What is a Constructive?

Constructive Basics

Constructive speeches are pre-scripted and last for four minutes. Each team gives one and then it is followed by the other team. They are made up of arguments, called “contentions.” Some debaters will include multiple contentions in a constructive while others will simply present one. In more complicated cases, debaters will include sub-points which are mini-contentions couched inside the constructive. Either way, each contention, or subpoint, follows the same basic structure of claim, warrant, and impact.


The claim is the point you are trying to assert. It could be something like dogs develop a deeper relationship with their owner than cats. Then, you need a warrant. This is the explanation as to why the claim is true. In this scenario, it could be because dogs go on walks which builds more of a connection with their owner. Finally, there is the impact, or reason why someone should care about your claim. A stronger relationship with a pet could increase the owner’s happiness. 

Applying the CWI Method

Now that we have covered the CWI method let’s apply it to a topic. After reading through this example you should produce a couple of your own.

Here is our resolution: ‍Resolved: K-12 students in the United States should join competitive debate. ‍

‍Claim: Debate improves critical thinking 
‍Warrant: Debate forces students to think quickly on their feet, helping them form coherent arguments, and boosting critical thinking. 
‍Impact: Better critical thinking is a major indicator of job success, boosting incomes and achievement.

How Does This Become a Contention

The CWI method gets us 80 percent of the way to our contention but is missing a key element, research. When students give a speech their claims must be supported by the facts. To do this students gather pieces of evidence and quote them, we call these quotes cards. You can learn about what cards are and how to make them here, but this post will stick to simple evidence. 

The warrant and impact necessitate evidence. The research should emanate from reputable sources in every case. For this particular argument we will look to sources from the government, academia, or major news outlets. When we put it all together a contention would look like this:

‍Contention 1: Debate improves critical thinking

According to Mokhammid Nizzam in 2023: “Debate offers a high level of 'thinking-on-your-feet' activity and communication drill to learners who are proven to boost their critical thinking significantly. Students are taught to analyze factual issues, offer solutions, weigh the level of significance or priority, and assert some argumentation against their opponents during the debate.” 

‍Importantly, this is verified by studies as Nick Morrison in 2023 reports: Debaters saw the “equivalent of 68% of the ELA improvement over an average ninth grade year, and [it] was concentrated among reading skills involving analysis and argumentation.” ‍

‍The Impact: Building Better Careers 

‍According to the World Economic Forum in 2023: “Analytical thinking is considered to be a core skill by more companies than any other skill [and is] predicted to grow in importance for workers - by 72% over the next five years.”

Key Takeaways

- Every constructive is made up of a certain number of arguments called contentions. 
- Every contention has a claim, warrant, and impact. 
- In Public Forum debate, the warrants and impacts must be backed by evidence.

In the next post, we will apply the CWI method and look at a real constructive from an example round.