For students · middle school and high school

Student Guide

Everything you need to walk into a chamber ready: how to prepare a bill for both sides, a simple four-part speech you can give your first day, a full model speech, how to ask and answer questions, how to take notes, and — if you’d like to lead — a Presiding Officer script. No experience required.

1. Prepare a bill for both sides

Before the tournament you’ll receive a docket — the short list of bills and resolutions your chamber may debate. (See Sample Legislation for the kinds of items and how each is built.) You do not get to pick your side in advance, so prepare both. This is the heart of the event: you practice arguing a position fairly even when it isn’t the one you’d choose.

For each bill, make a simple two-column page:

Your prep page for one bill

In favor (affirmative)

Your two or three strongest reasons to support it.
One example, statistic, or historical fact for each reason — with where you found it.
The other side’s best objection, and your one-line answer to it.

Against (negative)

Your two or three strongest reasons to oppose it.
One example, statistic, or historical fact for each reason — with where you found it.
The other side’s best objection, and your one-line answer to it.

Tip

Tie at least one reason on each side back to a founding idea — liberty, equality, or religious freedom — and one to a young person’s life today. Liberty and equality run straight from the Declaration of Independence (1776); religious freedom is protected in the First Amendment (1791). Judges value an argument that links those founding commitments to a question students face now. Every item on the Sample Legislation page already shows a “founding anchor” and a “why it matters today.”

How much prep time, and when? You’ll have the docket well before October, so nearly all preparation happens ahead of time — at home or in class. There is no separate prep period inside a session: you’ll use your prepared notes and your flow (see below) to adapt as the debate unfolds, jotting a fresh speech in the minutes while others speak.

Good to know

The docket bills are proposals written for debate, not current law. Even where one builds on an actual court case or statute, it changes or extends the details — so there is always a strong case to make on each side.

2. The four-part speech

Most novice speeches run two to three minutes — about 250–350 words. You do not need fancy language. You need a clear point, a reason to believe it, and courtesy. This four-part shape works for almost any speech:

State your side in one sentence. “I rise in support of…” or “I rise in opposition to…”
Give two reasons, each with one piece of evidence. A fact, an example, a short quotation, or a piece of history. Name where it comes from.
Answer the other side. Take the strongest point against you and reply to it in a sentence or two. (If you speak early, answer the point you expect; if you speak later, answer what was actually said.)
Close in one sentence. Restate your side and ask the chamber to vote with you.

That’s it. Two solid reasons beat five rushed ones. If you only have time for the first reason and the close, you’ve still given a strong speech.

3. A model speech

Here is a complete first speech in favor of a sample bill (“Judicial Authorization for Government Access to Personal Location Data” — bill LIB-1 on the Sample Legislation page). Read it aloud; it runs about two minutes. The labels on the left are not spoken — they just show the four parts.

Model affirmative speech · ~2 minutes

Open (state your side): “Madam President, fellow legislators: I rise in strong support of this bill, which simply asks the government to get a judge’s approval before tracking where an American has been.”
Reason one + evidence: “First, this protects a basic liberty. The Fourth Amendment was written because colonists were searched on the say-so of an official with no judge involved. A record of everywhere you go for a month is exactly the kind of search the founders feared. In fact, in Carpenter v. United States in 2018, the Supreme Court held that long-term cell-phone location data is sensitive enough to deserve protection.”
Reason two + evidence: “Second, a warrant is a familiar, modest step, not a roadblock. Police already get warrants to search a home or a phone. This bill keeps an emergency exception, so when a child is missing or a life is in danger, officers can act first and get the judge’s sign-off right after.”
Answer the other side: “Now, some will say warrants cause delay. But the bill’s emergency exception answers that directly — and a short, reviewable delay is a small price for keeping a free people free from silent, constant tracking.”
Close: “A republic that asks a judge before it follows your every step is stronger, not weaker. I urge an aye vote, and I welcome your questions.”

Now flip it

For practice, write the negative of the same bill using the same four parts. Lead with the strongest point against: warrant delays can cost time in urgent investigations. You’ll find ready-made reasons for both sides in the “Both sides at a glance” box for LIB-1 on the Sample Legislation page — but put them in your own words.

4. Kinds of speeches

Every speech uses the four-part shape; what changes is your job in the debate:

Authorship / sponsorship (the first speech for a bill): The first speaker explains what the bill does and gives the best case for it. This speaker may take a slightly longer questioning period. Volunteering to open is a great way to be noticed — you set the terms of the debate.
First negative (the first speech against): The first opponent lays out the strongest case against. Like the author, you’re framing the debate for your side.
Subsequent speeches: After the first two, speakers alternate sides when possible. Your job now is clash: don’t just repeat earlier points — respond to them by name. “The previous speaker argued X; here’s why that’s incomplete…”
Crystallization (a late speech): Near the end of a bill’s debate, a strong speech “crystallizes” — it steps back and tells the chamber which two or three clashes actually decide the question, and why your side wins them. You don’t need new evidence; you need to weigh what’s already been said. This is an advanced move that judges reward.

You won’t know in advance which slot you’ll fill, so listen closely and be ready to adjust. A speech that answers the room beats a speech you wrote last night and refused to change.

5. Asking & answering questions

After each speech there is a short questioning period (about one minute; up to two after the first speech on a bill). Questioning counts toward your score — asking and answering well both help you.

Asking a good question

Keep it short and end with a question mark. One sentence is plenty.
Aim at the argument, not the person. “Isn’t it true that…?” or “How does your plan handle…?”
A strong question exposes a gap: a cost the speaker ignored, an exception they didn’t address, evidence they didn’t have.

Answering a question

Stay calm and brief. It’s fine to say, “Good question — two things.”
If you don’t know, say so and pivot to what you do know. Inventing a fact is worse than admitting a limit.
You control your time: you may politely move on with “I’ll take the next question.”

Tip

Write one question for each bill during prep — for both sides. Then you always have a hand to raise, which judges notice and which keeps you in the debate.

6. Flowing (taking notes)

“Flowing” is debate’s word for tracking who said what so your speech can answer the room. You don’t need a special system — a notebook and these habits are enough:

One bill per page. Draw a line down the middle: “In favor” on the left, “Against” on the right.
One line per speaker. Jot the speaker’s name and their main point in three or four words. Feel free to abbreviate.
Mark the clash. Draw an arrow when one speaker answers another, so you can see which points are still standing.
Star your move. When you spot a point nobody has answered, star it — that’s your next speech.

A good flow turns a scary “what do I say?” into an easy “here’s the one thing the room hasn’t resolved.”

7. Presiding Officer script

The Presiding Officer (PO) is a student who runs the chamber for a session: calling on speakers and questioners fairly and keeping time. It is a leadership role and it is scored, so volunteering never costs you — and because chambers are re-formed each session, a new student may preside each time. The Chamber Coordinator (an adult) sits beside you and helps with the tally and timing. You do not need experience. Read this script and you’re ready.

Presiding Officer — what to say

To open the session: “This chamber will come to order. I’m [name], and with your consent I’ll preside this session. We’ll debate [bill]. Is there a motion to set the agenda?” (Take the motion, a second, and a quick voice vote.)
To call the first speech: “We’ll begin with a speech in favor. Who wishes to author or sponsor? … The chamber recognizes [name] for up to three minutes.”
To run questioning: “Thank you. We have one minute of questioning. Legislators seeking to question, please rise. … The chamber recognizes [name].”
To call the next speech (using the fairness rule): “We now seek a speech in opposition. Recognizing those who have not yet spoken … the chamber recognizes [name].” (The Coordinator helps you see who has spoken least and waited longest — that person goes first.)
To move toward a vote: “The chamber has a motion for the previous question. Is there a second? … All in favor of ending debate? … Debate is closed. We now vote on [bill]. All in favor? … All opposed? … The bill [passes / fails].”
To close the session: “Thank you, legislators, for a thoughtful session. This chamber stands in recess.”

You recognize speakers using the simple fairness rule from the Format & Rules page: whoever has spoken fewest times goes first; ties go to whoever has waited longest. The Coordinator keeps the tally so you can focus on the room.

A note on names. Chambers use whatever form they agree on at the start. Many novice chambers simply use a legislator’s first and last name (“The chamber recognizes Jordan Lee”); others prefer a title with the last name (“Representative Lee”). Forms of address for the PO are flexible too: “Mr. President,” “Madam President,” or “Mx. President” are all welcome. Your elected PO will set the convention.

8. Calming the nerves

Everyone is new. This is a novice event. The student who looks confident is nervous too — they just took the first turn.
Breathe and slow down. A calm two-minute speech beats a rushed three-minute one. Pauses sound like confidence.
Read from your notes. You may use your prepared page and your flow. No one memorizes.
Speak once early. The first speech is the hardest; after it, the rest of the day is easier. Try to be the second or third speaker on the first bill.
It’s a conversation, not a performance. You’re reasoning out loud with people who are rooting for you.

Next: skim Sample Legislation and pick one bill to fully prepare for both sides, then check the Schedule so you know how the day flows. Curious how you’ll be scored? It’s all in the Judge Guide — reading it makes you a stronger debater.