Improving the critical thinking of a class with public speaking skills implies involving students in debates. Different countries exploit different frameworks. However, the core concept stays the same: two people (or groups) take the opposite positions on the issue and try to prove their points by using adequate arguments. Finding debate topics UK is not as hard as it may seem since the country has experienced a wide range of contradicting situations to discuss.
How to choose debate topics?
Needless to say, both issues and debates should depend on the speakers and settings. The moderator has to take care of team formation and make them equal in their competitive skills. Sometimes, even the most interesting topics might be a challenge for the groups, if they are not able toexpress their opinion on the matter. On the other hand, speakers have to be aware of their subject before the actual debates to have some time for preparing their arguments.
How do you debate a topic?
As we have already mentioned, you can use multiple debate frameworks for stimulating an intense discussion. Higher or further education establishments might even come up with their own algorithm like the Oxford debate, for example. However, if you get down to a standard template that can be applied to any debate subjects, you’ll find 4 significant steps. They are:
- Opening Statement (presented in writing in advance);
- Rebuttal (presented in writing);
- Cross-examination (presented orally);
- Closing statement (presented orally).
After the 3rd and 4th stages take place, the committee decides a winner and justifies their decision in front of both debating groups. In some debates, there is no proclaimed winner since the audience has to determine their favorite debater judging from their on-stage performance. What is more, when you approach someone to write my assignment, you can also use these four steps for persuasive/argumentative essays.
Debate topic ideas for every case
Most controversial debate topics
When accepting a challenge to debate controversial topics, you might have two polar opposite groups, who will sincerely justify their “for” and “against” arguments. At the same time, there is a risk of a real conflict since the topics listed below can trigger some of the debated participants:
Political:
- What are UK problems youth can solve?
- Brexit debate topics;
- Abolishment of the British Monarchy;
- Church and tax: to be or not to be;
- Politics has no place in schools.
History:
- Did King Arthur exist?
- Was there an option for the UK to avoid WW2?
- Winston Churchill was too harsh for the UK;
- Was there a need for the British royals to make a scandal out of The King Edward VIII affair?
Health:
- Should alternative medicine be considered medicine?
- What should we do with people who request euthanasia?
- When will the abortion dilemma be solved?
- Considering mental health issues, should we separate people who experience those?
- What will happen after marijuana is legalized?
Society:
- Is animal experimentation and testing justified?
- Should we improve LGBT rights in the UK?
- Is there a place for mandatory military service in 2019?
- Affordable homes for refugees will solve the issue of crime on the streets.
Family:
- What is the age children have to leave home?
- How can we improve home abuse laws?
- Parents have to control their kids’ social media profiles.
- Should men and women have the same responsibilities when it comes to raising kids?
Current debate topics for 2019
When you are out of topics for discussion, you may scroll your Twitter feed and ask the group to debate issues they see in the news. At some point, it may seem that these topics for discussion are too narrow. Thus the groups have to get into the subject for ensuring qualified comments. On the other hand, such a step may encourage group members to follow the news and apply critical thinking when discussing it within their local communities.
Political:
- Who to vote for UK?
- What political party am I (UK)?
- How should I vote?
- Am I conservative or labor?
- European Union and its role in education;
- Is it time to modify the UK Rights Act?
History:
- Is there a need to make immigrants pass a UK history test?
- Did Shakespeare exist?
- Why does the British royal family still follow the code for approving their new family members?
- There was a need to keep fighting the US colonies back in the 18th century.
Health:
- Access to modern medicine;
- Government should provide free birth control;
- Should smoking be banned because of health reasons?
- The healthcare system in a utopian world doesn’t need insurance.
Society:
- Art censorship and its outcomes;
- Autonomous vehicles: ethics & safety vs. innovation
- Religion as a school subject: cause and effects
- Gender equality in the workplace;
- Social media has gone too far, hasn’t it?
Family:
- Parents shouldn’t purchase war toys or computer games for kids;
- Baptizing babies against their own will is not ethical;
- There should be no connection between parents and teachers from their kids’ school;
- Hugging relatives is not a mandatory act your children have to learn.
Unusual debate topics
Sometimes, when groups seem to be passive yet talented, you might want to stimulate their imagination or even make them laugh during debates. Use your imagination to come up with unusual good debate topics, which will make the debaters think about the issue of applying a personal attitude they hadn’t had before. By the way, during debates, you can experiment with the formatting by asking the participants to deliver impromptu speeches with no help from the group. By using the list of debate topics below, you ensure lots of brainstorming, effective cooperation, and a positive atmosphere:
- Celebrities as politicians running for office;
- Should the UK become a communist country?
- Being politically correct is not what you want the UK people to do;
- Cheating should be allowed in the classroom;
- Days off are overestimated;
- Identifying one’s future profession depends on their teachers;
- Disney princesses teach young women irrelevant manners;
- Dual citizenship makes no sense;
- There should be less hype about sport competitions.
Good debate questions have value since they set up the mood of the debate group and affect their views. Whether you deal with politics or healthcare, you are able to persuade groups in anything just by assigning goals. There is a bunch of controversial questions you might not think of in the first place, but when you run out of debatable topics, it’s time to use your creativity. Don’t be afraid of those topics that sound silly. It’s still possible to encourage high-level debates using statements like “water is wet.”
