Debater Political Moderator Opportunity Debates Rules Statement Presents

In the United States, many political "candidates" (people who are running for office) participate in "debates," which are official opportunities for people to present their differing opinions on one or more issues. Most political debates are "televised" (shown on television), often "live" (showing actions when they are actually happening; not shown from a recording).

The debaters must agree to follow the rules that establish the "format" (how something appears and is organized) of the debate. The rules vary among debates, so it can be difficult to "generalize" (make a statement that is true for every situation). For example, the U.S. presidential election debates do not allow the candidates to ask each other questions, but this is allowed in other types of debates. Each debate also "allots" (gives; assigns) a specific amount of time for the responses on each topic.

A debate has a "moderator," or a person whose job is to guide or control the debate. The moderator presents the "prompt," or the statement or question that the debaters are supposed to react to. The moderator also indicates whose turn it is to speak, and for how long. If the debater "exceeds" (goes over) the allotted time, the moderator will "cut him or her off" (interrupt to make someone stop speaking).

In general, the moderator presents the prompt and then one debater has an opportunity to speak. Then the second debater has an opportunity to speak. Then there may be an opportunity for "rebuttals," where each debater has an opportunity to react to what the other debater has said, but this is usually for a much shorter period of time.