Don't forget to read my blog and comment it,hehe :)

tauah bingung mw posting apa, gk ada inspirasi lg.....hehe

Senyum ketegaran by Maskurotch Adisty

Hari itu kali pertama aku melihat ia tersenyum. meskipun senyuman itu bukan terarah kepada ku, tapi aku senang. Nisa. Sosok gadis kecil yang belum lama ini aku kenal. Setiap hari aku melintasi jalan itu, setiap hari pula aku melihat nisa. Bukan untuk meminta, berjualan koran, atau semacam nya.

Nisa adalah anak seorang ibu renta yang berjualan di pinggir jalan itu. Dengan setia ia terus menemani ibu nya berjualan. Nisa bukannya tidak bersekolah, ia sekolah, bahkan ia pintar disekolah nya.

Kadang aku merasa iri dengan ketegaran hati yang amat sangat yang dimiliki nisa kecil. Ia selalu tersenyum ditengah tekanan yang melanda hatinya. Untuk ukuran bocah tanpa dosa, itu adalah hal yang sulit.
Ia tidak pernah menampakkan raut kesedihan di wajah nya, meskipun mata jernih nya tiada bisa menyembunyikan keletihan lahir dan juga batin. Aku tidak tahu apakah ia mempunyai ayah atau saudara yang lain. Tetapi sepanjang aku melintas di jalan itu, hanya ada nisa kecil dan ibunya.

Ingin aku mendekati, hanya untuk sekedar berbincang dengannya. Bertanya bagaimana kehidupannya, tetapi aku takut mengusik ketenangannya.

Pernah sekali waktu aku melihat nisa kecil menghampiri ibunya, sepulang sekolah, ia mengatakan sesuatu kepada ibunya yang aku tidak tahu apa itu, tetapi seperti tidak ada timbal balik. Sedetik kemudian terlihat raut kesedihan menyergap wajah ibu renta itu, ntah apa yang dikatakan nisa tadi.
Sedih.

Pahit getir kehidupan yang aku saksikan dalam beberapa hari ini cukup membuat aku terdiam. Sungguh, bahkan di dunia yang kejam ini, masih tampak terlihat orang orang yang terus berjuang menegakkan tiang ketegaran yang sedemikian kokoh di relung hati terdalam.
Ingin rasa nya bisa setegar nisa kecil, bagaimana cara ia menapakkan kaki nya dengan penuh sungguh, dengan tidak mengeluh.
Tetap tersenyum ditengah jeritan hati yang meminta, ditengah goresan hati yang membuat luka. Ia tetap tersenyum, sepahit apapun kehidupan yang harus ia jalani..

Resep Roti Cane

Bahan :

• 350 gr tepung terigu
• 1 sdm garam
• 200 cc air hangat
• 250 gr mentega/ margarine dicairkan

Cara membuat :

1. Campur tepung, garam dengan air hangat.
2. Setelah rata masukkan mentega cair.
3. Remas-remas sampai tidak lengket, bagi menjadi 20 bagian, masing-masing dibulatkan, diamkan ± selama 15 menit, tipiskan setebal ± 1/2 cm.
4. Panaskan dan olesi dengan sedikit minyak wajan datar untuk membuat martabak, panggang adonan yang sudah ditipiskan di atas, balik-balik sampai matang (ada bagianbagian yang jadi lebih cokelat). Angkat.
5. Lakukan sampai adonan habis.

Catatan :
bentuk tekstur roti bisa beragam ada yang seperti proses diatas, atau ditipiskan lebar lalu dilipat-lipat seperti martabak, baru kemudian dipanggang

Cheat Plants versus Zombie

Pinata              : Munculin hujan permen saat zombie mati
Future              : Memberi zombie penampilan masa depan (kacamata)
Dance              : Membuat zombie menari
Sukhbir            : Memunculkan suara serangan zombie
Daisies             : Zombie meninggalkan bunga saat mati (bukan karena benda instant)
Mustache         : Zombie memiliki kumis
Tohot               : Membuat matahari menjadi 9999
Slowboke        : Membuat zombie berjalan lambat

Trickedout       : Merubah bentuk pemotong rumput

Resep membuat martabak Mie

Cara Membuat Masakan Martabak Mie
Bahan :

2 bungkus mie telur
1 batang bawang daun
5 buah bawang merah
2 butir telur ayam
10 buah cabai rawit
Garam dan lada secukupnya

Cara membuatnya :

• Mie telur direbus 1/4 matang, angkat, tiriskan, kemudian potong-potonglah supaya agak pendek.
• Daun bawang dibuang akarnya dan potonglah bulat-bulat.
• Bawang merrah dikupas, lalu diiris tipis-tipis.
• Masukkan semua bahan tersebut kedalam telur yang telah dikocok, adduk sampai rata, beri garaam dan lada secukupnya.
• Siapkan penggorengan, beri sedikit minyak, setelah cukup panasnya, masukkan adonan tadi seperti membuat telur dadar dan usahakan agar matangnya merata.
• Buatlah menjadi beberapa buah. Setelah cukup Matang, angkat dan pindahkan pada sebuah piring bulat.
• Martabak mie dihidangkan hangat-hangat dengan cabai rawit.

Selamat mencoba...

Foto waktu E-Camp

Ini foto2 waktu E-Camp 2010,,,,,seru banget apalagi ada Madam Yahya,,,hehe

Tahun ini saatnya hahahaa..........:)lol

Sushi MIYABI

Restoran ini punya kak shi ama kak inu.....ini makanan kesukaan kak shi....
Restoran ini ada di Jakarta, dicoba, enak lho masakannya,,,,hehehe..................

ini foto mereka ama temen2 hehehe

The Yummy Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America, with its earliest documented use around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After fermentation, the beans are dried, then cleaned, and then roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The nibs are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form. Because this cocoa mass usually is liquefied then molded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk but no cocoa solids.
Cocoa solids contain alkaloids such as theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body. It has been linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Some research found that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure.^[1] The presence of theobromine renders chocolate toxic to some animals,^[2] especially dogs and cats.

Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and chocolate hearts or chocolate in heart-shaped boxes on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate. Around three quarters of the world's cacao bean production takes place in West Africa.

Health Benefits of Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit plant is a night flowering vine-like cactus, the beautiful yellowish flower is about 1 foot long and 9 inches wide, bell shaped and very fragrant, they open during the early evening and wilt by daybreak. The fruit is oblong and has unique appearance because of its bright pink to red, green tipped overlapping scales rind. The edible portion is white or red, with hundreds of tiny black seeds. Its taste is sweet and juicy similar to that of pear, kiwi and watermelon. Dragon fruit is now grown commercially in Asia in places like Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Varieties:

·         Hylocereus polyrhizus it has red skin and red flesh.

·         Selinecereus megalanthus it has yellow skin and white flesh.

Health Benefits:

• Dragon fruit help to lower blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes.
• Dragon fruit prevent formation of cancer causing free radicals.
• Dragon fruit helps moisturize and smoothen skin and decrease bad cholesterol level.
• Dragon fruit helps improve appetite.
• Dragon fruit can enhance the body metabolism because of its protein content.
• Dragon fruit helps improve digestion and reduce fat.
• Dragon fruit helps maintain the health of the eyes.
• Dragon fruit helps strengthen the bones and teeth.
• Dragon fruit helps in tissue development.
• Dragon fruit promotes healing of cuts and bruise.
• Dragon fruit helps improve memory.

                Selinecereus megalanthus variety

Hylocereus variety

• English names: Night Blooming Cereus, Strawberry Pear, Belle of the Night, Conderella plant, Mood Flower.
• France: Cierce-Lezard, Poire de Cahrdon

                                             

Nutritional Value: per 100 g

• Carotene: 0.012 g.
• Vitamin C: 9.0 mg.
• Thiamine (Vitamin B1) traces
• Riboflavin (Vitamin B2): 0.045 mg.
• Niacin (Vitamin B3): 0.430 mg.
• Calcium: 6 -10 mg
• Iron: 0.3 - 0.7 mg
• Phosphorus: 16 - 36 mg.
• Carbohydrates: 9-14 g
• Protein: 0.15 - 0.5 g
• Fiber: 0.3 - 0.9 g
• Water: 80-90g
• Fat: 0.1 - 0.6 g
• Calories: 35 - 50

Common names in different countries:

• English names: Night Blooming Cereus, Strawberry Pear, Belle of the Night, Conderella plant, Mood Flower.
• France: Cierce-Lezard, Poire de Cahrdon
• Germany: Distelbirm, Echte Stachnelbirn, Distelbirm, Drachenfrucht
• Hawaii: Pa-nani-oka, Pa-ni-ni, Kapunahou
• Portugal: Catobarse, Cardo-Ananaz
• Colombia, Mexico Venezuela: Flor de Caliz
• Puerto Rico: Pitajaya
• Mexico: Junco, Pitahaya Orejona, Reina de la Noche, Tasajo
• Sweden: Skogkaktus, Rud Pitahaya
• Vietnam: Thanh long
• China: Long Gou, For Lung Kor

Uses: Dragon fruits serve as preserves and spreads such as jam, puree and cordial; salad; sherbets and sorbets; fruit pizza; and beverages.

Pengamatan di Museum Lampung

Foto ini waktu sama2 temen2 pegi ke Museum Lampung, yang diadain dari sekolah.....
seru bnget, macem2 peralatan orang Lampung, dari tapis ,tempat tidur, gong,peta wilayah,patung2..,dll

Museum ini lumayan besar...hehehe....Oya, di sana juga ada berbagai macam alat musik dan pakaian adat Lampung ,tapi gk bisa  kasih fotonya..hehehe:)

JODOH ITU GAK KEMANA part ending

Oya, perkenalan dulu si gadis itu namanya Reenis kalo yang kakak kelas itu namanya Regsa....heehe

Sayangnya, sang kakak kelas malah memilih pengacara cowok untuk menyelesaikan kasusnya....huu.....:(
(Huh geblek bgt sih nih cowok, bukanya si itu aja...hehehe). Dia lebih memilih pengacara Egga untuk menjadi pengacaranya pada kasus nya...

Hari berganti hari, minggu berganti minggu, tidak terasa, hari ini pengadilan akan dimulai. Pengacara Egga memang handal akan tetapi tidak sehanal Reenis...Sungguh sangat disayangkan, ternyata pengacara Egga membuat kecewa Regsa.Regsa pun merasa sedih, iapun berniat untuk menutup peusahaannya. Akan tetapi, teman semasa kecilnya, teman kantornya, sahabatnya, menyarankan agar Regsa segera mencari pengacara baru, untuk menyelesaikan kasusnya ini, karna masih diberi kesempatan oleh hakim selama 2 minggu. Regsa pun menuruti nasehat sahabatnya, ia pun segera mencari pengacara baru dengan dibantu oleh asistennya.
Sungguh tak disangka dia memilih pengacara Reenis. Regsa belum tahu, kalo Reenis itu adalah nama sahabat semasa SMA nya. Regsa pun segera menelpon Reenis untuk bertemu di sebuah restoran.Begitu sampai di restoran, Reenis mencari kliennya...ketika dia sampai di meja nomor 8 yang dimana tempat Regsa memesan makanan dan  duduk di tempat itu, ia kaget, Regsa juga merasakannya..
"Kak Regsa......(sambil menatap tak percaya)
"Reenis, gw gak nyangka, kalo gw bakal ketemu lo lagi....
Mereka pun mengobrol dan saling bercerita tentang dirinya masing2 selama mereka berpisah<biasalah nostalgia dulu.....,baru ngomongin kerjaan>. Mereka juga mengingat cerita dan kenangan waktu SMA. Entah apa yang mereka bicarakan, sampai mereka tertawa terbahak2... Tak terasa hari pun sudah sore, mereka memutuskan untuk pulang<tu kan gara2 kelamaan ngobrol ama nostalgiannya, jadi lupakan apa yang penting mau dibicarakan>ckckckck....
Di apartement, Regsa masih mambayangi wajah Reenis, dia pun tidak bisa tidur, begitu juga dengan Reenis, dia ingt kalo di pernah mengagumi kakak kelasnya itu. Regsa memang pernah menyukai Reenis, akan tetapi, ia tidak sempat menyatakan cintanya kepada Reenis, karna  setelah lulus, ia diminta oleh ayahnya untuk melanjutkan ke perguruan Tinggi yang ada di Jepang. Akan tetapi, ia sampai sekarang masih menyimpan perasaan itu, sampai ia benar2 berani untuk mengungkapkannya kepada Reenis, paling tidak dia akan memberikan kejutan manis untuk Reenis. Keesokan harinya, mereka bertemu lagi di restroran yang sama. Kali ini mereka membicarakan masalah yang sedang dialam oleh perusahaan Regsa. Reenis pun langsung mmiliki ide dan inisiatif agar bisa mmenangkan kasus tersebut...
Dua minggu kemudian, pengadilan dibuka kembali. Reenis pun sudah siap untuk memberika pertanyaan kepada peruasahaan penipu, ia handal sekali memberikan pertanyaan yang membuat bingung si saksi. Akhirnya, kemenangan kasus didapat oleh Regsa...Ia pun berniat untuk mengundang Reenis untuk makan malam di Restoran Sushi Miyabi,karna ia tahu, itu makanan kesukaan Reenis.
Malam pun tiba...
Regsa sudah membooking tempat untuk malam yang sangat special. Reenis pun telah ke restoran tersebut, ia mengenakan gaun selutut berwarna biru,dengan rambut digerai, ia diantar oleh supir suruhan Regsa. Ia segera memasuki restoran tersebut, tiba2 lampu taman padam, tiba2 terdengar musik alunan lagu Our Love. Dan di taman itu bertuliskan Regsa love Reenis yang berbentuk hati dengan lampu2 kecil di sekelilingnya....
Reenis pun terkejut dan menatap tak percaya. Regsa langsung menghampiri Reenis dan memberikan setangkai bunga mawar putih dan di tangan sebelahnya, ia memegang sebuah kotak kecil. Ia pun berlutut dan memegang tangan  langsung berkata
''Would you like to marry me?"<smabil meyerahkan sebuah kotak..
"Kalo kamu terima aku, jitak aku, kalo kamu gk terima aku, dorong aku ke ke kolam yang ada di belakang aku..."<ceritanya udah aku kamu nih...>
"Ehmm....gimana ya kak Regsa?....Aku aku aku....Aku aku gk mau jitak kamu, aku maunya, kakak masangin cincin itu d jari aku...hehehehehehhe
"Jadi maksudnya?
"Aku mau jadi istri kakak.."
 "Kamu bener Reenis, mau jadi istri aku?
"Iya aku serius....Regsa pun memasangkan cincin itu ke jari Reenis.
"Makasih ya Reenis....sejak SMA aku sudah cinta ama kamu tapi aku gak sempat menyatakannya.
Mereka pun berpelukan sangat lama, sampai orang di sekeliling mereka menyaksikan mereka. Mereka pun tersipu malu...
Sebulan kemudian, mereka menikah....dan hidup bahagia...orang tua merak juga bahagia.....

                                                                     TAMAT

jangan lupa dibaca, comment sama like ya...hehehe





 

My best friend

Ini foto waktu gw masih SMP, seru banget....walaupun kami beda agama, tapi selalu akrab...kita care satu sama yang lain...apalagi Rana. Dia itu sahabat terbaik yang pernah gw temui semasa SMP. Gw bs berbagi suka dan duka sama dia.  Tapi yang lainnya juga ia..mereka semua baik...:)Anaknya asyik banget.... Tapi sekarang gw sedih, dia pindah ke Yogya dan sekolah di Santa Maria...:( Tapi ,kalo hari raya besar, kita selalu kumpul bareng lagi kayak dulu. Semoga 5G 4ever......>3>3

JODOH ITU GAK KEMANA

Gw punya sebuah kisah cerita,
Di sini menceritakan seorang gadis yang amat lugu dan polos dan juga pintar...Selain pintar. dia juga pintar bergaul. Ia selalu menuruti nasihat dari kedua orangtunya, jika ia ingin pergi ke suatu tempat, ia pasti selalu meminta izin ibunya dulu terlebih dahulu.
dan sebaliknya, jika tidak dizinkan pergi oleh ibunya, dia tidak akan pergi...Hal itu terus berlanjut, hingga sampai ia menyukai seorang kakak kelas yang tampan, akan tetapi dia selalu memendam perasaan nya itu, akan tetapi di hanya ingin, kalau pujaan hati nya itu, menjadi sahabat akrab nya.Namun persahaban itu tidak berjalan lama, karena sang kakak kelas telah lulus, sehingga mereka berpisah. Si gadis pun bersedih, akan tetapi ia masih mempunyai sahabat terbaiknya yang selalu setia menemaninya. Karena temannya selalu memberikan motivasi dan semangat kepadanya, ia merasa tegar dan berusaha untuk melupakan perpisahan itu. Setelah lulus, ia melanjutkan ke jenjang selanjutnya,yaitu kuliah. Dia diterima di Ul di Fakultas Hukum, sedangkan teman-temanya juga diterima di universitas ersebut, di berbeda fakultas...
2 tahun kemudian(penulisnya edan y?),
si gadis dan temannya, telah menyelesaikan skripsinya, dan mereka, masing-masing ada yang bekerja di lembaga hukum, rumah sakit, perkantoran, dan perbisnisan. Si gadis, kini telah menjadi seorang pengacara terkenal.Ia sudah  menjadi pengacara untuk orang yang terkena kasus hukun, dari kalangan atas hingga kalangan bawah. Akan tetapi di membela kasus oran yang benar, bukan orang yang bersalah, ia bukan pengacara yang hanya mengandalkan uang, ia selalu mengandalkan seluruh kemampuannya, unuk memenangkan kasus kliennya, dan terbukti dengan bantuan Tuhan, ia selalu memenangkan kasus kliennya,
Back to kakak kelas
Sang kakak kelas, kini telah lulus S2 di Bandung, kini dia menjadi manager perusahaan yang ia bangun sendiri, yang bernama Gold Advertising. Perusahaan ini terkenal sukses di mana-mana, terbukti perusahaan ini terkenal sampai seluruh Asia. Sampai pada suatu ketika, ada sebuah perusahaan yang bekerja sama dengannya, akan tetapi perusahaan tersebut telah menipu perusahaan sang kakak kelas sampai 132 Milyar(gile banyak amat tah). Karena tidak terima ditipu, ia ingin membawa kasus penipuan ini ke jalur hukum. Untungnya temannya memiliki beberapa channel pengacara handal, yang di antaranya si gadis itu,,,
kira2 ketemu gk ya?kira2 sang kakak kelas milih pengacara yang mna ya?
Tunggu kelanjutannya, karna cuma 2 part..

Curhat

Dear Blog...

Hari minggu gw seneng banget bisa berenang sama temen2,hehe...

walaupun badan gw jadi item  gara2 kena sinar UV,kayakya lebai bgt ya tapi asyik bareng temen2./n_n

Kayaknya curcol bgt ya gw...terus apalagi ya?Oya. kan temen gw lagi ulta.terus dia ngundang gw bwt dg ke acara ultah nya. makan2 tekwan lo. tp sangat disayangkan, gw gk bs dtg:(sedh banget.biasa gk blh sama orang tua apalagi mama, hehehe,I thaugt.yesterday was just so so.......

8 tahun

Ini lagu bener-bener menyayat hati..hehehe

Tapi ini juga lagu galau:(

*Akhirnya kutemukan

  kamu yang pernah hilang

  meskipun tak menentu

Telah ku pertaruhkan

perjalanan cintaku

tetapi aku yakin

kau akan kumiliki

Reff: Delapan tahun lamanyaku mencarimu

        Sungguh aku sangat merindukanmu

        Aku tak mau kehilangan kamu lagi...

        Ku ingin habiskan...seluruh cintaku...

Back to* and reff 2x

Ih ngebetein banget sih..., cuma gara-gara gak masuk les sehari doang aja, tugasnya udah setumpuk gunung..

 Huh.....menyebalkan,,mana besok ulangan..Berharap besok, bisa ngerjain ulangan Mtk nya dan lulus nilainya, amin...,hehe:)

Debating Handbook

I.                             Debating in General

Ok, let’s start from the beginning. What is debating?

And why do people debate?

Debating is a clash of arguments. For every issue, there are always different sides of a story: why people support or disagree with that certain issue. Debating seeks to explore the reasons behind each side. To make those reasons understandable and convincing, debaters should deliver their arguments with good communication skills.

Competitive debating is debating using a specific format. With formats, people are regulated to speak one at a time and each side is given the same amount of time and opportunity to prove their point. This format rules out the possibility of who-speaks-loudest-or-fastest shall win the debate. It encourages people not only to speak out but also to listen to the other side. There are many formats of debates: Karl Popper format, British Parliamentary format, Australasian Format, World Schools format, etc.

People debate for a number of reasons: to convince other people that his/her opinion is better, to listen to what other people think of an issue, to find which solution is the best for a problem, etc. Since competitive debating aims to convince judges that a team’s argument is superior, it gives opportunities to use analytical-critical thinking and public speaking skills to the fullest, skills which are very useful in everyday life.

But remember, debating is not a discussion. After each debate there is no compromised result as in a discussion. The point of having a debate is to speak out and listen to different kinds of opinions and at the end respecting those differences.             

So, competitive debating is debating using a format. What format does Indonesians use? How does it work?

The Indonesian Schools Debating Championships uses the World Schools format. This format work as follows:

1.     There are 2 teams debating, each consists of 3 (three) debaters who would be 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd speakers of the team.

2.     One team shall be the Government/Affirmative side – the side agreeing with the motion, the other team shall be the Opposition/Negative side – the side disagreeing with the motion.

3.     Each speaker will deliver a substantial speech of 8 (eight) minutes in duration, with the affirmative going first. Afterwards, either the 1^st or 2^nd speaker on both sides will deliver the reply speeches of 4 (four) minutes in duration, with the negative going first.

4.     Thus, the complete order of speaking during a debate is as follows:  

1^st Aff à 1^st Neg à 2^nd Aff à 2^nd Neg à 3^rd Aff à 3^rd Neg à Reply Neg à Reply Aff

 

AFFIRMATIVE TEAM                                                          NEGATIVE TEAM

1^st speaker                                                                          1^st speaker

                                           (8 min)                                                           (8 min)          

2^nd speaker                                                                         2^nd speaker

                                                         (8 min)                                                                                (8 min)

3^rd speaker                                                                          3^rd speaker

                                           (8 min)                                                           (8 min)

 

Reply speaker                                                                     Reply speaker

                (1^st/2^nd speaker – 4 min)                                                        (1^st/2^nd speaker – 4 min) 

5.     In a substantive speech, members of the opposing team are allowed to give an interruption, called Points of Information (POI), to the speaker delivering the speech. POIs may be delivered between the 1^st and 7^th minute of the 8-minute-speech.

 

 

minutes   0           1^st         2^nd        3^rd         4^th         5^th         6^th         7^th        8^th           

 

                POI not allowed                         POIs allowed                        POI not allowed

No POIs are allowed in a reply speech.

The speaker has full authority to accept or reject a POI.

6.     A time keeper shall signal the time. There will be one knock at the end of the 1^st and 7^th minutes, to signal the starting and ending times for POI. And two knocks at the 8^th minute to signal that delivery time for the speech has ended. Any debater speaking before 7 minutes shall be considered under-time and his/her points could be reduced. Any debater speaking after 8 minutes 30 seconds shall be considered overtime and his/her points could be reduced as well.

7.     For reply speeches, there will be one knock at the 3^rd minute, to signal that delivery time is almost over, and two knocks at the 4^th minute.

8.     Every debate shall be judged by an odd number of judges and only the judges shall decide who wins the debate (there is no draw in the result of a debate).

9.     In Indonesians, every team is given 30 minutes preparation time after the motion is released and before the debate begins. During this preparation time, teams are not allowed to get help from anybody (be it coaches, teachers, parents or friends) or use laptops, PDAs, or any other communication devices.

Huh? Motion? Definition? Argument? Rebuttal? POI?

What are those?

Ø  MOTION

Motions, also known as topics, are full propositional statements that determine what a debate shall be about. In the debate, the Government/Affirmative team must argue to defend the motion while the Opposition/Negative team must argue to oppose it.

Here are some examples of motions used in various international and national debate tournaments:

-          That religious lesson should not be taught in school

-          That gambling of all forms should be made illegal

-          That politicians should only be allowed to serve in office for a limited period of time

-          That professionalism has ruined the Olympic Games

-          This house disapproves of cloning

-          This house supports the use of the death penalty

-          That national security concerns justify the restriction of civil liberties

-          That governments should never restrict freedom of speech

-          This house supports General Election in Iraq

-          This house regrets the influence of Hollywood

-          This house would legalize performance-enhancing drugs

-          This house would ban surrogate motherhood

-          That the cost of Mars exploration is justified

As you can see, motions in a debating competition cover various areas: politics, economy and social issues.

Ø  DEFINITION

For a debate to proceed, both teams need a clear understanding of what the motion means. This requires the motion to be ‘defined’ so that everyone (audience and judges included) knows what is being debated. Problems arise if the two teams present different understandings of the meaning of the motion. This can result in a ‘definitional debate’, where the focus of the debate becomes the meaning of the words in the motion, rather than the motion itself. Interaction and clash between the two teams become concentrated on whose definition is correct, rather than the issues raised by the motion. Definition debates should be avoided wherever possible. They make a mockery of what debating seeks to achieve. 

A definition scopes down or gives limitations on the motion to focus the debate. It clarifies the motion. It prevents the debate from turning into a confusing exchange of ideas because of different interpretations teams may have about what is actually being debated. Out of the definition should come a clear understanding of the issues talked about in the debate. A definition must have a logical link to the motion.

The right to give a definition belongs to the Government/Affirmative team.  The affirmative team must provide a reasonable definition for the motion. This means:

1.     On receiving the motion, both teams should ask: “What is the issue that the two teams are expected to debate? What would an ordinary intelligent person think the motion is about?”

2.     If the motion poses a clear issue for debate (it has an obvious meaning), the Government/Affirmative team must define the motion accordingly. When the motion has an obvious meaning (one which the ordinary person would realize), any other definition would not be reasonable.

3.     If there is no obvious meaning to the motion, the range of possible meaning is limited to those that allow for a reasonable debate. Choosing the meaning that does not allow the opposition a room for debate would not be a reasonable debate.

4.     When defining the words in the motion so as (i) to allow the obvious meaning to be debated or (ii) (when there is no obvious meaning) to give effect to possible meaning which would allow for a reasonable debate, the affirmative must ensure that the definition is one the ordinary intelligent person would accept.

5.     in making a reasonable definition, sometimes parameters, models, or criteria is needed. when suggesting parameters to the debate, or proposing particular models or criteria to judge it by, the Proposition must ensure such parameters, models, or criteria are themselves reasonable. They must be ones that the ordinary intelligent person would accept as applicable to the debate.

 

Here are some examples of definitions that allow for a reasonable debate:

 

Motion: That quota is not the answer for women

Definition:

-     Quota       = putting a minimum limit of 30% seats for women in the parliament

-     Not the answer = not the right solution to promote gender equality in society

Thus the whole definition is: “Putting a minimum limit of 30% seats for women in parliament is not the right solution to promote gender equality in society”

 

Motion: That this house supports capital punishment for drug dealers

Definition:

-        This house = the affirmative/the government

-        Capital Punishment =  a maximum punishment given to a criminal in the form of death penalty

-        Drug Dealers = people who sell, distribute, and committing illegal drug trafficking in a certain amount according to the existing law.

thus the whole definition is: “we support the death penalty for people who sell, distribute, and commit illegal drug trafficking in a certain amount”

 

Here is an example of an unreasonable definition:

Motion    : That death penalty should never be justified

Definition: Killing people without any reason is wrong. Therefore we should not approve of genocide/mass killings.

The definition above is out of the context or spirit of the motion (death penalty means punishing criminals to die, not mass killing without reason). And it is unfair to expect the Opposition/Negative to say that mass killings for no reason should be approved of.

Although the right to define belongs to the Government/Affirmative team, the Opposition/Negative team has the right to challenge or not accept it if it is unreasonable. Explanations on challenging the motion will be explained at the end of this paper. Challenging a definition is highly discouraged.

Ø  THE OPPOSITION’S OPTIONS

Presuming the Proposition’s definition is satisfactory, the First Speaker of the Opposition will not argue the definition, but will proceed immediately to dealing with the Proposition’s arguments. There is no need to say that the Opposition  accepts the definition; this is presumed unless the First Speaker of the Opposition challenges it.

If the Opposition is unhappy with the Proposition’s definition, it has several options:

(i)            Accept and Debate

The first option is to accept it anyway. If the Proposition’s definition leads in to the expected issue and allows the Opposition to put forward the arguments and examples it was intending, there is no point to arguing over the precise words the Proposition has used.

(ii)           Challenge

The second option is to challenge the Proposition definition, arguing it is unreasonable. Further discussion will be explained in particular chapter below.

(iii)          Broaden

The third option is neither outright acceptance nor outright rejection, but instead to supplement the definition. The Proposition’s definition may have omitted to define a word in the motion that the Opposition considers pivotal. In this case, the Opposition can offer a definition of this word, so long as it meets the standards of reasonableness outlined above. 

(iv)          ‘Even-if’ 

The fourth option is to both reject and accept the definition. It involves:

a.         Rejecting the Proposition definition as unreasonable and explaining why;

b.        Putting up an alternative (and reasonable) definition, then proceeding to advance arguments and examples based on this;

c.         Rather than ignoring the Proposition’s arguments and examples on the basis they derive from an unreasonable definition, arguing that ‘even-if’  the Proposition’s definition was reasonable, its arguments and examples do not prove what is alleged.

Ø  ARGUMENTS

After agreeing with a definition, both the Government/Affirmative and the Opposition/Negative team should give arguments on why they support or disapprove with the topic.

Arguments explain why a point of view should be accepted. Good arguments are logical and relevant to the point being proven. They should also comprise of:

1.     Assertion – the statement which should be proved

2.     Reasoning – the reason why that statement is logical

3.     Evidence – examples/data that support the assertion and reasoning above

4.     Link Back – the explanation of the relevance of this argument to the motion

Given the duration of the debate, it is best to have 2 to 4 arguments to support your point of view. These arguments should be divided between the 1^st and the 2^nd speaker. So, some arguments are explained by the 1^st speaker and the rest are explained by the 2^nd speaker. This division is called a team split.

Each of these arguments should stand on their own. This means that each of the arguments should be able to answer the definition with a “… because…” statement.

Here are examples of arguments given for the examples above:

 

1.  Motion : That quota is not the answer for women

Definition  : Putting a minimum limit of 30% seats for women in parliament is not the right solution to promote gender equality in society

Arguments:

a.  Assertion: because this kind of privilege will only strengthen the stigma in society that undermines women

Reasoning: Nowadays there is still a strong stigma in society believing that women are inferior to men and has less capability than men. Reserved seats in the parliament will only strengthen this paradigm: that women can only sit in the parliament if they are facilitated but not because they can equally compete with men. Thus justifying the wrong perception that women could not reach the same level as men unless given privilege.

Evidence: In Uganda, public opinion that does not go in favor of women increased rapidly after the implementation of this kind of quota (this was also supported by some polling)

Link Back: Quota for women in parliament will only strengthen the negative perception that undermines women, hindering the promotion of women being equal to men.

b.  Assertion: because forced quota could reduce the performance of these women and at the end impedes women’s movement for equality

Reasoning: Due to many social resistance, women are still reluctant to involve themselves in politics. Women also lack the experience men have, given the limited history of women’s involvement in politics. Forcing women to fulfill the 30% quota opens probabilities of putting hesitant women with minimum experience in the parliament. This can reduce the working performance of those women. When such a thing happens, society would think that women are not as capable as their male counterparts while what actually happens is that women politicians are not yet well armed with the same motivation and experience as men.

Evidence: In India, women representatives with no political background are less popular than their male counterparts

Link Back: It is clear that rushing instant ways like putting a quota for women would harm the women movement for equality.

 

2.  Motion: That this house supports capital punishment for drug dealers

Definition: “the affirmative supports death penalty for drug dealers”

Arguments:

a.  Assertion: because it violates human right of the criminals

Reasoning: every  people have the right to life, even when he/she has done some heinous crime. Giving them the death penalty will just show people how government are not respecting its people human rights and justify killing for another killing. By giving them death penalty we are not only take their life but also eliminating their chance to do better.

Evidence:

-          Death Penalty is considered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman punishment. It has been abolished de jure or de facto by 106 nations, 30 countries have abolished it since 1990.

Link Back: It clearly shows here that death penalty given to drug dealers is a violation to human rights and no government has right to do such thing to its people.  

              

b.  Assertion: because it will not serve as a deterrent

Reasoning: death penalty is aim to deter drug dealing from happen again. But as we can see drug dealing is still flourishing. Why?

Because drug dealers always deal with risk of losing their lives thus death penalty will not scare them to do this job, especially when they have no other option to do. Other than that, drug dealers who was captured by police officers usually only small distributors that easily replaced by others.

Evidence: even after imposing death penalty, the case of drug abuse still increasing every year in Malaysia up until 4%.

Link Back: The above explanation shows that death penalty can not serve as a deterrent to prevent drug dealers doing their job in the future.

 

Having more than one argument means that teams should make sure that their arguments are consistent or do not contradict each other. Contradiction and inconsistency makes a team’s performance seem poor because it shows as if they’re not agreeing the points among themselves. It is good to have a main idea that connects or becomes the foundation of the arguments. This is one way of ensuring arguments don’t contradict with one another. This main idea is usually named as a team line/theme line in a debate.

Looking at the example above, the team line could be:

 

“Quota brings the wrong message to society that women are not as capable as men”

“death penalty is only violates human rights and will not solve the problem of drug dealing in our community.”

 

Ø  REBUTTALS

Rebuttals are responses towards the other team’s arguments. Rebuttals should prove that the other team’s arguments are not as important as they claim to be.

As with arguments, mere accusations do not equal good rebuttals. It is not enough to say that the other team’s arguments are inferior, good rebuttals should also explain the reasoning and evidence of why those arguments are inferior.

In responding to the other team’s arguments, rebuttals could show that those arguments are:

1.     Irrelevant to the point being proven

For example:

Claim     : ”Prostitution should be banned because prostitution creates more porn sites in the Internet.”

Rebuttal: “The number of porn sites in the Internet has nothing to do with whether prostitution is legalized or not. Fact is, porn sites could be accessed in many countries, apart from whether it legalizes prostitution or not”

2.     Illogical

For example:

Claim     : “Students should be allowed to smoke at school because it will create stronger resistance from passive smokers and eventually reduce the number of smokers at school.”

Rebuttal: “That is logically flawed because allowing students to smoke will create a permissive condition that would stimulate more students to smoke. Fact is, most teenagers start smoking because of peer influence. If school goes along with peer influence, then the reality that smoking is bad would be blurred and more students would think that smoking is ok and take up smoking.”

3.     Morally flawed

For example:

Claim     : “The government should support death penalty because it will help decrease the population of the country.”

Rebuttal: “Killing people simply to decrease population is morally wrong. People have the right to live and the government should not undermine that right only because they think they have too many citizens to manage.”

4.     Correct, but not important or involve unacceptable implications

For example:

Claim     : “The government should ban MTV because there are some programs that are not related to music.”

Rebuttal: “It is true that some MTV programs are not related to music, but the government should not ban a TV station simply because of that reason. Banning a TV station would lose the government a significant amount of revenue and it is more important to have this revenue rather than obliging TV stations to have programs that are true to its name.”

5.     based on an error of fact or an erroneous interpretation of fact

For example:

Claim: “Murder rates are rising in the US. This is because some states have abolished capital punishment.”

Possible Rebuttals:

a.     ” Murder rates are not rising in the US. Evidence shows that .. “ (direct factual error), or

b.      “If the number of murders seems to be rising, it is because more murders are being reported compared to before. So, in reality it’s not actually rising.” (indirect factual error), or

c.     “Evidence shows that capital punishment – a state-sanctioned murder – can appear to condone violent crime and leads to a rise in numbers of violent crime rather than reducing it.”  (erroneous interpretation of fact)

Given limited time in a debate, it is not necessary for a team to rebut every single point and fact raised by the other team. Better single out the opposing team’s main arguments and attack those first. Teams should prioritize rebutting strong and important points first and leave the weak ones for last priority.

Ø  POINTS OF INFORMATION (POI)

As has been mentioned above, after the 1^st minute and before the 7^th minute of a speech, members of the opposing teams are allowed to briefly interrupt the current speaker. This interruption is called a POI.

In order to offer a POI, a person must stand up, hold out his/her hand and say “On that point, Sir/Ma'am” or “On that point of information”. POI should be offered politely, not used to hackle the speaker. When offered a POI, the speaker having the floor has full authority to either reject or accept the POI. If a person is rejected a POI, he/she should sit down again.

POI should be brief and expressed as a question so that the speaker is required to provide an answer. Once accepted, the person offering POI has at most 15 seconds to deliver the POI. The

speaker then must answer or respond to that POI right after it is given and not wait until later in his/her speech. It is advisable that the speaker does not answer a POI more than 30 seconds as it would make him/her lose track of his/her speech.

POI should be offered regularly and through out the course of the debate. Offering POI shows that they understand the issues being discussed during the debate.

It is advisable to accept around 2 POI in a speech, and accept them between points of arguments/rebuttals. Not accepting POI at all (especially when they are often offered) would be bad strategy as the speaker is not involving the other team in his/her speech. But accepting too much POI would risk the speaker of losing control of his/her speech.

Ok, so basically, a team has to debate upon a motion defined by the affirmative side. Then they have to provide arguments telling why they support or disagree with the motion.  And each side has to respond to the other side in the form of rebuttals. Is that right?

Yup, for all questions. Oh, and one more thing: the word “CASE” would often be heard in a debate. A “CASE” refers to the whole package of a team’s arguments. Imagine a debate to be a

physical battle. Then the definition would be the battlefield that both sides have chosen. The CASE would be the fort that each team builds using arguments as bricks. The rebuttals would be the weapons that they use to attack the other side.

To make you understand more about “CASE”, let us take a look at the Case Anatomy in the next page:

	Motion

 

Definition

                                                     

Team Line

                               

                                                                     

Argument

                                      

 

The arrows indicate each link from the motion to definition, definition to your team line, and how your arguments, rebuttals, and POI must be consistent with your case foundation.

But there are 3 speakers in each team. Does each speaker have the same job? If not, what are the jobs of each speaker?

No, every speaker in a team has different jobs to fulfill. Here is the outline of the jobs or roles of each speaker:

Government/Affirmative	Opposition/Negative
First Speaker: 1. Give the definition of the motion 2. Outline the team’s case: -          Present the team line -          Present the team split 3.  Explain the arguments that are the 1st speaker’s split 4. Give a brief summary/recap of the speech	First Speaker: 1. Respond to the definition 2. Rebut 1st Government speaker 3. Outline the team’s case: -          Present the team line -          Present the team split 4. Explain the arguments that are the 1st speaker’s split 5. Give a brief summary/recap of the speech
Second Speaker: 1. Rebut the Opposition’s main arguments 2. Briefly restate/reiterate in   general the Government’s team case 3. Explain the arguments that are the 2nd speaker’s split 4. Give a brief summary/recap of the speech	Second Speaker: 1. Rebut the Government’s main arguments 2. Briefly restate/reiterate in   general the Opposition’s team case 3. Explain the arguments that are the 2nd speaker’s split 4. Give a brief summary/recap of the speech
Third Speaker: 1. Rebut Opposition’s arguments, prioritizing the strong/important ones 2. Rebuild the team’s case 3. Summarize the issues of the debate Note: It is not advisable for 3rd Government to bring new arguments	Third Speaker: 1. Rebut Government’s arguments, prioritizing the strong/important ones 2. Rebuild the team’s case 3. Summarize the issues of the debate Note: It is not advisable for 3rd Opposition to bring new arguments
Reply (1st or 2nd) Speaker: 1. Provide a summary or overview of the debate 2. Identify the issues raised by both teams 3. Explain why the Government’s case and response are better than the Opposition’s Note: Reply speakers are not allowed to bring new arguments and give rebuttals	Reply (1st or 2nd) Speaker: 1. Provide a summary or overview of the debate 2. Identify the issues raised by both teams 3. Explain why the Opposition’s case and response are better than the Government’s Note: Reply speakers are not allowed to bring new arguments and give rebuttals