What are the components of a prima facie case?
The prima facie case must answer certain of the stock issues in the 1AC speech. The stock issues are four basic varieties of argument which appear in every debate. One way to think of stock issues is as questions to which the Affirmative must answer yes and the Negative may answer no. There are many ways of posing these questions, but here are some examples: • Is there a significant need for a change? Is there a great harm in the status quo, and/or is there a great advantage which can be obtained by modifying our present way of doing things? • Will mechanisms in the status quo cause the problem to remain? Is the harm an intrinsic part of the present system? Can only the Affirmative proposal gain the advantage? • Will the proposal ease the problem effectively? • Will the plan avoid unpleasant side effects? The first stock issue is known as harm or need. The second is called inherency (or, sometimes, uniqueness). The third issue is called solvency, and the fourth, disadvantages (or, rare
