Rules of Oxford Style debate1

General
1. This is the set of rules that govern all debates to be held by the students in M.B.A.Alvaro
Sanchez courses at CESUN Universidad. At any debate, the instructor or call
Chairperson during the debate shall have full authority in regard to the interpretation
of these rules.

The Structure of Debate

1. Unless otherwise established, all debates held will be in the Oxford style.
2. The topic shall be selected by the Master and must be related
to the course in question; should made known at least 7 days
prior to the debate; and should be approved by the instructor.
3. One team will be for and other teams against the
proposition (motion). The task of the team for the proposition is propose the topic
with constructive arguments and the use of supporting material; the opposing team must
then oppose the resolution, by both rebutting the arguments of the proposition through the
use of constructive arguments and supporting material.
4. Teams consist of 4-8 students each. It is up to each team to decide who will be
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th speakers for each team. Each speaker
shall be assigned a particular function, namely opening speaker, second
speaker, third speaker (Q&A) and summator.
5. When teams are made of more than 4 members, the 5 th member will also act as a 3rd
speaker. That is, there will be two 3rd speakers. One will ask/answer questions from the
other team, and the other will answer questions from the floor.
6. Competitors shall be called upon to speak by the chairperson in the following order:
a) opening proposition
b) opening opposition
c) second proposition
d) second opposition
(questions from the floor if applicable)
e) third proposition
f) third opposition
g) proposition summator
h) opposition summator
7. Group 1 (for the motion) will take the floor first and group 2 (against the motion) will take
the floor. After that. If there are more debates scheduled for that they, then Group 3 and
4 will then follow suit, and so on.
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Text adjusted from the Debate rules followed at the Master of European Public Affairs at Maastricht
University.

8. All members of the audience shall comprise the "floor. Please note that you have to try to
convince that audience as well, they might not be experts in the field
(so please try to avoid using extremely technical terms).

Preparation Time
1. A team will be given a minimum of one week during which to prepare an argument, except
in the event of impromptu speaking in which case special conditions set by the organizers
will apply.
2. Any team that arrives more than 5 minutes late runs the risk of receiving zero points. This
decision shall be made by the instructor.

Time limits of speeches

The following time limits apply to each speaker:
1. opening proposition, 5 minutes (max)
2. opening opposition, 5 minutes (max)
3. second proposition, 7 minutes
4. second opposition, 7 minutes
5. third proposition, 7 minutes or 10 minutes if 2 people play this role
6. third opposition, 7 minutes or 10 minutes if 2 people play this role
7. proposing summators, 5 minutes
8. opposing summators, 5 minutes
Following the speech of the second speaker of the opposition the instructor shall open the
debate to the floor. After each question the third speaker will provide an answer, until
the question period is over. Answers should be short to allow at least 2-3 questions from the floor,
the instructor or the other team. The same applies for the third speaker of the opposition. If there is
time left, the third speaker can further talk about other specific issues, supporting or defending its
team position. Each team should prepare in advance 2 questions to ask the other team. The
person asking the question should not take longer than 30 seconds. The time use by the person
asking the question counts as part of the time of the 3 rd speaker.
These time limits should be enforced. The instructor may at his or her discretion interrupt a speaker
when a flagrant violation of these limits occur. Timeliness is a criterion for evaluation.

Definitions
1. Speakers must define the topic, by setting out the subjects, issues and terms of
debate. Definitions should be reasonable, clear and reasonably related to the terms of the
topic.
2. The summators may also respond to the other teams arguments and, among other things,
shall also have the option to challenge a definition.
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New Points
1. The final speakers of the debate, the last speaker of the opposition and the last speaker of
the proposition, are required to summarise the arguments presented by the other
speakers on each side of the debate.
2. New matter - that is, arguments and issues that have not been previously introduced
during the debate - may not be introduced by the final two
speakers of the debate, unless it is introduced as a rebuttal or reply
to arguments or material previously introduced. The final two
speakers, however, are encouraged and expected to develop and expand on arguments
already made during the course of the debate.

The conduct of the debate

1. Competitors are expected to behave professionally during a debate, and with
respect to their fellow competitors.
1. Those who do not do so shall be penalized, and may be asked to exit the debate if the
instructor so decides.
2. A debate is a formal affair and speakers should be dressed appropriately.
2. "Points of order" may only be made to the instructor in extreme cases. Personal abuse and
obscenity are examples of such cases.
3. Short interjections used to give or request information
from the current speaker are prohibited. Points of
information may only be offered in rebuttal.

Adjudication
1. At the conclusion of a debate, the members of the floor will secretly vote in order to
determine the winner of the debate.
2. The main criterion for evaluating teams is the extent to which they were effective in
persuading the floor of the validity of their case, in the context of the debate. In doing this,
members of the floor shall give equal weight to the matter, including arguments and the
manner in which this matter was presented.

Misdebate & Compaints

1. A misdebate can be declared by the chairperson during the course or at the end of the
debate. In this case the debate will be declared null and void and any result discarded.
This will only be done in EXTREME circumstances, when the rules set out here are
violated to such an extent that the spirit of debate is lost.
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2. Any complaints or disputes concerning any debate should be communicated as soon as

possible to the instructor. The decision of the instructor in such a dispute will be final.