Grouping arguments

An image of a boy and girl in a discussion

Introduction

Once a team or group has brainstormed the arguments that they are going to use, it is important to prioritise these arguments, group them together and divide them evenly between the speakers.

Learning objectives

To help improve general communication skills
To help improve confidence
To encourage quick thinking skills
To encourage listening skills

Why do we group arguments?

It is best to have a few key points rather than a disparate group of arguments. The best way to do this is to look for arguments that group together and to give the argument group a ‘snappy’ heading.

Exercise - grouping arguments

Firstly, group the arguments which are similar together.

The list of proposition arguments in the example motion of 'This house would abolish school uniform' was:

We should have the right to express our individuality.
What you wear is important to young people.
Pupils don’t want to wear it.
It is unpleasant, uncomfortable and impractical.
It can make children targets to other schools – leading to inter-school bullying and violence.
Making everyone wear the same thing infringes our rights and stops creativity.
Teachers don’t have to wear uniform.
It is unfashionable.
It creates an ‘us and them’ feeling.
School uniform is not good preparation for working. When people go to university or work, most people do not need to wear a uniform.
Uniforms are expensive and can be hard for parents to afford.
Schools waste time trying to enforce the rules (as pupils will always try and bend the rules to express individuality – tying their ties in a new way, shorter skirts).

Give the groups names according to their common theme.

Some tips on argument allocation

Don’t give the ‘stronger’ speaker all the good arguments as it leaves the other speaker with very little to say. It is important to make sure that the arguments are equally distributed between the speakers.

Don’t hide all the good arguments in the second speech to trick the opposition – this isn’t fair and speakers who do this will be penalised by judges.

Possible answers to exercise

This document suggests possible ways to group the arguments outlined in the brainstorming session.

Possible answers to 'Grouping arguments' exercise for debating in schools (27 KB)

Teacher notes

How to assess progress:

Do the pupils understand the process of grouping the arguments together?
If asked why certain arguments should be grouped together, could the pupils explain why?

Next step

The next step is to structure your speech.