World Schools Debate Motions

World Schools (WSDC) is the international high school format. Three speakers per side, eight-minute substantives, four-minute reply speeches given by the first or second speaker. Motions are released as a mix — half are prepared months in advance, half are impromptu released about an hour before the round.

Format quick reference

• Speakers: Three substantives per side (1st, 2nd, 3rd), each 8 minutes.
• Reply speech: 4 minutes, delivered by 1st or 2nd. The opposition gives reply first, then the proposition. Reply speeches don't introduce new matter — they re-frame the round.
• POIs: Points of information allowed between minute 1 and minute 7 of each substantive. Take two per speech; the opposition's job is to ask sharp ones.
• Motions: Mix of prepared (released weeks in advance) and impromptu (released ~1 hour before the round).

Strategic structure

WSDC rounds break into three layers — principle, practical, and weighing. The first speaker on each side establishes the framework (definitional clarity + principles), the second develops practical analysis (mechanism, stakeholders, comparative outcomes), and the third does refutation, weighing, and impact comparison. The reply speech is a "biased adjudication" — your team's case for why you won.

Common impromptu themes

• International relations. Should the UN reform the Security Council? Should the EU expand? Sanctions on autocracies?
• Economic justice. Wealth taxes, basic income, decoupling growth from emissions.
• Tech ethics. AI regulation, content moderation, encryption mandates.
• Education and youth. Curriculum policy, technology in classrooms, voting age.
• Identity and rights. Affirmative action, reparations, language rights.

Past WSDC final motions