DEBATE CARDS
Debate Central Workshop
What is a Card?
Key paragraphs taken from published material that make an argument.
Word for word quotation. No adding No deleting No paraphrasing
A claim supported by a warrant. (A claim alone is not enough.)
Full and proper citation. “Tag” or “Slug”
What Is NOT a Legitimate Card? Not available to the general public (example:
private email)
“Straw-person” argument
Taken out of context
Missing, incomplete or incorrect citation
Fabricated cite or text
Origin of the Term “Card”
Originally debaters placed types of evidence/quotations onto index cards and carried huge boxes of index cards to tournaments. Each individual piece of evidence had its own index card. Eventually each separate piece of evidence became known as a “card” even though we use printer and copy paper instead of index cards.
High Quality Cards
Warrant supporting the claim
Qualified source
Date—Recently published
Specific to the issue
Direct and clear language
Basic Elements of Each Card Tag Shortened Cite Full Cite Full Text Warrant Underlining or Highlighting
Fabrication
General definition: Untruthful manufacturing or alteration of text or cite Manufacturing—writing your own cards Alteration—adding, deleting, or editing any
part of a real card to craft a different one Applies to the text AND the citation of the
card
Fabrication
Destroys a cornerstone of the activity Analogous to taking steroids in sports or
cheating during an exam in school Ethically wrong Severe penalties Don’t risk it. Check with a coach if you
have any doubts
Underlining and Highlighting
Be very careful—it is very difficult to do correctly.
It is better to read too much than too little.
Retain the WARRANT. Retain proper grammar. Avoid altering the intent of the author. Notice when your opponents have made
their cards too short.
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