Refutation and Rebuttal

Because debate is inherently adversarial, one core component of the activity is proving or trying to prove that your opponent’s arguments are not valid. There is a difference between refutation and rebuttal: put simply, to refute an argument is to produce evidence to prove it untrue, while to rebut an argument is to try to prove it is untrue by offering a different point of view. Often times in high school competitive debate these are used interchangeably by debaters, but some judges are sticklers– it’s good to know the difference!

This is only done in the latter four speeches in the debate, and often takes up the first few minutes of the Member of the Opposition, Minister of the Crown, and Leader of the Opposition’s speeches. Many people choose to begin on the opponents’ “side of the house” by tearing down their established points before moving on to constructing or rebuilding their own original points.

There are many different ways to rebut or refute the arguments put forth by your opponents, be creative and clever! From nullifying their case with yours, finding discrepancies in their logic, or explaining why their impacts don’t really matter, you can turn what seems like a weak case on your side into the only case left standing. Some further explanations of rebuttal and refutation can be found below.

Specific Topics in Depth

Using Your Case to Refute and Rebut

Finding Points of Clash

Attacking Their Logic

POIS

Other Common Rebuttal Strategies