Hark the resolution is upon us! Pt. 3
Okay… two more advantages of creating a definition list:
Advantage 4: Definition context can be key
In that same debate about economic stability which I mentioned in the previous post, one of my “three sources” was actually the source my opponent was using for his entire case - I argued that it instead supported me! How did I do this? I read the very next sentence in the article my opponent used to define economic stability, which actually supported my interpretation. And how did I know what that very next sentence said? I had it in my definition list.
This is why it’s important to have more than just one definition in your list. The more definitions you have in your list, the higher chance there is that you’ll have the one your opponent is using. And if he starts misinterpreting it, you can call him out.
This is also why I recommend (for definitions that come from an article) pasting the entire paragraph into your list, with the definition part bolded. In that debate, if I had only just had the one definition sentence in my list, I wouldn’t have had that critical context in front of me that I was able to read to the judges.
And for dictionary definitions, this is why I recommend copying down all the definitions for a particular word, including the sample sentences that many dictionaries provide, and including definitions that seem to have nothing to do with our topic. Let’s say your opponent says:
“ ‘Culture’ is defined by Oxford Lexico as ‘The cultivation of bacteria, tissue cells, etc. in an artificial medium containing nutrients.’ So I stand for the resolution that ‘Resolved: Cultural unity is better than cultural diversity in a society’ because when we have a culture of a single unified type of bacterium, we’re able to do far more accurate experiments on it than if we have a culture that’s contaminated with a diversity of bacteria.” **
Technically, yes, Oxford Lexico defines “culture” this way. But if you have the entire dictionary entry printed out, you can quickly look at it and see that there’s a little word right above the definition: “Biology.” And there’s a little sample sentence right after the definition that uses it in the context of biology. Your opponent is citing a biological definition in the context of an obviously socio-cultural resolution.
Now all you have to do is point this out to the judge, and then (because you have all of the definitions from this source printed out), read to the judge the appropriate definition from your opponent’s source:
“My opponent is trying to cite a biological definition in the middle of a debate about societies and cultures. This is obvious when we look at his own source: right above his definition, it says “biology,” and right after the definition, it uses the word “culture” in the context of biology. So let’s look at the definition Oxford provides that actually is relevant to our topic: ‘The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.’ This is the definition appropriate to the context of our round.”
This kind of argument is really powerful to a judge who sees two definitions and doesn’t know how to pick between them. If you have your opponent’s definition context in your binder, you can show how they’re taking it out of context, or using it in the wrong context altogether.
Advantage 5: When your grandma asks you what is your debate topic for this year, you won’t be struck dumb because you have no idea how to explain biomedical engineering.
Just kidding. Well, maybe not. Many community judges are other people’s grandmas…
Anyway, hopefully you get the idea by now. By starting with definitions, you establish what we’re here to talk about. This can help your own research be more productive, and provide you with powerful tools to show when your opponent isn’t being reasonable.
Definition debates are frustrating to many judges and competitors, and for good reason - nine times out of ten, they are super confusing and get nowhere:
“My definition is from Merriam-Webster!”
“Oh yeah? But my definition is from Cambridge!”
“So what? Merriam-Webster can beat up Cambridge any day of the week!”
But when you’ve sufficiently prepped beforehand, you’ve greatly increased your odds of a productive discussion, because you actually understand the definitions, their context, and their sources.
Now, this is a lot of work. But that’s okay - it’s still September. Don’t be afraid to take it slow and absorb, absorb, absorb. My typical pattern is to spend about a month on definitions and general research, a month on writing my first aff case, and a month on writing my first neg case. That’s partly because I am a super analytical thinker (so I thoroughly understand what I write but I write it slowly), but also because I was spending a lot of time just trying to get a feel for what this topic is all about. Don’t get me wrong: set deadlines and make sure you are on track for your first tournament, but don’t think you have to rush it. The time for writing will come. It’s hard to build your brilliant case when you don’t have a solid foundation to set it on.
More tips to come soon!
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Let us know if you have any specific topics you’d like to see addressed on the blog.
**“CULTURE English Definition and Meaning.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, 2021, www.lexico.com/en/definition/culture.