How to formulate effective debate propositions and statements

¶ … Propositions

Any reasonable topic for debate involves controversy; otherwise the issue would fail to be debatable. The phrase "Inadequate parking facilities on campus" is not even a full sentence. If the statement read, "There are inadequate parking facilities on campus,' some clarification would still be helpful in order for it to be an effective statement of debate. For example, the statement could read, "There are inadequate parking facilities on campus and therefore we should build a new parking lot in the park." In this case, the statement would be highly controversial but would imply what the author intended: that new parking facilities needed to be constructed to correct the lack of proper facilities. Statement "b," "the AIDS crisis," means literally nothing; there is nothing debatable about that statement. If someone had mentioned, "the AIDS crisis is a problem shared equally by governments as by citizens," or if someone said "the AIDS crisis is a homosexual problem," then the statement would be debatable. By itself, "the AIDS crisis" is simply not a debatable statement. "Should our college abandon intercollegiate athletics?" is a debatable question. However, the rhetorical question could be better elucidated if it were clarified: for instance: "Because our college is in debt, should be abandon intercollegiate athletics?"

'The present method of electing the president of the United States should be improved," is a decent and debatable statement but would seem more powerful if the author suggested an alternative means to the Electoral College. The statement "Affirmative action in college admissions" is nothing but a phrase; it is not even a complete sentence and therefore warrants little attention. If someone had said, "affirmative action in college admissions should be abandoned because it constitutes reverse racism," then the statement would be powerful.