Tips in searching data and making argument before debating competition

Some useful sites that could help you in searching any information about a motion/topic:
1. http://wiki.idebate.org/index.php/Welcome_to_Debatepedia!
2. www.procon.org
3. www.youdebate.com
4. and of course.In searching for data/news,dun forget to also open the website of: google,
 BBC, CNN, NASA, National Geographic, JAKARTA POST, international herald tribune, etc. Those sites would surely be very helpful ;)

Tips in searching data:
Preparation before searching:
Usually debating competition committee releases 15 to 30 motions that you have to prepare in advance, thus you have to decide first the type of every motion, is it a proposal motion or a philosophical motion, by knowing the type of each motion, you'll be easier to decide what kind of information that you need to search in the internet.

For example:
If it is a proposal motion, you should search any information that can give you a very detail mechanism of solution to solve the problem that stated in the motion, of course with the information of its feasibility and future implication also.
If it is a philosophical debate, you have to figure out how many aspect in life that related to the motion that you can discuss for each speaker in your team, example 1st speaker will talk about the social and psychological aspect while 2nd speaker will talk about the law and security aspect.


1. Open above websites or google

2. If it is google, type: debatepedia kosovo independence (e.g. if the motion is: THBT kosovo shouldn't have declared its independence) or type: debatepedia global warming vs global cooling (e.g. if the motion is: THBT global warming is a myth)

3. Or type: procon global warming nature vs human (THBT U.S should be responsible the most for global warming)

4. Example of key words to be typed in google:
(This is the example for proposal motion)
- global warming main cause
- global warming solution
- kyoto protocol mechanism
- global warming future implication
- etc

5. Oftenly, by just typing key word like that is not enough, while searching the data, you also have to think for two side of government side and opposition side, predict and question it to yourself what gov/opp side would say if you say this/that, what argument should you say to make your team argument strong but also debatable.

6. The result? usually you would be end up opening a lot of websites that you think related to the motion (well it's normal). Now you have to save all of those websites and read them in your home or school in every free time that you have (remember, usually the committee only gives 3 weeks or even 1 week to look for data and make the argument, thus you have to manage the time that you have maximally)

7. Making an argument based on the information from those websites is actually like playing a puzzle, you have to find which one is the best information that could fit and strengthen your argument from the piles of websites that you have saved earlier from the internet. You really..really have to focus your thought and mind in this process. This whole process of searching the data from the internet and making the argument is not a one day process, hell no..!!, it takes days, and hours, you'll get a headache for sure, but it is better to have headache now than have headache in the competition when your opponent slaughtering your team, you don't want that, do you...

8. Makes sure every team member is involved in the whole process of data searching and argument making, because if there's only one person from your team that have lack of knowledge related to the motion, he/she could accidentally lead your team to loose by saying something about the motion wrongly.


p.s. Your team will surely loose if ignoring and underestimating this process before competition.