Case Building

What is a Case?
Elements Of A Case
1. Setup
2. Arguments
3. Rebuttal
Setup
Any Good Debate Should Have
Well Defined Boundaries
A Good Setup Should...
1. Allow for a good debate
2. Give a clear context about the debate
3. Explain what the debate is going to be about
What should be in a setup?
Basic Advanced

1. Problem / Background 1. Contextualization (1-4)

2. Definition 2. Team Position (5-9)
3. Parameter
4. Room Of Debate
5. Stance
6. Model
7. Goal
8. Disclaimers
9. Theme Line
Contextualization:
What Both Teams Agree On!
Contextualization Involves
1. Background: Explaining of the situation surrounding the motion
2. Definition: Defining the motions and what it means
3. Parameter: Defining the debate scope. Where the debate happens? A particular country / the
world in general.
4. Room of Debate: Defining what are going to be discussed in the debate
STEP BY STEP TO SETUP
BUILDING
IMPORTANT NOTES: NEVER PANIC WHEN MEETING WITH A MOTION
Brainstorming
Brainstorm and note everything you could think
of in the motion. Take 2-3 Minutes to do this,
don’t talk with your teammates while doing
this!
2 Question To Always Ask
1. What are we going to be defending in our team?
2. How are we going to defend it and win the debate? (What do my team need to prove to win the
debate)

For the time being, we will only be considering question 1.

Understanding The Motion
1. Chunk The Motion to words/phrases. Eg: This house would ban death penalty. This house , would,
ban, death penalty.
2. Identify the words that make the motion, well the motion. Eg: ban , death penalty.
3. Define each terms. Ban is to strongly prohibit the continuation of an activity. Death penalty is a
punishment in which a criminal is going to be killed.
Deciding the Context
1. Think of why is the motion put there by the adjudication core?
2. What is the controversial issue of the motion?
Generate The Definition
1. Go with the most straightforward definition possible
2. Make sure your definition is debatable
Generating A Background
1. Think of the general situation, time and place settings surrounding the debate.
2. Think of the actors of the debate, for whom these debate matters,think of their general condition
and values.
3. Think of how the background could give you advantage while still be a fair debate
Finding A Problem
1. Identify the strongest and biggest problem in the motion. Problem usually happens because of a
harm or violation felt by a particular group or because of conflicting values in society.
2. Portray it sharply, hyperbolize, make the problem big, but do not dramatize or make illogical claims.
3. If possible, it is best to pick a problem that is intuitive and do not require you to proof the problem
exist, is important, and need to be solve
Summing it up into a Contextualization
1. Take all things that you think will be important for adjudicators to know when they are judging the
debate
2. Don’t insert unnecessary point
3. Sum it up into a concise and neat speech
Thinking Of Your Stance
1. Think of who are you in that debate?
2. Think of what do your team believe in regard to the issue discussed in the debate?
Hard Line
Soft Line
Generating A Model
1. Think of your plan on how you are going to do the motion
2. Think of Who? What? When? And How?
3. You can:
a. Copy Someone Else
b. Copy and make change
c. Make your own
Tidying Up In A Speech
Motion:
THW allow married gay to adopt
children (ALSA UI 2010 Exhibition)
Satrio Adi Pratama - Prime Minister
Parameter
We're going to set this in the back in the ground of countries, such as United States and South Australia,

Background
where the gay, sorry, the homosexual couple has been legitimized, it is being acknowledged, like their
marriage and all. But they haven't been given the right to raise their children, in terms of having a
legitimate daughter
That's what we think as structural discrimination and the ultimate hinder towards the pursue happiness
for every citizen in this case, particularly the homosexual, ladies and gentlemen.
Satrio Adi Pratama - Prime Minister
Stance
We want to change the status by implementing a policy, which is based on endorsed normal adoption to
every citizen in our country, including the gay couple and stuff.

Model
So, there is three parts of our mechanism.
One, we're going to make sure there is a consent between parents and the children.
Two, we're going to do a test and screening to make sure that this gay couple, the homosexual who wants
to adopt children are financially and psychologically able to do so.
And lastly, such things when everything are screwed up, and when the family are failed, to make sure the
children can be taken care, taken away by social security services, so there is next mechanism for such
things go by.
Satrio Adi Pratama - Prime Minister
Goal
But, all purposes are to achieve the objective of ensuring fairness in the family and to make sure the value
distribution, value position are promoting the right color of values, which in this case is the fairness and
equality.
Motion:
This House Believes That The
World's Poor Should Be Justified
In Pursuing Complete Marxist
Revolution (WUDC FINAL 2016)
Bo Seo - Prime Minister
BACKGROUND/PROBLEM
The global poor all around the world and no matter what country in which they live, currently live in a system of
dictatorship.
They live under a dictatorship known as 'no alternatives', shackled by capital that's been unjustly acquired,
constrained by landed gentry who have no incentives but to pursue their own interests and chained by the fact
that they can't do anything but to look at the question of their own subsistence.
They're unable to reach out for the right to liberty and to self-determination that we think inheres in the human
condition.
Bo Seo - Prime Minister
Definition

How are we going to define a Marxist revolution in this debate?

We say that in all its forms it shares the feature of wanting to break down the system of private property.
That's what a Marxist revolution means.
It can take place in one of two ways. One, it can happen through internal system that exist presently. That is
to say that you vote in Marxist governments that support things like mass redistribution and the abolishment of
private property. Or it can exist externally, in the instance of forcibly bringing down governments that for far too
long have tread on these people’s' rights.
Bo Seo - Prime Minister
Goal and Stance

The first thing that I'm going to note, just on account of the model is just a picture of what we think this world will
look like.
That is to say, that we accept that this attempt at revolution won't succeed in all instances, that in many
instances it will just lead to the rise of marxist parties, but in the world in which we do succeed, we encourage you
to use your own imagination. That is to say, just notice how chronocentric our vision of civilization is. That is a
system of private property emerged out of the enlightenment. That is the last 300 years of human existence. Prior
to that, people lived in sharing economies where they defined themselves as something greater than their labor or
their productive force. That is the kind of world we support.
Motion:
This House Would Invade
Zimbabwe (WUDC FINAL 2011)
Victor Finkel - Prime Minister
Background / Problem
Robert mugabe has systematically oppress the people of Zimbabwe for nine on a decker. Right now, 5 million
people and increasing everyday are living behind poverty line not because Zimbabwe is too poor to do anything
about it, but because Robert mugabe policy have actively destroy the country, the collar epidemics that we
thought was being fixed, again is resurgent and spreading within Zimbabwe.

There is clear and active lack of respect for the will of the people in Zimbabwe. Attacks on the mdc and Morgan
Tsvangirai has resumed. To the point when the leader of the opposition for the democratic change, Morgan
Tsvangirai has himself called for the African Union and the south African development community to send in
armed peacekeepers to restore democratic rule in Zimbabwe.

We think this is a brilliant idea. The aim of the government tonight is to remove Robert Mugabe from power and
restore Zimbabwean democracy. We believe the international and in particularly the African community has
settled on the sidelines for too long. We believe this policy will bring about positive change both for the people in
Victor Finkel - Prime Minister
Stance and Goal
We think this is a brilliant idea. The aim of the government tonight is to remove Robert Mugabe from power and
restore Zimbabwean democracy. We believe the international and in particularly the African community has
settled on the sidelines for too long. We believe this policy will bring about positive change both for the people in
Zimbabwe and the African democracy across the continent.
Victor Finkel - Prime Minister
MODEL
Our model is clear. We think in much the same way that [eco mass] has just issued a threat to [Kotov] that is
backed up during a military intervention in a very short period of time. We believe that south African development
community and the African union should issue robert mugabe an ultimatum. You have one month or a similarly
appropriate time. To accept an amnesty in south Africa beyond which time these SADC and the EU will send in
ground and air forces supported by the technology of the west to bring about end to his dictatorial rule. We will
go in and destroy systematically the hardened military targets with less price. And the thousands of troops in
Zimbabwe will stand no real opposition to the combined force of the SADC, EU, and United Nation.

We believe this should be followed up with a massive international aid package and the presence of peacekeepers
in the nation. Until free and fair elections can be held and the transition to a safe society can be guaranteed. We
expect this to be long term we expect peacekeepers will be there for 5 to 10 years in much the same way that UN
do in Liberia, Sierra Leone successfully.