Useful Debate Vocabulary/Phrases Stating an opinion
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| Md. Nasir Uddin |
Useful Debate Vocabulary Stating an opinion
[a nice opening is using a quote]
Honorable president, Ladies and Gentlemen,
welcome to this debate.
Welcome from
this side of the house... The motion for debate today is: ...
Now we as
today's proposition/opposition strongly believe that this is true/not true.
let us first
define some important terms in this debate.
Presenting the
team-line:
We as today’s proposition/opposition have
structured our case as follows:
I, as the
first speaker, will elaborate on the fact that ...
Our second
speaker, ... will do the rebuttal.
And our
third speaker, ... will be talking about ...
But before I
come to my own arguments, let us first have a look at what ... has said.
I will
continue our case in a minute, but before that...
There are
some things about the... speech that need to be addressed.
The first
prop/opposition speaker has told us ...; on the contrary ...
He/She also
said that ...; but in fact..
He/She was
claiming that ...; but as my first speaker already told you, ...
We (don’t)
think that…
The way we
see it...
If you want our honest opinion....
As far as
we’re concerned...
Firstly…, secondly…, our third point is that…
The first good reason to… is that… ; next ;
what’s more ; moreover….
To begin, we think that… ; in addition, you
have to know that… ; last but not least….
The first point I would like to raise is this…
Here’s
the main point I want to raise…
I’d like to deal with two points here. The
first is…
“I’m listening to the other side.”
I see your point, but I think…
Yes, I understand, but my opinion is that…
That’s all very interesting, but the problem
is that…
I’m
afraid I can’t quite agree with your point.
I think
I’ve got your point, now let me respond to it.
We can see what you’re saying. Here’s my
reply…
Introducing
arguments:
Let me come
to my first/second/.../next argument: [concise label of argument]
My first/...
argument is:
The
first/... reason why we're prop/opposing this motion is: explaining arguments:
Instead of abstract explanation give examples: There are
many examples for this/for ..., for instance.
In fact, you
can find many examples for this in real life. Just think of...
And there
are similar cases, such as..., ... So in this simple example we can clearly see
the effect of ...
So as we
have seen [argument label], and therefore [motion]. Now because of this ..., we
have to support this motion.
Disagreeing :
Excuse me, but that’s not quite
correct.
Sorry, I just have to disagree with your
point.
Let me just respond to that, please.
I’d like to take issue with what you just
said.
We said that… but the other side has not
replied to our point.
I’d like to focus on two points that the other
side has failed to address.
There are two issues our opponents have failed
to dispute, namely…
We
pointed out that…
Our opponents have claimed that…
To recap the main points…
Let’s sum up where we stand in this debate.
In summary, we want to point out that…
Rejecting /
accepting / answering points of information
Point of information, Sir/Madam. On that
point.
Wouldn't you
have to agree ...?
Doesn't what
you're saying contradict with ...?
What about
the ...?
How would
you explain, that ... ?
Yes, please.
/ Go ahead.
I'm going to
come to this very point in my second argument in a minute.
Giving summarising
speeches
Ladies and
Gentlemen, welcome for the last time from today's prop/opposition.
It is now my
pleasure to summarize this debate,
Take a look
at what both sides have said and see what the outcome of this debate actually
is.
A
first/second/... major clash was: ...
Today's
prop/opposition told us ...; we had to find ...
And for all
these reasons, I beg you to prop/oppose
Ending your speech:
So Ladies
and Gentlemen, what have I told you today? Firstly ..., Secondly..
[some nice
closing words]
And for all
of these reasons, the motion must stand/fall.
Md. Nasir Uddin
Gazi
BA(honors)
Dept. of English Literature at CVGC Email:nasiruddin661995@gmail.com
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