What Is a Debate Motion? How to Write One, With Examples
A debate motion is the single statement a debate is about, such as “This house would ban single-use plastics.” A good motion is specific, arguable from both sides, and phrased so that the sides must clash. This guide explains the types of motion, how to write one, and gives 30 examples.
Updated 2026-11-04
What a motion is
A motion is the statement that the debate is about. It is also called a resolution in North American formats. The side that supports it is called the proposition, government or affirmative. The side that opposes it is called the opposition or negative. The motion is fixed before the round and does not change.
The motion matters because everything else in a debate depends on it. It decides what counts as relevant, what each side has to prove, and what the judge or audience is voting on.
Types of motion
The opening words of a motion tell you what kind of argument is expected.
| Type | Typical wording | The proposition must show | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy | This house would (THW)… / Should… | That a specific action is better than the alternatives. | THW require all new homes to have solar panels. |
| Value | This house believes (THB)… | That a statement is true or a value ranks higher. | THB privacy matters more than security. |
| Regret / Welcome | This house regrets / welcomes… | That a development has been, or will be, harmful or beneficial. | THR the rise of streaming services. |
| Actor | This house, as [actor], would… | That a named actor should act in a particular way. | THW, as a school principal, ban phones in class. |
| Prefer / Compare | This house prefers X to Y | That one option is better than another. | THP renting to owning a home. |
| Counterfactual | This house would have… | That a past choice should have been different. | THW have made voting compulsory in 1950. |
What makes a good motion
Judges and coaches look for five features. A motion that fails one of them usually produces a lopsided or confused debate.
- Specific: it names who acts, what they do and where.
- Balanced: a reasonable person could argue either side without relying on a slogan.
- Clear: it can be read one way by almost everyone, or the definitions are given.
- Single: it asks one question, not two.
- Decision-focused: it has a choice or a value to weigh, not a statement of fact that no one can dispute.
How to write one in four steps
Start from a topic you care about and narrow it until it can be decided.
- Pick a topic and a question within it. Topic: social media. Question: should platforms be responsible for what users post?
- Choose an actor and an action. Actor: social media platforms. Action: be legally liable for harmful posts.
- Add a boundary. Which platforms, which harms, which country? “Platforms with over 10 million users”.
- Phrase it as a motion. THW make large social media platforms legally liable for harmful content posted by users.
Fixing weak motions
Many motions fail because they are vague or lopsided. The fixes are usually small.
| Weak motion | Problem | Stronger version |
|---|---|---|
| Social media is bad. | Vague and too broad. | THW ban social media accounts for children under 16. |
| Is AI good or bad? | No decision; “AI” is too broad. | THW require disclosure when AI is used in graded student work. |
| Murder should be legal. | One side has no serious case. | THW abolish the death penalty. |
| Exams are bad and should be replaced by coursework. | Two claims in one. | THW replace final exams with continuous assessment. |
| Climate change is real. | A factual question with settled evidence; not a debate. | THW tax carbon at the point of extraction. |
See motions in action
Watching a full debate shows how a motion shapes what each side says. In the Oxford Union round below, notice that the proposition spends its first minute defining “last great invention” before arguing it. In the Doha Debates example, the moderator restates the question for the audience at the start.
Watch: THB Artificial General Intelligence Will Be Humanity’s Last Great Invention | Full debate (Oxford Union). Classic Oxford-style proposition and opposition speeches, with points of information.
Watch: Artificial Intelligence | Full debate (Doha Debates). A full moderated debate with speakers on both sides and an audience vote.
30 motion examples by topic
Each of these can be argued from either side. Add a boundary if you need to narrow one.
- Education: THW make school start times later for teenagers.
- Education: THW abolish homework in primary schools.
- Education: THW make a second language compulsory until age 16.
- Education: THW allow AI tools in graded coursework with disclosure.
- Education: THW replace final exams with continuous assessment.
- Technology: THW ban social media accounts for children under 16.
- Technology: THW require social media platforms to verify users’ ages.
- Technology: THW break up the largest technology companies.
- Technology: THR the rise of the attention economy.
- Technology: THW make end-to-end encryption legal to restrict.
- AI: THW require AI-generated content to be labeled.
- AI: THW ban facial recognition in public spaces.
- AI: THW hold developers liable for harm caused by their AI systems.
- Politics: THW introduce compulsory voting.
- Politics: THW lower the voting age to 16.
- Politics: THW introduce term limits for legislators.
- Politics: THW use citizens’ assemblies for major policy decisions.
- Economics: THW introduce a universal basic income.
- Economics: THW adopt a four-day working week.
- Economics: THW tax wealth as well as income.
- Environment: THW tax carbon at the point of extraction.
- Environment: THW ban short-haul flights where rail is available.
- Ethics: THW abolish the death penalty.
- Ethics: THW allow animal testing for medical research.
- Ethics: THB individuals have a duty to vote.
- Society: THW make public transport free.
- Society: THW ban advertising to children.
- Society: THW introduce national service.
- Society: THR the rise of celebrity culture.
- Health: THW tax sugary drinks.
What to do when you receive a motion
In impromptu formats you may have fifteen minutes. Spend the first two reading the motion twice and rewriting it in your own words. Identify the actor, the action and the likely clash. Then decide what each side must prove, and what the other side’s best argument is. If the motion has an ambiguous term, decide how you will define it before you build the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What is a debate motion?
A debate motion is the one statement that a debate decides, for example “This house would ban single-use plastics.” The proposition supports it and the opposition rejects it.
What does THW or THB mean in a motion?
THW means “This house would”, used for policy motions. THB means “This house believes”, used for value motions. THR means “This house regrets” and THP means “This house prefers”.
What is the difference between a motion and a resolution?
They mean the same thing. “Motion” is used in parliamentary and British-style debate. “Resolution” is used in North American formats such as Lincoln–Douglas and policy.
How do you make a good debate motion?
Make it specific by naming an actor and action, balanced so that both sides have serious arguments, clear in its wording, and limited to a single question.
Can a motion be a question?
Some formats and public events phrase the topic as a question, such as “Should schools ban phones?” but most competitive formats use a statement so that the two sides clearly support or oppose it.
Sources and further reading
- Resolution (debate) (Wikipedia)
- Debate topics (National Speech & Debate Association)
- Parliamentary debate (Wikipedia)
- World Schools Debating Championships (Wikipedia)
- Open to Debate (formerly Intelligence Squared U.S.) (Open to Debate)
- Doha Debates (Doha Debates)