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A good extension distinguishes the Second Government and Second Opposition Teams while maintaining their loyalty to the First Government and First Opposition Teams, respectively. A goal of the Member of Government or Member of the Opposition should be to show their teams as different from the other Government and Opposition Teams. To the extent the member speakers do that in their arguments, they will be seen as more persuasive because the combination of the extension arguments with those of the First Government arguments will create a larger and more coherent whole than either set of arguments without the other.
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So, a good extension is consistent with but distinct from the arguments offered in the first half of the debate. Of course, many different types of extension arguments exist. The next section of this chapter will discuss three of the more common types.
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8.2.2 Types of Extensions
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Three types of extension arguments to be discussed in this chapter include: 1) an additional line of argument, 2) an argument containing more in-depth evidence, examples, and reasoning, and 3) a focused case study. As stated earlier, those are not the only kinds of extension arguments that are possible, but are among the more commonly used ones.
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As stated earlier, the most common and perhaps best kind of extension is an additional line of argument not mentioned in the first half of the debate. This is the most straightforward method of extending the argument of the First Government or First Opposition Team. For instance, shifting from an examination of consequences to an examination of principles and philosophical considerations can create an extension that differs in both method and content. If the first half has focused on consequences or pragmatics, changing the focus to principles or philosophy can be a good extension strategy. On the other hand, if the First Government Team focused on principles or philosophical considerations, an appropriate type of extension might involve an examination of consequences or pragmatics. If the first half has focused on principles or philosophy, this extension can change the direction of the debate. In both of these cases, the extension succeeds in changing the focus of the debate from what was introduced by the First Government Team without indicting that approach. An example of extension arguments that might be used in a motion about smoking are presented in the diagram below:
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Sometimes, circumstances will arise when the debaters feel they cannot or should not offer an entirely new argument. In one case, the First Government Team may have made all of the available arguments, or at least all of the available good arguments. In such a circumstance, the debater has other options. For one thing, he or she can provide further and more in-depth evidence and reasoning for an argument made by the other team. In the case where the First Government Team made an argument that contained three sub-claims, and one of those claims was not particularly well developed, the Member of Government might develop it more fully by providing more evidence and more reasoning. For instance, if the First Government Team focused primarily on a problem and only secondarily on providing a solution to the problem, the Member of Government might say something such as, “Our colleagues on the Opening Government Team did an excellent job of identifying a very significant problem. We would like to extend their argument with greater focus on the cause of the problem and on its solution.” By providing more in-depth argument about the cause and solution, the Member of Government can move the debate forward in a way that maintains consistency with the First Government Team yet moves the debate in a new and fuller direction. In another example, perhaps the Opening Government did focus on the solution to the problem but provided less information about the positive effects the proposal would have. The Member of Government might extend the debate by talking about the extent of those effects—the number of people that might be affected or the precise nature of the effects that the proposal would have. Either of these are good examples where a Member of Government speaker can move the debate forward without introducing an argument that is totally new to the debate. The chart below provides examples of Member of Government extensions that use more in-depth evidence and examples.
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This kind of extension will be more successful to the extent that the in-depth reasoning and evidence have made the argument unique and distinct from the way it was presented by the First Government Team.
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Yet another method of extending the debate without developing an entirely new argument is to present a focused case study to support the First Government Team’s argument. This kind of extension focuses the arguments made by the first half on a particular group of people (such as, children, elderly, minorities, etc.) An extended development of a case study can succeed in making an argument different and hence unique. For instance, if the motion is about smoking and the First Government’s arguments focus generally on the health consequences of smoking, the Member of Government might extend the debate by focusing on children as a case study of health effects of smoking. The diagram below illustrates how a focused case study might contribute to extending the debate.
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In either of the cases, the team will likely be more persuasive if the approach they take is different from that of the First Proposition.
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8.2.3 Extending the Debate: Important Considerations
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By way of summarizing the idea of extending arguments, three important considerations should be emphasized regarding the choice of extensions. The Member Speaker offering the extension should be able to answer all of the following questions in the affirmative.
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First, does the extension maintain loyalty to the Member speaker’s colleagues in the first half of the debate? If the extension in any way contradicts the positions made by colleagues in the first half of the debate, the Member speaker will be seen as disloyal. Furthermore, the more the extension can be integrated with the arguments of the First Government Team or the First Opposition Team, the stronger the extension will be.
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Second, does the extension show how the Member speaker is distinguished from his or her colleagues in the first half of the debate? Being loyal to yet distinct from the First Government Team or First Opposition Team is a subtle but necessary process. Just as one party in a coalition government wants to retain an identity distinct from the other party, so each of the closing teams in the debate wants to be distinguished from their corresponding opening team.
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Third, can the extension provide a distinct perspective from your team while simultaneously keeping the debate on track? The extension argument must not, in the case of the Second Government Team, move away from the model. In the case of the Second Opposition Team, the extension must not move away from the position (statement of advocacy) established by First Opposition Team. The extensions of both Member Speakers need continue to support the position of the Lower House while setting a distinct perspective by the Second Government and Second Opposition Teams.
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8.3 Using Preparation Time to Prepare for Member Speeches
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Preparation time for a Member speech differs in a few ways from that of an opening speech, such as that of First Government and First Opposition. The First Government and First Opposition must use their preparation time to prepare arguments for two speeches. As a closing team, the Second Government and Second Opposition only need to focus on constructive arguments for one speech. While preparing arguments for a single speech seems easier, those teams will need to prepare even more arguments because of the nature of an extension. Opening teams are able to prepare the arguments with a guarantee that they will be able to use those arguments. As a team in the bottom half, the arguments created in preparation time may have been used in the top half of the debate and, thus, will not serve the member. Ways to use preparation time differ. This section will offer only a few of the possible strategies for coming up with unique arguments during preparation time. To ensure that a team’s arguments constructed in preparation time will be useful, the following are a few recommended strategies for preparation time for bottom half teams.