DEBATE CARDS
Debate Central Workshop
What is a Card?
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Key paragraphs taken from published material that
make an argument.
Word for word quotation.
No adding
 No deleting
 No paraphrasing
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A claim supported by a warrant. (A claim alone is not
enough.)
Full and proper citation.
“Tag” or “Slug”
What Is NOT a Legitimate Card?
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Not available to the general public (example:
private email)
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“Straw-person” argument
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Taken out of context
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Missing, incomplete or incorrect citation
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Fabricated cite or text
Origin of the Term “Card”
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Originally debaters placed types of
evidence/quotations onto index cards and carried
huge boxes of index cards to tournaments. Each
individual piece of evidence had its own index
card. Eventually each separate piece of evidence
became known as a “card” even though we use
printer and copy paper instead of index cards.
High Quality Cards
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Warrant supporting the claim
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Qualified source
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Date—Recently published
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Specific to the issue
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Direct and clear language
Basic Elements of Each Card
Tag
 Shortened Cite
 Full Cite
 Full Text
 Warrant
 Underlining or Highlighting
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Fabrication
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General definition: Untruthful manufacturing or
alteration of text or cite
 Manufacturing—writing
your own cards
 Alteration—adding, deleting, or editing any part of a
real card to craft a different one
 Applies to the text AND the citation of the card
Fabrication
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Destroys a cornerstone of the activity
Analogous to taking steroids in sports or cheating
during an exam in school
Ethically wrong
Severe penalties
Don’t risk it. Check with a coach if you have any
doubts
Underlining and Highlighting
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Be very careful—it is very difficult to do correctly.
It is better to read too much than too little.
Retain the WARRANT.
Retain proper grammar.
Avoid altering the intent of the author.
Notice when your opponents have made their cards
too short.