style is a major form of academic debate that originated in Liverpool in the mid 1800s. It has gained wide support globally and is the official format of the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Rules British P ...

(a.k.a. Worlds Debate, distinct from World Schools Style) is also beginning to spread to the US, with the US Universities Debating Championship held annually at rotating universities. Chamber Debate is a modified form of Australia-Asia debating that sponsors three national tournaments annually using the 3-on-3 format of parliamentary debate Unlike other formats of parliamentary debate, Chamber Debate allows teams to use electronic devices via a 4th non-speaking member of each team who conducts fact-checking and other research for their team during the round. High school level Parliamentary debate is offered through the High School Public Debate League (http://highschooldebate.org). The other public school high school debate league,

National Forensic League The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

(NFL), does not offer parliamentary debate at its national tournament. It does, however, recognize parli competitions offered at the state level, albeit at a reduced points value. In 2010 NFL Nationals added Supplemental Debate, which bears some similarity to parliamentary debate. A number of attempts to organize a high school parli championship tournament have been made – National Parliamentary Caucus (2003–2005), NPDL Parli Grand Nationals (2006–2007) and IDEA Tournament of Champions (2005–2009, switched to world format in 2010). The current incarnation of such championship is the Tournament of Champions, hosted by Point of Information. (2010–present, began accepting out-of-state teams in 2011). It was started as a California championship, named "California Cup," but has been renamed the Tournament of Champions to represent the prestige of the high school tournament. Oregon State Tournament (

OSAA The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon, providing equitable competition amo ...

) added parliamentary debate (known in Oregon as

Public debate :''for debate among the public, see Public sphere'' Public debate may mean simply debating by the public, or in public. The term is also used for a particular formal style of debate in a competitive or educational context. Two teams of two compe ...

) in 2001, California State Tournament (CHSSA) followed suit in 2003, and Pennsylvania State Tournament (PHSSL) in 2010. Yale, ASU, Whitman, as well as a number of invitational tournaments in Oregon and California, the largest of them held at Stanford, James Logan HS, SCU, UOP, Willamette, University of Oregon, Pepperdine and Claremont HS also offer parli. The Kansas City, Missouri area has conducted monthly high school tournaments since 2002. The Kansas City Greater Metropolitan Parliamentary Debate League offers two-round contests during the week with a championship tournament at the end of the school year. High school parli is taught at several summer

debate camp A debate camp or debate institute is a training workshop for high school and collegiate debaters. Usually these camps are held over the summer and last between two and eight weeks. While once attended by only highly competitive policy debaters, ...

s, including Stanford National Forensics Institute, ODI, CCPDI, and the POI Debate Institute at UC Berkeley. On the home school level, the home school debate league,

Stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

, also promotes parliamentary debate in a number of its tournaments nationwide.

also offers parliamentary debate at nationals
NITOC
. The other home school debate league,

NCFCA The Christian Speech & Debate League also known as the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association is a speech and debate league for Christian students in the United States. The NCFCA was established in 2001 after outgrowing its ...

, does not offer parliamentary debate at any of its tournaments or is it hosted at nationals. Format The first key feature uniting various formats of parliamentary debate in the US is their spontaneity. The resolutions alternate each round. They are announced, then participants are given 20 minutes of preparation time known as "prep". APDA is somewhat of an exception in the respect, with "loose link" rounds allowing the affirmative to run a case of their choosing, dealing with virtually any topic. The second key feature of parli is a ban on quoted evidence. Debaters may not bring in any material that was not prepared in the 20 minutes of preparation time and consult it during the round. APDA, Worlds and high school parli debate styles tend to take a more lay-friendly approach to debate, ensuring that debates are easy to understand no matter the audience member's expertise of the resolution. NPDA is more diverse, with some teams engaging in a more academic and specific-knowledge style borrowed from

Policy debate Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examinat ...

. Resolutions typically focus on current events, though the entrance of the Kritik to NPDA, and, to a lesser extent, to some high school circuits, introduced a philosophical element to parli. This style consists of a two-on-two debate, between the affirmative team, known as the Government or the Proposition, and the negative team, referred to as the Opposition. Debater role names are borrowed from the British Parliament, with the judge being referred to as the Speaker. The round consists of six speeches, as follows: #''Prime Minister'' (PM): the first affirmative speaker presents the affirmative case #''Leader of the Opposition Constructive (LOC)'': the first negative speaker presents the negative case and answers the PMC arguments #''Member of the Government Constructive (MGC)'': the second affirmative speaker upholds the affirmative case by pulling across information that was not addressed in the LOC and responds to the LOC arguments #''Member of the Opposition Constructive (MOC)'': the second negative speaker upholds the negative case by pulling across information that was not addressed in the MGC and responds to the MGC arguments #''Leader of the Opposition Rebuttal (LOR)'': the first negative speaker begins with an overview of why the negative team should win and explicitly analyzes certain arguments that had been dropped by the affirmative team throughout the debate. New arguments are not allowed. #''Prime Minister Rebuttal (PMR)'':the first affirmative speaker summarizes the round with an overview and responds to any new arguments brought up in the MOC/LOC Opp block and provides reasons for why the judge should vote affirmative. New arguments in the PMR are not allowed. Specific rules and speech times vary slightly between organizations. NPDA, APDA and OSAA use the 7-8-8-8-4-5 format, CHSSA and the ASU Invitational use the Claremont 7-7-7-7-5-5 format, the SCU Invitational uses the 6-7-7-7-4-5 format, and Yale high school tournaments use the Osterweis 4-5-5-5-2-3 format. PHSSL borrows its 8 speeches 6-6-6-6-6-6-3-3 format from

World Schools Style debate {{short description, Combination of the British Parliamentary and Australia-Asian debating formats World Schools Style debating (or WSS) is a combination of the British Parliamentary and Australia-Asian debating formats, designed to meet the need ...

. Most variations of the style do not include a specialized cross-examination period, but allow debaters to make parliamentary points. * Points of Information (POI) are questions or statements the opposing side can direct the speaker who has the floor. The speaker has an option to recognize or decline a POI. In most styles POIs cannot be made during the first and last minute of each speech (known as protected time) or during rebuttals. *''Points of Order'' are made when the speaker is introducing a new argument during a rebuttal speech, or grossly mischaracterizing arguments. During a Point of Order, official time (usually kept by the judge) is to be stopped while the judge listens and considers the point raised. *''Points of Personal Privilege'' (PPP) are made when the speaker makes offensive claims or personal attacks.

World Schools style

World Schools Style Debating combines the British Parliamentary and Australian formats, which results in a debate comprising eight speeches delivered by two three-member teams (the Proposition and the Opposition). Each speaker delivers an eight-minute speech – the first two are substantive matter and the third a rebuttal speech; then both teams deliver a "reply speech" lasting four minutes, with the last word being reserved for the Proposition. In junior debates, these limits are changed to about 5 minutes, and in some local competitions, speeches are 7 minutes. Between the end of the first and the beginning of the last minute of an eight-minute speech, the opposing party may offer "points of information". The speaker may refuse these, but should take at least one or two points during his or her speech. No points of order or Privilege are used. Topics can be supplied long in advance, or may be given 45 minutes or an hour before the debate begins. There is not much room for re-definition, and

squirreling The Church of Scientology maintains a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being ( thetan) that is resident in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of whic ...

is strictly prohibited. The

World Schools Debating Championships The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) is an annual English-language debating tournament for high school-level teams representing different nations. History The championships were first held in August 1988 in Australia, as part of the A ...

is attended by many countries, and uses this format. A similar format, with 7-minute speeches and Points-of-Information, is known as the Asian Parliamentary Format and is used by the

United Asian Debating Championships The United Asian Debating Championship (UADC) is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Asia. It is the largest inter-varsity Parliamentary Debate tournament in Asia, with over 600 participants. The UADC holds debates in the A ...

References

External links

*Debate organizations
International Public Debate Association

American Parliamentary Debate Association
United States collegiate parliamentary debate organization.
National Parliamentary Debate Association
United States collegiate parliamentary debate organization.
National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence
Sponsors U.S.-based parliamentary rankings system and national invitational championship.
Stoa USA Home School Speech and Debate
The home school debate league that offers parliamentary debate and a parliamentary nationals.
National Parliamentary Debate League
United States high school parliamentary debate organization (defunct since 2008).
Associated Leaders of Urban Debate
– A national organization promoting debate to the general public
Czech Debate Society
– A national organization in Czech Republic promoting debate to the general public and organising international events *Resources
Net Benefits
United States college NPDA-parli debate forum
DelegatePal
- Streamlined research portal
'Debating': A free online 'how-to' guide
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131074720/http://learndebating.com/ , date=31 January 2010 (A free 200-page debating book written by a former winner of the World Schools Debating Championship)
Presentations Teaching Parli
Slides from a former director of forensics teaching basics of parliamentary debate
World Debate Website
– Information about university debating events around the globe
The Judges British Parliamentary Debating est.1999
– An extensive array of unconventional tutorials that focus on the alternative and fun aspects of debate.
Parlidebate.com
– Video and audio recordings of APDA, BP, CUSID and NPDA debate rounds.
Strategic Argumentation in Parliamentary Debate
– College Parliamentary Debate E-Book and Textbook (2013) Debating Youth model government Student debating societies Debate types

British Parliamentary debate

In the United States

World Schools style

See also

References

External links