Student Binder

Student Binder · Source pages 17–23

3 · Role Playbooks

Every role’s job + Evidence Map + Vote Tally

The Forge · Student HandbookRoles
Tab 04 / 12 · ROLE PLAYBOOKS
ROLES

You take every role, eventually. You don’t choose it. You prepare for whatever the Forge Coach hands you.

ROLES
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ROLES · 21
RolesModerator Playbook
Role · Oxford Debate

MODERATOR

Mission: You run the room. The debate lives or dies by your clarity.

Playbook vs. role card At every Forge, the Forge Coach hands you a role card at the door, a laminated quick-reference for Moderator, Debater, Researcher, Jury, or Bench. The card is the moves; these playbooks are the why. Read the playbook once when you draw a role; carry the card into the room.
Before the debate
  • Study the question until you can explain both positions without notes.
  • Prepare a 60-second opener: restate the question and why it matters.
  • Print the vote tally sheet and set the timer.
  • Confirm debaters met the prep deadline.
  • Test your timer. A broken timer kills momentum.
During the debate – the canonical flow
  1. Call the silent pre-vote.
  2. Read the question and stakes, your 60-second opener.
  3. Openings · 8 min: Aff1 → Neg1 → Aff2 → Neg2.
  4. Rebuttals · 4 min: Neg2 → Aff2.
  5. Closings · 2 min: Neg1 → Aff1.
  6. Jury questions · 5 min: one per side.
  7. Call the post-vote. Hand the private tally to the Weaver.
  8. The Reveal: the Weaver reads one anonymized line from the written reflections aloud. “Someone changed their mind. That is the point.” Then you announce the shift: “X minds changed.”
When it goes sideways
If…Do this
Your timer brokeAsk the Forge Coach for a phone timer on arrival. Mid-debate: raise your hand – “Time.”
A debater won’t stopStand up. Don’t speak – it’s a signal. If they keep going: “Time. Next speaker.”
The room is deadCall jurors by name. “[Name], what do you want to know?”
It gets personalPause. Re-read the exact question. Precision cools emotion.
ROLES · 22
Debater PlaybookRoles
Role · Oxford Debate

DEBATER

Mission: You don’t just argue. You build a case so tight the other side has to work to find a gap.

Before the debate
  • Read the assigned chapters.
  • Find 3 direct quotes supporting your position.
  • Find 1 external source, not Wikipedia.
  • Write a 3-sentence opening: Claim → Evidence → Impact.
  • Anticipate 2 counterarguments and draft responses.
During the debate – you speak twice
  1. Opening · 2 min (every debater): state your claim in the first sentence. Don’t improvise this.
  2. Listen: note what they target. That’s your map for what comes next.
  3. If Aff2 / Neg2, Rebuttal · 2 min: address their strongest point first. Weak-first looks scared.
  4. If Aff1 / Neg1, Closing · 1 min: tell the jury why the debate shifted, or why it didn’t.
When it goes sideways
If…Do this
No quote supports your positionThat’s evidence too. Bring the closest and argue why: “The text says X, which implies Y.”
Your teammate is strugglingDon’t rescue them. Cover the gap in your rebuttal.
A jury question you didn’t prep30 seconds, one sentence. If you don’t know: “I don’t have evidence for that yet.”
You changed your mindWrite it in your Forge Reflection. The hardest, most valuable thing you can do.
ROLES · 23
RolesJury Playbook
Role · Oxford Debate

JURY

Mission: You are the judge. The debaters are performing for your vote. A jury that has read the text is the jury that matters. Neutrality is your superpower.

Before the debate
  • Read the question. Form a gut position.
  • Write one sentence: “I think [position] because…”, your pre-debate vote.
  • Prepare one specific question for each side. Make it text-based.
  • Submit an Evidence Map to the Text Coach by the prep deadline: 2 quotes per side, one line each.
During the debate
  1. Pre-vote: write your position. No discussion.
  2. Listen: take notes on evidence vs. emotion.
  3. Question phase: ask your prepared question in 20 seconds or less.
  4. Post-vote: write your new position. If it changed, “What moved me was…” If not, “What they needed to prove was…”
When it goes sideways
If…Do this
You didn’t change your mindFine – but explain why the other side failed: “They needed to prove X, and only showed Y.”
You want to make a statementDon’t disguise it as a question. Ask something they can’t answer with their own claim.
Called on and not ready“I need 10 seconds.” Use them. Better to pause than to ramble.
Also in this sectionResearcher and Bench playbooks + the Socratic-fallback insert card follow these three core roles.
ROLES · 24
Templates · Tear-OutRoles
Jury · submit to the Text Coach by the prep deadline

EVIDENCE MAP

Affirmative evidence
#Quote from the textPage / LocationWhy it matters
1   
2   
Negative evidence
#Quote from the textPage / LocationWhy it matters
1   
2   

My pre-debate position: I think   because  

Moderator · copy before every Forge · the tally is private

VOTE TALLY

RoleNamePre-votePost-voteChanged?
Juror 1 For / Ag / UndFor / Ag / Und☐
Juror 2 For / Ag / UndFor / Ag / Und☐
Juror 3 For / Ag / UndFor / Ag / Und☐
Juror 4 For / Ag / UndFor / Ag / Und☐

Minds changed:     Announce only the number that moved. No public scoreboard.

ROLES · 25
RolesResearcher Playbook
Role · Oxford Debate

RESEARCHER

Mission: Debaters win with evidence. You supply the ammunition.

Before the debate
  • Read the question and both position summaries.
  • Find 4 pieces of evidence: 2 for affirmative, 2 for negative. Neutrality is your superpower.
  • Verify each source: author, date, credibility. Flag anything questionable.
  • Write a 1-paragraph summary per piece: what it says, why it matters, which side it supports.
  • Send the evidence packet to debaters by the prep deadline.
During the debate
  1. Sit with the debaters. Have your packet open.
  2. If a debater makes a factual claim without evidence, pass a note with the citation.
  3. If the other side claims something that feels wrong, fact-check: “Verify: [claim], I found [contradiction].”
  4. After the Reveal (the Weaver reads one anonymized reflection line; the Moderator announces the shift): review what evidence correlated with changed minds.
When it goes sideways
If…Do this
You can’t find evidence for one sideThat’s evidence too. Document it: “No credible source found supporting X.” The debaters need to know.
A debater misquotes the textPass a note: “Text says: [actual quote]. Claim says: [what they said].” Don’t interrupt the speaker.
Sources & AI: the rule A credible source has an author, a date, and a publication you can name. You may use AI to find sources – never to write your evidence. Open and read anything you cite; confirm it says what you claim. A fabricated or unread source is worse than none: it breaks the one thing the room runs on.
ROLES · 26
Bench · Socratic FallbackRoles
Role · Oxford Debate

BENCH

Mission: The debate never cancels. You are the backup.

  • Every unit, prepare a 3-sentence opening for both positions. Submit it with your Evidence Map.
  • If not called, the prep still sharpens your reading.
  • If called: read your prepared opening. You have 2 minutes. You will not be perfect. You will be present.
If you just got called in
Your turnWhat to do
Opening · 2 min – alwaysExpand your 3-sentence prep aloud: claim → evidence → impact. You already wrote this.
Rebuttal · 2 min – if Aff2/Neg2Attack their strongest point using your other position’s prep – you wrote that side too, so turn it.
Closing · 1 min – if Aff1/Neg1One sentence, your strongest. Then sit down.
Insert card – Socratic fallback (2+ debaters absent)

When two or more debaters are missing, the Forge doesn’t cancel. It becomes a Socratic Seminar. The moderator runs this 35-minute flow:

BlockTimeWhat happens
Pre-vote3 minSilent ballot, same as a normal Forge.
Jury questions, round-robin18 minModerator calls each juror by name. One question each. Anyone may answer.
Bench provocations8 minBench reads 3-sentence openings aloud – provocations to push the room.
Post-vote3 minSilent ballot.
The Reveal3 minThe Weaver reads one anonymized line from the written reflections aloud. “Someone changed their mind. That is the point.” No commentary.
Shift announcement3 minThe Moderator announces the aggregate: “X minds changed. That is the point.”
ROLES · 27