Debate Academic Communication 3 (Rebuttal).pptx

Rebuttal's role in a debate to teach students how to counter attack the oppositions side during a debate.

1. English for Academic Purpose DEP - PREP Academic Communication Session 3 Theme: Language and Culture Skills: Rebuttals

2. Content DEP-PREP

3. Part 1 IELTS Essay Structure Part 1 Warm Up DEP-PREP

4. Class Discussion Topic: Sports should be compulsory in schools Argument: “ Sport should not be compulsory in schools because students need to be taught to think for themselves and find their own motivation to exercise and be healthy.” How would you respond if someone said this to you? How would you refute their claim? Discuss this argument as a class and post your answers in WeChat. Compulsory:   If something is  compulsory , you must do it because of a rule or law, it is mandatory or enforced

5. Rebuttals Topic: Sports should be compulsory in schools Argument: “ Sport should not be compulsory in schools because students need to be taught to think for themselves and find their own motivation to exercise and be healthy.” Example rebuttals: There is no correlation between students learning independence and “thinking for themselves” from having the choice whether they choose to participate in sport in school Children may not be old enough to think for themselves in ways which promote longevity and good health

6. Part 1 IELTS Essay Structure Part 2 Rebuttals DEP-PREP

7. Video Watching Your teacher will play you a video now explaining rebuttals: https:// www.youtube.com / watch?v =FySj7MPlelY Tip: You can take notes during the video to help you later in class!

8. What is a rebuttal in a debate? Rebuttal: When two people debate, one of them makes an argument, and the other follows with a  rebuttal,  which, plainly put, is the "no, you're wrong and this is why" argument. We often associate rebuttals with arguments made in the courtroom or public debates that occur around election time, but the word can really apply to any situation in which an argument is put forth and someone disagrees, and explains why. Sports fans, for instance, like to argue about the likely winner of an upcoming game and when you make a case for why your friend is wrong, you are offering a rebuttal of his argument. Arguments can be factually , morally or logically flawed , they may be misinterpretations and they may also be unimportant or irrelevant. A team may also contradict one another or fail to complete the tasks they set themselves. These are the basics of rebuttal and almost every argument can be found wanting in at least one of these respects.

9. Steps to making a rebuttal The main objective for rebuttal is to p inpoint the weakness in the oppositions arguments. Identify why it their argument weak? A good starting point is to ask yourself the following questions: 1. Relevance : is the argument relevant? 2. Logic : is the argument logical? Does it make sense? 3. Assumptions : what does their line of reasoning assume? 4. Strength of Evidence : is their argument a strong or a weak one? What evidence has been used to support this?

10. How to format a rebuttal The main objective for rebuttal is to p inpoint the weakness in the oppositions arguments and re-strengthen your own. You can follow these steps to write your rebuttal: Step 1. Identify the other teams argument “Their argument was...” Step 2. Point out the weakness in their argument “However, this argument is weak because...” Step 3. Re-strengthen your own argument “As a result, the logic of our argument is still upheld...”

11. This type of rebuttal involves attacking the relevance of the other’s side’s argument. For instance, if you are debating the topic of whether homework promotes learning in students, the opposing argument might be that homework doesn’t take that much of a student’s time. You could use a rebuttal like this: “It’s true that homework doesn’t take that much time, but that point has nothing to do with whether homework promotes learning. Free time is important, but it has no bearing on learning.” Rebuttal Example: Attacking Relevance

12. Rebuttal Example: Attacking Logic A rebuttal can also attack the logic of the counter argument. “The basis of your argument is logically flawed” Example: Argument :  “If we spend more money on education then people will get better exam results” Rebuttal:  “You haven’t shown us the link between education spending and exam results”

13. In this type of rebuttal, the key is to attack an assumption supporting the other argument. For example, imagine you are debating the topic of video games and violence. Some arguments are easily rebutted by attacking the correlations made between an action and an outcome. This is attacking an underlying assumption in the opposition’s argument. For example, some people argue that video games lead to an increase in violence. “While some people argue that video games lead to an increase in violence, my position is that no studies have proved a cause and effect relationship between the two. The opposing argument is based on a correlation between violence and video game use, but a correlation is not the same as cause and effect. There have been no studies to indicate that video games cause violent behaviour” Rebuttal Example: Attacking Assumptions

14. Rebuttal Example: Attacking Evidence Another way to rebut an argument is to attack the evidence or facts that the argument is grounded in. Example: Argument: “ We need to cut carbon emissions to prevent global warming ” Rebuttal:  “Global warming is a natural phenomenon – there is no conclusive evidence to show that what man does will have any effect on climate change”

15. Language used for rebuttals Your teacher will provide you with a cheat sheet with helpful phrases for rebuttals including the following examples: “Your evidence does not support the claim...” “Your argument is not relevant to the discussion...” “Your point about ______ does not weaken our case because...” “The logic behind your argument is fundamentally flawed because...” “Whilst the opposition does make an interesting point, this does not disprove/discredit our claim because...” “Your argument is based on the assumption that...” “Your argument does not suggest that...”

16. Part 1 IELTS Essay Structure Part 3 Practising Rebuttals DEP-PREP

17. Example Statement Here is an example statement we will examine as a class to practise rebuttals: “Sleeping for six hours each night is good enough if you are a coffee drinker.” Can you think of any rebuttals? Tip: Is it logical? What are the underlying assumptions?

18. Review of Answers Let’s discuss your answers – Please post your rebuttals in the WeChat so your teacher can provide feedback and we share with our classmates!

19. Example Statement Here is another example statement we will examine as a class to practise rebuttals: “ The government shouldn’t give money to museums and art galleries ” Think: Why are museums and art valuable? What else could the money be used for? Can you think of any rebuttals?

20. Review of Answers Let’s discuss your answers – Please post your rebuttals in the WeChat so your teacher can provide feedback and we share with our classmates!

21. Part 1 IELTS Essay Structure Part 3 Mock Debate Rebuttals DEP-PREP

22. Planning the Rebuttals Form groups of five or six students Split your group in half with half being affirmative and half being negative Discuss the prompt in your smaller group Come up with a 3 possible arguments for or against the prompt in 5 minutes and write them down Swap your three arguments with the other group working on the same prompt Read their arguments and come up with at least two rebuttals for their arguments Write down your team's rebuttals and share your rebuttals with the group you swapped with If we have more time we may swap and make rebuttals for more than one group

23. Prompts It’s wrong to keep animals as pets Television is a bad influence on young people Gambling should be banned We should invest in more green energy University education should be free

24. Example Worksheet Prompt: Three Arguments: 1. 2. 3. Rebuttals: 1. 2.

25. Review: So far: - What is a rebuttal? - Effective rebuttal techniques - Practicing Rebuttals Coming up: -Mini Debate: Rebuttals -Feedback from teacher -Q and A session

26. Part 1 IELTS Essay Structure Part 4 Mini Group Debate: Rebuttals DEP-PREP

27. Group Presentation Time A few pairs of groups will be asked to present your arguments and rebuttals to the class (or, time pending, groups may present to each other).

28. Feedback: Within group What do you think you did well in the group debate? ( Did people perform their roles? Did everyone use the language from their role?) What rebuttal techniques did you use in your mini debate?

29. What have we learned today? What are rebuttals? What makes an effective rebuttal Techniques for rebuttals Practising rebuttals in debate

30. English for Academic Purpose DEP - PREP Academic Communication Session 3 Thanks