Debate Preparation and Summary Workshee
$10.00
Assessment 3 Instructions:
Debate Preparation
Choose a position and then prepare to support it as if you were going to
participate in a debate.
Introduction
In the field of psychology, just about everything is controversial, and you’ll need
to develop your ability to look at things from multiple perspectives. Do disparities
exist between diverse groups? Are certain diverse groups exposed to more
negative results than others? Whether you agree or disagree with a particular
stance, it’s important to not just understand the evidence being used to support
the argument, but to be conversant in it and weigh it with other arguments and
evidence.
This assessment asks you to choose a position and then prepare to support it as
if you were going to participate in a debate. Preparing for debates is a way of
steeping oneself in a topic and all the evidence available. While there won’t be an
actual debate in the assessment, the act of preparing for one gives you in–depth
practice at building arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals that you only get
a start at when writing a short paper.
This activity builds on critical thinking skills.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your
proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 2: Apply psychological theories to issues affecting culture, ethnicity,
and diversity.
o State position on the causes of a chosen debate topic using at least three well–
developed arguments supported by psychological theories or research.
o Assess the strength of the original position using psychological theories or research
in culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support own views.
• Competency 3: Analyze psychological research findings related to culture, ethnicity,
and diversity.
o Identify counterarguments to the original argument, using psychological theories or
research in culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support the counterarguments.
o Identify rebuttals to counterarguments using psychological theories or research in
culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support the rebuttals.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and
consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
o Cite scholarly evidence.
o Compose a text that articulates meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and
purpose of the prompt.
Preparation
• Select a debate topic from the Debate Topics [PDF] document.
• You may choose to watch this video on building arguments:
o Reading Pioneers Academy. (2015, December 13). Debate skill: Argument
building [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zZ4YEuThRw
• Preview the Debate Preparation and Summary Worksheet [DOCX] that you will use
complete for the assessment.
• Research your topic to gather the sources you’ll need to complete the worksheet.
Instructions
Choose a position and then prepare to support it, using the Debate Preparation
and Summary Worksheet, as if you were going to participate in a debate.
In the worksheet, present your position and arguments for the debate topic,
counterarguments to your position and arguments, and rebuttals to those
counterarguments. The worksheet will finish with a conclusion on the strength of
your position. Before submitting the worksheet, be sure to review the assessment
scoring guide to ensure that you meet all criteria, including the following:
• Your position.
• At least three well–developed arguments.
• Evidence to support your arguments (that is, data and research), including how the
evidence supports the arguments.
• Counterarguments to your points.
• Rebuttals to the counterarguments that oppose your arguments.
• Evidence to support your rebuttals (data and research), including how the evidence
supports the rebuttals.
• A conclusion that asserts why your position is strong.
• In–text citations and references for all sources of information.
Submission Requirements
Submit the completed worksheet as your deliverable for the assessment.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your
proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 2: Apply psychological theories to issues affecting culture, ethnicity,
and diversity.
o State position on the causes of a chosen debate topic using at least three well–
developed arguments supported by psychological theories or research.
o Assess the strength of the original position using psychological theories or research
in culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support own views.
• Competency 3: Analyze psychological research findings related to culture, ethnicity,
and diversity.
o Identify counterarguments to the original argument, using psychological theories or
research in culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support the counterarguments.
o Identify rebuttals to counterarguments using psychological theories or research in
culture, ethnicity, and diversity to support the rebuttals.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and
consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
o Cite scholarly evidence.
o Compose a text that articulates meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and
purpose of the prompt.
Debate Topics
Choose one of the following topics from the Taking Sides text to prepare as if you were going to
engage in a debate.
Issue: Is affirmative action an effective way to reverse racial inequality? Yes: Chauncey DeVega, from “White America’s Toxic Ignorance: Abigail Fisher, Antonin Scalia
and the Real Privilege That Goes Unspoken,” Salon (2015).
No: Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor, Jr., from “The Painful Truth About Affirmative Action,”
The Atlantic (2012). Chauncey DeVega, a political essayist and cultural critic, presents a significant review of the
history of racial discrimination and exclusion that African Americans have experienced
throughout the history of the nation. Given this history and the prevalence of white skin privilege
throughout history, DeVega views affirmative action as a modest attempt to foster equal
opportunity. According to DeVega, opposition to affirmative action is often informed by
ignorance and racism. Richard Sander, a UCLA law professor and economist, and Stuart Taylor Jr., contributing editor
for National Journal and a contributing editor at Newsweek, are concerned that affirmative
action in college admissions has evolved into a program of racial preferences that do harm to
both minority students and the colleges that they attend. Sander and Taylor are also concerned
that colleges are not responding to the need to reform such programs.
Issue: Is “stand your ground” legislation race neutral? Yes: Patrik Jonsson, from “Racial Bias and ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws: What the Data Show,”
The Christian Science Monitor (2013).
No: Sabrina Strings, from “Protecting What’s White: A New Look at Stand Your Ground Laws,”
The Feminist Wire (2014). Patrik Jonsson, a staff writer for The Christian Science Monitor who writes about race and gun
rights, argues that “stand your ground” laws are not racially biased. He believes that such
legislation is a response to the increasing concern with self-defense that has been generated by
events such as 9/11 and the high rate of crime. Sabrina Strings, a sociologist at the University of California who teaches in the School of Public
Health and Sociology, believes that “stand your ground” laws are not racially neutral and are
primarily directed at African Americans. To Strings, “stand your ground” laws are reflective of an
historical tendency to protect whites and their property from a perceived threat from African
Americans, especially black males.
Issue: Should children of undocumented immigrants have a birthright to U.S.
citizenship? Yes: Eric Foner, from “Birthright Citizenship Sets America Apart,” The Cap Times (2010).
No: George F. Will, from “An Argument to Be Made about Immigrant Babies and Citizenship,”
The Washington Post (2010). 1
constitutional basis for granting birthright citizenship and argues that this right illuminates the
strength of American society. Conservative newspaper columnist and commentator, George F. Will, is troubled by the facile
tendency to grant birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants. He views
this practice as reflecting a misinterpretation of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth
Amendment. He vigorously opposes this policy.
Issue: Is there a need for a permanent voting rights act? Yes: Linda Greenhouse, from “The More Things Change…,” The New York Times (2013).
No: Abigail Thernstrom, from “Redistricting, Race, and the Voting Rights Act,” National Affairs
(2010). Linda Greenhouse writes about the Supreme Court for the New York Times. She expresses
concern about the Court’s attempts to invalidate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. She leaves
us with the implication that this development is due to the ascendency of conservatism in
American politics and the continuing impact of race in legal and political decision making. Abigail Thernstrom, a political scientist, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute in New York.
She has written extensively on race and voting rights. She argues that it is time to end race-
driven districting and that certain sections, especially Section 5, of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
are no longer needed. 2