World Schools debate drills for writing substantives, rebutting under POIs and giving a reply speech. Practise WSDC online for prepared and impromptu motions.
World Schools is the international format for high school debating, used at the World Schools Debating Championships and in national competitions in many countries. Two teams of three speakers, Proposition and Opposition, debate a motion written for students from all over the world.
Each side gives three eight-minute substantive speeches, and the other side can offer points of information between the first and last minute. Then each team gives a four-minute reply speech, delivered by its first or second speaker, which looks back over the debate and explains why their side won. The reply is a summary, not a place for new arguments.
Tournaments mix prepared motions, released weeks in advance, with impromptu motions, where teams get an hour to prepare without the internet. Good teams build a case together: a shared characterisation of the motion, arguments split between the first two speakers, and a third speaker who focuses on rebuttal and the main clashes.
Judges score style, content and strategy, so a clear structure and a confident delivery matter alongside the strength of your arguments. Teams that engage with the other side, rather than reading out prepared material, tend to win.
The drills below help you prepare as a team and as an individual. Burden Identification and Stakeholder Mapping are the first steps of impromptu prep. Argument Anatomy and Impact & Illustration build a substantive argument. Rebuttal and Fallacy drills prepare second and third speakers. Concision and Clash & Weighing train the reply speech. Motion Generation shows how motions are set for an international audience.
Each card says how the drill helps in a World Schools round.
Build a substantive argument piece by piece: the claim, the reasoning behind it, the example and why it matters.
Characterise who the motion changes things for, across countries and contexts, before you write your substantive.
Write a complete argument as you would deliver it in a substantive speech, with reasoning, example and impact.
Back your substantive with an impact and an example from more than one country, the way World Schools judges expect.
Set out what Proposition and Opposition must prove, the first thing a team agrees on in prep.
Shorten an argument without losing its impact, the skill a four-minute reply speech depends on.
Write an eight-minute substantive or a reply speech, structured the way World Schools judges score it.
Practise the rebuttal that opens every substantive after the first, with a technique a judge can name.
Build a team case for a prepared motion, splitting arguments across speakers and planning the reply.
Frame the round around its key clashes, the way a reply speech and the third speaker must.
Spot where an argument breaks down and use it in your rebuttal or a point of information.
Write prepared and impromptu motions that school students from any country could debate on equal terms.
Pick the part of the round your role needs. First speakers should practise building substantive arguments, third speakers rebuttal and clash, and reply speakers weighing. The drills below give each a structure.
The reply speech is a four-minute speech given last by each team, by its first or second speaker. It summarises the debate, identifies the main clashes and explains why your side won them. It cannot introduce new arguments.
Use the first part of your hour to agree on what the motion means, what each side must prove and who it affects. Then build arguments and split them between speakers. Burden Identification and Stakeholder Mapping train that first step.
Judges score each speech on content, style and strategy, usually weighted 40, 40 and 20. Strategy, meaning how well you structure your case and respond to the round, often separates close teams.