RULE BOOK

NATIONAL DEBATING COMPETITION 2022 – IPEF

Event organised by Lei Ipsum, functional cell SBM and supported by BSE IPF

About the Event:

The National Debating Competition 2022, will be conducted on the 23rd and 24th April, 2022.
The theme of this competition will be the ‘Are Investors Protection measures of regulators
sufficient in today’s digital age’. Each team will consist of two members who will each make
a constructive and deconstructive speech, respectively. A panel of expert judges will be
assembled by Lei Ipsum, who will sit in on different debating rooms, and adjudge the most
adept debaters. The competition will be conducted in three rounds where the first will be a
prelim round, where the lowest scoring teams will be eliminated at each step. The winners of
this competition will be awarded prize money and certificates.

Prep Time Allotted: 20 minutes

Motions:

Motions for the debate will be released prior to each round. The theme of the competition will
be the Investors Protection and Education Fund.

Motions will be in the following format – “This House Believes that…”/ “This House will…”,
etc.

Debate Structure:

Each team will be assigned to debate either in the proposition, or the opposition alternatingly
between rounds. This will be allocated before rounds begin. With the theme in mind being
IPEF, motions will be released and each team will get 20 minutes of prep time to compile two
speeches wherein they will lay down their argumentation and logic.

The following will be the flow of speeches, and the speaker roles, in the duration of the debate:

 Speaker One (Proposition I) - The first speaker will be from the constructive speaker
from team proposition, who will lay out the line of argumentation and close his speech
with conviction.
  Speaker Two (Opposition I) - The second speaker will be the constructive speaker from
team opposition who will lay out his line of argumentation, as well as deconstruct and
rebut the points laid out by the proposition speaker.

 Speaker Three (Proposition II) - The third speaker – the second speaker from team
proposition – will lay out a deconstructive argumentation on the contentions put
together by the opposition speaker in the form of rebuttals. He will also sum up the line
of argumentation taken up by the proposition, and conclude.

 Speaker Four (Opposition II) - The fourth, and last, speaker will be the second member
of the opposition, who will also rebut the points laid down by the proposition speakers
before him, and deconstruct their contentions by doing a side-by-side analysis of the
opposition’s stance. He will then conclude the speech in a ‘biased adjudication’.

Additional Rules:

- Each speech will be 5 minutes long, wherein the first and last minute will be protected
– No points of information can be raised at this time.

- In the three minutes between the protected minutes, the opposing teams can raise points
of information* to the speaker in the form of questions pertaining to their line of
argumentation.

- Each member of the teams must speak for the designated 5 minutes or face a loss of
points.

- Each member of the teams must take up at least one point of information, and ask at
least one point of information per speaker to their opposing team.

- Cumulative team scores will dictate the power rankings and will decide which teams
move ahead in the competition.

Points of Information*:

A point of information (POI) is when a member of the team opposing that of the current speaker
gets to briefly interrupt the current speaker, offering a POI in the form of a question or a
statement. This may be as a correction, asking for clarity, or just a plain question. A POI may
not be raised to a member of one’s own team. They allow speakers to demonstrate greater wit
and presence of thought than is generally possible in a speech.
Etiquette:

1. The opposing team member may raise their hand and offer the point;

- Examples of valid offers:

 "On a point of information."

 "May I have this point, sir/miss"
 "On that point, sir/miss"
 "POI, sir/ma'am?"
 "Point, sir/ma'am"

2. The speaker then can either accept or decline the point, or else offers to accept it at the end
of the sentence. The speaker is required to accept in a short statement such as "Taken", "Yes
sir/ma'am", and so on. If the speaker wishes, they have the right to decline by saying "No,
thank you", "Not taken", and so on;
3. If accepted, the debater that offered the point may then briefly interject a point, question or
statement. Generally, this must be done in fifteen seconds or less, and the speaker may cut the
opposing offer off at any point;
4. The speaker must then immediately answer the point of information;

Rubric:

I. Matter
This will be the line of argumentation created and its inherent logic. Matter will also
include the use of the ‘ARE’ model where A stands for assertions, R stands for
reasoning, and E stands for example. Each speaker will be marked individually and
the scores will be added to arrive at a team score.
II. Manner
The manner of speaking, presentation of the line of argumentation, and respectful
and level-headed approach towards the debate will comprise the manner rubric.
III. Method
The method of speaking will include the organization of the speech, ability to take
up points of information without derailing their argument, and maintaining a clear
connection between the two speeches.