Writing notes to support delivering a speech in a debate | English

Starter quiz

What is the first thing a team should do when following the debate preparation guide GOAL?
- guess which points to use
- gather a group of people to help
- generate a list of points ✓
What comes after 'generate' when following GOAL?
- order ✓
- organise
- observe
Who does a team assign points to when preparing for a debate?
- members of the audience
- the opposing team
- their summary speaker
- their speakers ✓
What must a team do to avoid repeating parts of each other's arguments?
- listen to each other
- liaise with each other ✓
- learn from each other
What makes an effective 'point' in a debate?
- one that seems obvious
- one that isn't true
- one that provokes an emotional response ✓
Should points be fully formed and written in full sentences whilst the team is generating them?
- yes
- no ✓
- it depends if the audience is watching

What of these elements of a debate that make it unpredictable?
- rebuttal ✓
- points of information ✓
- summary speakers
- protected time
Speakers should not be reading their speech word for word. Instead, what should they use to support them?
- photographs
- drawings
- notes ✓
A speaker should try and finish writing their notes with time to spare before the debate starts so they can do what?
- read them out loud
- rehearse what they'll say using the notes to help ✓
- relax before the debate starts
Which of these may feature in a speaker's notes?
- abbreviations ✓
- full sentences
- photographs
Having clear notes means a speaker doesn't have to keep looking at them. What should they do with their eyes instead?
- make eye-contact with the opposing team
- look at the floor
- make eye-contact with the audience ✓
Which of these would be a helpful thing to use to make notes clearer to read?
- brackets and dashes ✓
- arrows
- giant writing

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When making a speech in a debate, a person should have written notes to help them.
Notes do not need to be written in full sentences.
Notes should not be read word for word.

Pupils often want to write their speech down word for word.

There often isn't time to write a speech word for word when preparing for a debate. Therefore, notes should be used instead.

Point - A point is an idea or reason to support your opinion.
Explanation - An explanation means giving reasons to help someone understand an opinion.
Proof - Proof refers to the evidence used to support an opinion.
Summary - A summary will briefly recap the main points of an argument.
Notes - Notes are brief, concise and often abbreviated records of information.