Motion

Motion, also known as topic, is a full propositional statement that determine what a debate shall be about. In the debate, the Affirmative team must argue to defend the propositional statement of the motion, and the Negative team must argue to oppose it. Examples of motions are:
•    That cigarette companies should not be held responsible for the bad effects of smoking.
•    That football is overvalued in today’s society.
•    That American pop culture is a threat to civilization.
•    That long is better than short.
Please note that a motion should always be in the form of a statement, not question or phrase. "That …" can also be read as "This House believes that …" or "Be it resolved that …". Motions are always for the Affirmative; the Negative would negate the statement, as in "That it is not true that …".