13th Inter-GSS English Debating Competition

1. Duration of Delivery

1) Preliminaries to Semi-Finals

Order	Duration
Captain of Affirmative	2.5 mins
Captain of Opposition	2.5 mins
1st Speaker of Affirmative	2.5 mins
1st Speaker of Opposition	2.5 mins
2nd Speaker of Affirmative	2.5 mins
2nd Speaker of Opposition	2.5 mins
Preparation of Summary	1 min
Captain Summary of Opposition	3 mins
Captain Summary of Affirmative	3 mins

2) Grand Finals

Order	Duration
Captain of Affirmative	2.5 mins
Captain of Opposition	2.5 mins
1st Speaker of Affirmative	2.5 mins
1st Speaker of Opposition	2.5 mins
2nd Speaker of Affirmative	2.5 mins
2nd Speaker of Opposition	2.5 mins
**Floor Time	12 min (1 min for each question & 1 min for each response)
* Free Debate	3 min each side
Preparation of Summary	1 min
Captain Summary of Opposition	3 mins
Captain Summary of Affirmative	3 mins

* Free Debate will be included in the Semi-Finals

** Both Free Debate and Floor Time will be included in the Grand Final

2. Timekeeping

Debater	Delivery Time	Start	Last 30 seconds	End	Grace Period 15 seconds	The 16th second to the 20th second	After the 20th second
Captain of aff. Captain of opp. 1st speaker of aff. 1st speaker of opp. 2nd speaker of aff. 2nd speaker of opp.	2min30s	0s (Ring bell once)	2min (Ring bell once)	2min30s (Ring bell twice)	2min31s - 2min45s	2min46s (Ring bell five times and deduct 5pts)*	Speaker must end his/her speech and return to the seat
Preparation of summary	1min
Captain Summary of opp Captain Summary of aff.	3mins	0s (Ring bell once)	2min 30 s (Ring bell once)	3min (Ring bell twice)	3min01s - 3min15s	3min16s (Ring bell five times and deduct 5pts)*
Floor Time	1min	0s (Ring bell once)	45s (Ring bell once)	1min (Ring bell twice)	-----	-----
Free Debate	3min	0s (Ring bell once)	2min30s (Raise the card)	3min (Ring bell twice)	-----	-----

* Deduct 5 points from each adjudicator's total score.

Notes
Aff. : Affirmative team
Opp. : Opposition team

3.1 Individual Speeches

A. Content (40 points)

Quality of argument
Depth and breadth of ideas
Relevance of arguments to the motion
Originality
Depth of rebuttal

B. Delivery (30 points)

Use of English language in arguments
Level of fluency
Strong articulation
Originality
Persuasiveness

C. Organisation (20 points)

Development of arguments
Logical sequence of points
Precise and concise in wordings

D. Poise (10 points)

Gestures and posture that reinforce presentation
Confidence and presence
Eye contact

3.2 Free Debate (in the Grand Finals )

A. Content (40 points)

Quality of argument
Depth and breadth of ideas
Relevance of arguments to the motion
Originality
Depth of rebuttal

B. Delivery (30 points)

Use of English language in arguments
Level of fluency
Strong articulation
Originality
Persuasiveness

C. Organization (20 points)

Development of arguments
Logical sequence of points
Precise and concise in wordings

D. Poise (10 points)

Gestures and posture that reinforce presentation
Confidence and presence
Eye contact

3.3 Floor Time (in the Grand Finals )

Each question asked and answered by debating team (20 points)

Quality
Delivery
Precision and relevance

4. Score Allocation

Debater	Score Allocation
Captain	100 points
1^st Speaker	100 points
2^nd Speaker	100 points
Floor Session	60 points
Free Debate	100 points
Captain Summary	100 points
Maximum score for each debating team in Preliminary Round and Quarter Finals	400 points
Maximum score for each debating team in Semi Finals	500 points
Maximum score for each debating team in Grand Final	560 points

5. Rules of Floor Time Session

5.1 In the final round, participating teams shall each have THREE Floor Speakers to ask questions (and in turn answer questions and/or respond).

5.2 The floor session consists of questions posed from the floor to be answered (or responded to) by the other team's speakers on stage. Each question shall be posed by a different student from the floor.

5.3 A student from the opposition side shall begin first by posing questions to the affirmative side.

5.4 The affirmative side shall then send one of its speakers to stand up and answer the question and/or respond.

5.5 This is followed by a student from the affirmative side posing questions to the opposition side, so on and so forth.

5.6 If no question is posed by a student from the floor:

i) the corresponding team will be penalized by a deduction of 5 marks on the floor question; and

ii) the other team could still send one of its speakers on stage to respond.

6. Rules of Free Debate Session (In the Grand Finals)

6.1 The affirmative side and the opposition side will each have THREE minutes to speak. Time will run on a cumulative basis for each side separately.

6.2 At least 3 debaters from each team shall have spoken in this session. The team which is in breach of such a rule will be penalized by a deduction of 5 marks in its scores with each of the adjudicators.

6.3 Each speaker shall stand up before he or she begins and sit down after finishing his or her speech.

6.4 The affirmative side shall begin first. One of its speakers on stage shall stand up and speak.

6.5 Once the said speaker sits down, the timer will begin running for the opposition side. A speaker from the opposition side shall then stand up and respond immediately and shall sit down after he or she finishes.

6.6 The affirmative side and the opposition side shall speak in turn until one of the teams has used up the entire duration of time it is entitled. The other side shall then send one of its team members to use up all the remaining time allowed.