The English Oracle

Why is “resolved” used ahead of a question in a debate title, instead of saying “the Subject, topic” or alike?

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Chapters
00:00 Why Is “Resolved” Used Ahead Of A Question In A Debate Title, Instead Of Saying “The Subject, Topic”
00:54 Answer 1 Score 3
01:19 Answer 2 Score 16
02:11 Answer 3 Score 1
02:26 Answer 4 Score 0
02:48 Thank you

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Full question
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Tags
#wordchoice

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ANSWER 1

Score 16


As per Bartelby's:

In 1876 General Henry M. Robert set out to bring the rules of the American Congress to members of ordinary societies with the publication of Pocket Manual of Rules of Order. It sold half a million copies before this revision of 1915 and made Robert’s name synonymous with the orderly rule of reason in deliberative societies.

In Chapter 4:

When a main motion is of such importance or length as to be in writing it is usually written in the form of a resolution; that is, beginning with the words, “Resolved, That,” the word “Resolved” being underscored (printed in italics) and followed by a comma, and the word “That” beginning with a capital “T.”

So, because Robert’s Rules of Order have been a popular framework for American "deliberative societies" they have been adapted and applied to formal debate, so much so that Resolved has become the go-to word to begin your thesis.




ANSWER 2

Score 3


It's just a way of announcing a topic (i.e. a resolution) which will be debated. According to Wikipedia:

In policy debate, a resolution or topic is a normative statement which the affirmative team affirms and the negative team negates. Resolutions are selected annually by affiliated schools.




ANSWER 3

Score 1


It sounds to me as if 'resolved' is being used to mean 'agreed'. Why is'ahead of' now being used everywhere to mean 'before' or 'ready for' or 'in the light of'? It's very annoying.




ANSWER 4

Score 0


The word resolved stated before the resolution means "obsolete", to deal with successfully, clear up, an immediate course of action, meaning that the plan would immediately be enacted.

Therefore, if you come across a case that involves something like cooperation with other countries or anything that takes a significant amount of time, you can argue that it violates the word resolved.