Thank you from the Coast Forensics League!
Students and coaches alike deeply appreciate your judging Student Congress. Without your help, students would not have the opportunity to practice the skills they have learned. Please enjoy the refreshments provided for volunteers before the first session and during the break. So that the event today is fair to all competitors, we appreciate your being on time for the start of each session and reading the following instructions carefully.
Overview
Student Congress includes argumentation, analysis, questioning, clash of ideas, and delivery. A thorough knowledge of parliamentary procedure should be reflected in each speaker’s courtesy and decorum. Judges should evaluate or rank speakers based on the speaker’s overall contribution to the debate in their house.
Description of Student Congress
· Student Congress is modeled after the procedure of floor debate in a legislature.
o It is designed to test a student’s ability to speak to an issue in both an extemporaneous and impromptu matter and to reveal the individual’s knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
· Bills and resolutions to be debated today have been determined in advance, and students, who are called representatives, have had time to prepare to speak on these issues.
o Speeches should respond to the views of previous speakers and except for the very first speech of the Congress, they should not be a rehearsed or “canned “ speech. In other words, speeches should “clash” with the arguments presented in a previous speech or provide additional reasons to support the arguments in a previous speech.
· Each session of Congress is an hour and twenty minutes long. Following the first session is a break and a second session.
· A student presiding officer or “PO” will chair each session.
o A presiding officer may chair one session and serve as a representative in the other one.
o In order to speak, a representative must be recognized by the presiding officer.
o The presiding officer will recognize representatives who wish to give speeches or ask cross-examination questions according to a priority system based on a “frequency and recency standard”.
o The presiding officer is also responsible for making sure representatives are equitably called up to make motions.
· A parliamentarian will be present to ensure that proper parliamentary procedures are followed.
· All speeches must be delivered from the front of the room. You will be provided with a seating chart to identify students. Students should also write their name on the board before delivering a speech.
o Each speech is limited to three minutes. In addition, each speaker is open for a maximum of one minute of cross-examination.
o Notes and prepared material are allowed in delivering speeches.
o Debate speeches should alternate from affirmative to negative positions on the bill or resolution under consideration.
· You will be provided with a Student Congress Ballot for ranking the students in your house. In addition, each time a student speaks you will be asked to fill out a Comment Sheet. Samples of these two forms are attached. Please read the directions on them!
o You are strongly encouraged to fill out the Comment Sheets during the session as a number of students will speak, and your notes will help differentiate speakers. Comment Sheets are collected and distributed to students at the end of the Student Congress.
o The Student Congress Ballot contains columns next to the students’ name to record the rating you gave their speeches as well as columns to rate their overall decorum and their skill in asking appropriate questions of other speakers during cross-examination.
Judging Criteria
Students will take positions on the bills and resolutions for reasons of competition. Please be objective about the views expressed in the debate. Your personal views should not intrude on your evaluation of the speakers.
Please keep all of the following criteria in mind as you judge the Student Congress speakers.
1. Delivery—communicative and persuasive manner.
2. Original arguments—new and innovative views on the issue backed up by evidence.
3. Clash—directly responds to the issues presented by previous speakers.
4. Questioning—incisive, knowledgeable, and direct answers during cross-examination.
5. Analysis—logical examination of the issues.
Using the Comment Sheets
· Complete the Comment Sheet after the student has delivered a speech and answered any questions that may be posed by other representatives during the cross-examination time.
o The Comment Sheet will ask you to rate each speech by considering the Judging Criteria listed above including the student’s response to questioning during cross-examination.
o Score the speech from 6 through 1as follows: “6” for outstanding, “5” for superior, “4” for excellent , “3” for good.
o Mark that score on the Comment Sheet. In addition, mark it on the Student Congress Ballot, using a separate column each time the student delivers a speech.
Determining the Final Ranking on the Student Congress Ballot
· The top seven speakers in each House will receive an award.
· To properly complete the Student Congress Ballot:
o First mark “DNS” in the Final Ranking column of any student that did not speak. Cross out the names of students who were not present.
o Now, select the students you consider to be the seven best speakers.
§ Review the ratings you gave each of these students for their speeches.
§ Then take into account their:
· Decorum or courtesy and knowledge of parliamentary procedure.
· Skill in asking appropriate and direct questions during cross-examination.
· Rank these seven best students from 1st through 7th place as follow: “1st” is the best; “2nd” is second best, and so on. Give all of the other students who spoke during the debate a tie for 8th place.
· If there is a different presiding officer each session, the representatives in the house will vote on which one did a better job at the end of the Student Congress.
· Remember: Active participation should be taken into consideration, but several mediocre speeches and questions are not better than few high quality ones.
The Last Step
· Give your completed and signed Student Congress Ballot and to your parliamentarian so that the awards can be given immediately after the second session. Give your Comment Sheets to the presiding officer who will hand them out for the representatives before they leave the room.
· Note: At some tournaments, judges switch rooms at the end of the first session. If that is the case, you will receive instructions, and you will need to provide a final ranking at the end of each session.
A few words about Questioning during Cross-Examination
· Questions should add value to the debate. The presiding officer or parliamentarian may call leading questions “out of order” because students who ask them may be trying to provide new evidence in the guise of a question. Such questions often begin with the words: “Isn’t it true that…?” “ Are you aware that…?” “Do you know that…?”
· A speaker’s response to questions during cross-examination should be to the point.