How to Construct a Policy Debate Case
Policy debates are competitive events where teams take affirmative or negative positions on a resolution such as "Abortion should be banned" or "Schools should institute strict dress codes." To win, an affirmative team has to put together a persuasive case.
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Instructions
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Pick a subject for your case that fits the general debate resolution. If the resolution is "strict dress codes," you can choose that, or adopt a more specific topic such as the need for school uniforms.
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Find the "harm." An affirmative policy debate team has to produce evidence of a serious problem that requires a solution.
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Show how the policy your team supports will solve the problem. If that's not possible, prove that it will reduce the damage.
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Explain to the judge why there are no other options. If there are alternatives to your proposal, you must present evidence that they can't solve the problem.
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Imagine all the arguments the negative team could make to prove your case wrong. Then come up with counter-arguments to undercut them.
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Tips & Warnings
Policy debate requires facts and logic to back up every argument. Research extensively, and don't make any claims you don't have proof for.
Picking an off-the-wall topic for your case can throw a negative team off-balance. Take it too far, however, and the negative team can charge that you didn't stick with the topic in the resolution.
