Difference between revisions of "Debate Or Die"

Revision as of 11:12, 26 October 2011

What are we all about?

Fancy this on your hoodie?

We are the debating society; and this year it has become official, which is a very exciting and encouraging step. Some of you may already know us, as we have been running informal weekly meetings for a while now, but this year things get serious. We are looking to expand the membership and the appeal of the debating society; we truly hope that students from all different educational disciplines decide to come along to our weekly meetings!

It is important to keep in mind that debating is not for law students only, whatever degree you are pursuing, debating can really help you build up your confidence and become a competent public speaker! The debating style that we use is the ‘British Parliamentary Style’ format, which is how debates are carried out in Parliament! So come along, and learn how to debate like a true politician!

Why debate?

Preparing for the debate

Debating is a great way to build up one’s confidence and become a truly impressive public speaker, a crucial attribute for any profession you wish to enter in the future. It also teaches you how to think on the spot, you have to creative and confident in your argument. After a few debating sessions, you would be surprised at how good your impromptu arguments will become! After all, we do some of our best thinking when we are put on the spot!

In addition to the afore-mentioned, come along and meet some great people! This is where undergraduate and post-graduate students meet each other and work together effectively! This is your opportunity to expand your social circle, meet fascinating and intelligent people.

Debating also looks great on a CV; it demonstrates to your potential employer that you are an enthusiastic candidate that exposes themselves to activities outside of their degree! So what do you have to lose?

Listen very carefully...

What would we like to achieve this year?

For us, this year is extremely important! We are hoping that this is the year where our society attracts students from the whole of the university, debating is great fun, and the more diverse our members are, the more interesting the debates become.

Whether you have debated in the past is irrelevant. Everyone is welcome and you would be surprised at how quickly your debating skills will develop. Last year we were lucky enough to have Rachel Savage, an extremely competent debater and judge at the world-renowned MACE Debating competitions, come along and teach us. She was also joined by Tom Walker, an experienced and very knowledgeable debater himself, he gave us many helpful tips and even debated with us!!

With their continuing support, and the support of other organisations, this is the year where debating at city becomes serious business! We are hoping to enter candidates into debating competitions, and we are desperate to spread City’s good reputation, after all, we are proud to be City University Students! This is a society made by the students for the students!

How will you benefit from joining the debating society?

Improve your public speaking skills and help build your confidence! It’s not necessarily what you say; it’s how you say it.
Learn how to think on the spot effectively and work well in a team!
Improve your arguing skills, think of debating as a civilised and structured way of arguing!
Improve your time management skills. Debating teaches you how to summarise arguments effectively, and present arguments in a structured and succinct way! There is simply no time to waste, every second counts in debating!

Debating in action

How can I find out more?

Keep an eye out on this page and check your emails on a regular basis. We shall soon be sending out emails with information concerning the time and location of our weekly debating sessions! We hope to see you all there!

Thanks to Marwa Stavraetou LLB2 for this piece.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==How did it come about?==
+==What are we all about?==
-[[Image:Newbies_Debatelogo.png|thumb|left|120px|Fancy this on your hoodie?]]Here at City University, it has taken a few enthusiastic like-minded people who genuinely care about extra-curricular activities to use our own initiative and put together our very own debate union. Other than mooting, a law student really wonders what alternatives there are to enhance crucial advocacy skills, and have a really good laugh at the same time.
+[[Image:Newbies_Debatelogo.png|thumb|left|120px|Fancy this on your hoodie?]]
+We are the debating society; and this year it has become official, which is a very exciting and encouraging step. Some of you may already know us, as we have been running informal weekly meetings for a while now, but this year things get serious. We are looking to expand the membership and the appeal of the debating society; we truly hope that students from all different educational disciplines decide to come along to our weekly meetings!
-In our first year as an official society, we have competed in some of the most prestigious debating competitions, to name a few; [http://www.esu.org/jsmm/ John Smith Mace Memorial], [http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102999296441087 Oxford Women’s], the London Open. The format in which we are conducting our sessions is British Parliamentary style – For those of you unfamiliar with this style, please refer to [http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/parliament-government-and-politics/parliament/prime-ministers-questions/ Prime Minister's Questions] every Wednesday at noon.
+It is important to keep in mind that debating is not for law students only, whatever degree you are pursuing, debating can really help you build up your confidence and become a competent public speaker!
+The debating style that we use is the ‘British Parliamentary Style’ format, which is how debates are carried out in Parliament! So come along, and learn how to debate like a true politician!
-==Where are we going?==
-This is only the Union’s first year, and it seems very plausible to envisage an even bigger image and status for the Union in years to come. The primary aim is for students to learn to express oneself through the use of rhetoric, and logically structured arguments, helping one to grow in confidence which is an essential tool to have in your armoury when applying for graduate jobs. In essence it has been created by students, for students, to enable us to fulfil the potential here at City University.
-As it grows in size, we aim to build a stable Union which is both recognised and respected by some other top universities in Britain. This goal will be achieved by going to even more debate competitions across England and Wales, to gain that valuable empirical knowledge that one acquires. Writing from experience, these universities host very successful debates, which 99% of the time, includes social nights and cheap booze!
-==Why do it, and what's involved?==
-[[Image:Newbies_Debate1.png|thumb|175px|left|Preparing for the debate]]
+==Why debate?==
-[[Image:Newbies_Debate2.png|thumb|175px|Debating in action]]
-The Union has very big ambitions, and we actually plan to reach out to not only law students, but to as many faculties as possible, to learn from one another, make new friends, and have a good time. This is complemented by weekly debate training sessions, where we have been lucky enough to have both Tom Walker and Rachel Savage – who both have a wealth of debating experience, to help us with feedback and also to the direct the future of our infant union.
+[[Image:Newbies_Debate1.png|thumb|125px|Preparing for the debate]]
-You are all strongly encouraged to get involved with the City University Debating Union (CUDU), because it is without doubt that we are a respected institution, but perhaps an area where we are lacking is student activity in extra-curricular activities that some of our rivals traditionally have.
+Debating is a great way to build up one’s confidence and become a truly impressive public speaker, a crucial attribute for any profession you wish to enter in the future. It also teaches you how to think on the spot, you have to creative and confident in your argument.
+After a few debating sessions, you would be surprised at how good your impromptu arguments will become! After all, we do some of our best thinking when we are put on the spot!
-[[Image:Newbies_Debate3.png|thumb|185px|Listen very carefully...]]
+In addition to the afore-mentioned, come along and meet some great people! This is where undergraduate and post-graduate students meet each other and work together effectively! This is your opportunity to expand your social circle, meet fascinating and intelligent people.
-It is with this that I hope I have encouraged you to perhaps take note that we students at City should be proud to represent this institution; so if you like meeting new people, learning wonderful new facts, socializing and touring around England, sign up and become involved with our project, that will truly someday stand in competition with the best universities in the country.
-==Top tips==
+Debating also looks great on a CV; it demonstrates to your potential employer that you are an enthusiastic candidate that exposes themselves to activities outside of their degree! So what do you have to lose?
-Some of the hot top tips and pointers to those of you new to University debating; the following are some of the very basics:
-*You have precious little time to prepare for a debate, so make sure that the strongest of your arguments are used early on in the debate, these should be the main focus of the arguments.
+[[Image:Newbies_Debate3.png|thumb|left|135px|Listen very carefully...]]
-*Speak with confidence! This one sounds dumbfounded, but judges sometimes analyse how you execute your speech.
+==What would we like to achieve this year?==
-*Be conscious of your speaker role within the debate, and what is expected from you. For example, the  onus is on the first speaker to outline and define their teams case before moving onto their arguments
-*The layout of a debate is set almost like a zigzag; so, the second speaker rebuts the first speaker’s speech and reaffirms his team line, which continues throughout all of the speeches.
-*All teams in a debate have to persuade. All speakers, barring the summary speakers, are expected to deliver new arguments in support of their team case.
+For us, this year is extremely important! We are hoping that this is the year where our society attracts students from the whole of the university, debating is great fun, and the more diverse our members are, the more interesting the debates become.
+Whether you have debated in the past is irrelevant. Everyone is welcome and you would be surprised at how quickly your debating skills will develop. Last year we were lucky enough to have Rachel Savage, an extremely competent debater and judge at the world-renowned [http://www.esu.org/jsmm/ MACE Debating] competitions, come along and teach us. She was also joined by Tom Walker, an experienced and very knowledgeable debater himself, he gave us many helpful tips and even debated with us!!
+With their continuing support, and the support of other organisations, this is the year where debating at city becomes serious business! We are hoping to enter candidates into debating competitions, and we are desperate to spread City’s good reputation, after all, we are proud to be City University Students! This is a society made by the students for the students!
+==How will you benefit from joining the debating society?==
+*Improve your public speaking skills and help build your confidence! It’s not necessarily what you say; it’s how you say it.
+*Learn how to think on the spot effectively and work well in a team!
+*Improve your arguing skills, think of debating as a civilised and structured way of arguing!
+*Improve your time management skills. Debating teaches you how to summarise arguments effectively, and present arguments in a structured and succinct way! There is simply no time to waste, every second counts in debating!
+[[Image:Newbies_Debate2.png|thumb|150px|Debating in action]]
 ==How can I find out more?==
-Get in touch with the organisers of the CUDU - Zinar or Josh. The [http://www.esu.org/universities/ English Speaking Union] (ESU) offers a great deal of information about the John Smith Memorial Mace, including the competition handbook and [http://www.britishdebate.com/calendar/ debating calendar]. London is the place to be for watching lots of debates as well as participating in them - [http://www.intelligencesquared.com/ Intelligence Squared]describes itself as the global forum for live debate and offers reduced price tickets for debates for students. [http://clds.debatewise.com/ Central London Debating Society] offers you the chance to refine your skills online and at different locations in London.
+Keep an eye out on this page and check your emails on a regular basis. We shall soon be sending out emails with information concerning the time and location of our weekly debating sessions! We hope to see you all there!
+Thanks to Marwa Stavraetou LLB2 for this piece.
 [[Category:Newbies]]