The Four-Step Refutation Formula
Effective refutation follows a repeatable structure that makes your response easy for a judge to flow and credit. You will be able to apply the four-step refutation formula to any opposing argument.
The Four Steps
A complete refutation states: (1) 'They say...' — restate the opponent's claim accurately, (2) 'But...' — give your response, (3) 'Because...' — give the reasoning or evidence behind your response, and (4) 'Therefore...' — state the impact, meaning what this means for who is winning the round. Skipping the fourth step is the most common mistake; without it, a judge may not connect your refutation back to the actual decision they have to make.
Grouping Responses Efficiently
When an opponent's case has repetitive threads, group similar arguments together and answer them with one shared response rather than repeating yourself contention by contention, which saves precious speech time in a format with short speeches.
Negative just argued that moral disagreement across cultures disproves objective moral truths.
'They say moral disagreement across cultures disproves objective morality. But disagreement doesn't disprove an objective truth exists. Because scientists once disagreed about whether the Earth was round, yet a single objective answer existed the whole time — disagreement reflects imperfect access to truth, not the absence of truth. Therefore, their disagreement argument doesn't defeat our case that objective moral truths exist; it only shows we sometimes struggle to identify them.'
1. What are the four steps of the refutation formula?
2. True or False?
"The 'therefore' (impact) step of a refutation is optional and can usually be skipped without consequence."
Answer all 2 to check.
Use the 'they say / but / because / therefore' formula for every refutation, and group repetitive arguments to save time.