First speaker, opposition

The duty of the opposition is to provide clash, promoting a choice between the proposal advanced by the proposition team and some other course of action or position. The Opposition should make clear why the motion before the house should be defeated.
The job of the Opposition in extemporaneous debate is very challenging. When a linkable resolution is used, the opposition will often have no idea of what the proposition team 5 case will be until the first speaker begins. But the Opposition's job is made easier by the requirement that the proposition team advance a case that provides strong and principled ground for the opposition. If the proposition team has met its burden, the opposition should be able to discover good arguments on first hearing the case.

The Opposition speaker may choose to contest the definitions or case statement that the government has established for the debate. If these are not disputed in the first Opposition speech, they are presumed to be tacitly accepted for the remainder of the debate. Definitions should only be disputed when the fairness and debatability of the proposition are at stake. Debates that center on definitional disputes are almost always less enjoyable than those that center on the issues of the
case.

The first opposition speaker attempts to weaken or nullify the case for the proposition, usually by refuting the main points of the case. This is called direct refutation. The Opposition analyzes the first proposition speaker's arguments, pointing out logical fallacies, factual inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the main lines of proof. The first Opposition speaker should also identify any of the common errors of case construction that the proposition team has committed, including ignored exceptions to case examples, the improper combination of arguments, and overdrawn conclusions.
The opposition is not obliged to dispute or disagree with every argument, or even every main point, of the proposition team's case. In fact, many debaters miss important Opportunities for winning arguments because they feel compelled to negate each of the ideas their Opponents introduce. It may be to the advantage of the opposition to agree with or concede one or more elements of the proposition team's case. An opposition speaker may choose to agree with an argument by the team defending the proposition in order to simplify or focus the discussion on more salient issues, to reveal a contradiction or inconsistency, or to use an argument from the proposition side to support the opposition's position. A speaker should, however, address the vital issues of the other side, whether by strategically agreeing with them or contesting them.

Although the Opposition often defends existing policies against the proposition team~s proposal for change, the first Opposition speaker may choose to present a countercase, defending a new course of action mutually exclusive with that presented by the proposition.10 The countercase is often designed to address a problem area identified in the case. For example, on the topic, 'This House believes in pacifism," the proposition team might support a position of complete military nonintervention. Rather than defending current patterns of military intervention, the Opposition might instead defend a position of limited or conditional intervention -- supporting intervention only against overt acts of territorial aggression or only in cooperation with multilateral Organizations, for example. The countercase is not a defense of current national security policy, nor is it compatible with the proposition team's complete prohibition of military intervention. The proposition team's case maintains a universal principle of nonintervention, while the opposition case allows selected use of military intervention. The countercase is designed to resolve many of the examples of bad military intervention cited in the proposition case and to provide the Opposition's own worthy exceptions to the motion.

Second speakers, Opposition

The second (also called 'member") constructive speeches for each side have similar responsibilities. They should effectively refute the important arguments of the opposing side and amplify the strong arguments initiated by their colleagues. The member speeches are the last for each side in the debate in which new arguments and issues may be introduced.The second speaker for the opposition may support the objections of the first Opposition speaker, present additional objections, defend and expand the opposition's countercase if one has been presented, and evaluate inconsistencies between the arguments of the first and second proposition speakers. For both second speakers, the primary duties are extension and amplification--ensuring that all major issues for both sides have been covered and that the important arguments for their side have been expanded with additional support.

Rebuttals

Most good debates are won or lost in the rebuttals. The opposition has the first rebuttal speech. This speech should offer an effective summation of the main issues of the debate, demonstrating how important points for the opposition undermine support for the motion. The opposition rebuttalist should carry through important issues from the constructive speeches, illustrating the significant dimension of each issue in qualitative or quantitative terms. The opposition should generally avoid "putting all its eggs in one basket" by offering several independent reasons to reject the motion.

New arguments may not be introduced in the rebuttal. Arguments presented in the rebuttal must have a foundation in the constructive speeches. The proposition rebuttalist is entitled to answer new arguments made in the second opposition speech, because the final rebuttal is the first Opportunity that the proposition team has to refute these issues.