his own topic. Therefore a few suggestions in regard to the choice of
a subject and the wording of a proposition are likely to be of
considerable service to him.

The student should first select some general, popular topic of the day
in which he is interested. He should, for several reasons, not the
least of which is that he will thus gain considerable information that
may be of value to him outside the class room, select a popular topic
rather than one that has been worn out or that is comparatively
unknown. He should, moreover, choose an interesting topic, for then
his work will be more agreeable and consequently of a higher order. Of
this general idea he must decide upon some specific phase which
readily lends itself to discussion. Then he has to express this
specific idea in the form of a proposition. As it is not always an
easy matter to state a proposition with precision and fairness, he
must take this last step very cautiously. One must always exercise
great care in choosing words that denote the exact meaning he wishes
to convey. Many writers and speakers have found themselves in false
positions just because, upon examination, it was found that their
subjects did not express the precise meaning that was intended.

Moreover, in phrasing the proposition, the debater should so state the
subject that the affirmative side, the side that opens the discussion,
is the one to advocate a change in existing conditions or belief. This
method obviously corresponds to the way in which business is conducted
in practical affairs. No one has reason to defend an established
condition until it is first attacked. The law presumes a man to be
innocent until he is proved guilty, and therefore it is the
prosecution, the side to affirm guilt, that opens the case. The
question about government ownership of railroads should be so worded