Your points wouldn't have been completely useless. You could have quickly written rebuttals to them, as someone from the other team would likely have had at least a few of the same ideas as you originally had, and gone from there.

That's why in any type of debate situation, my coach always told me to prepare both sides of the argument that way I would have an idea on how to combat both sides and if last minute changes were made it wouldn't be the end of the world, or a failed grade.

In all honesty, part of debate is being able to address the concerns or problems from the opposite side. You should know about both sides of the debate before you try to argue for one.

While it was a stressful thing to do, it was partly on you for not reviewing possible debate points the other side could make. That's part of debating, so you can then make a counter argument to that point.

This should be a non issue for you if you're a master debater like me. ;-)

well that's the glory of a debate if you want to win a debate you have to be knowledgeable of both sides that way you can counter a point. when I was in debate I was told that if the opposing team made a point I was not aware of it was an automatic loss. you should prepare for both sides so you have the strongest argument.

Hey guys, OP here! I finally made an account because my FML got published! (Wow! I didn't actually expect it to!) While I agree with the comments that say I should have reviewed debate points from the other side, it was a pretty sudden thing for my teacher to do (I think she told me 5 minutes before the debate started) and not only did I not have very helpful notes, I was kind of shaken up by the change, which definitely didn't help me. The way we were doing the debate was one-on-one, with both people arguing their points at separate times. She only switched me, and that was because the side I originally chose had 2 more people than the other side, and she thought I was a strong enough debater (even though I really don't think I am) that I could easily adapt. In the end, everything was fine, I managed to write a few points down from my original notes, and I stumbled through them for the length of the debate. (Two minutes for each person, so it wasn't too long) My teacher apologized, but said I did well nonetheless. Thank you to everyone who commented!

Sounds like you ruled the day in spite of adversity. That is what makes a great debater. Congrats.

That is a very common thing in high school and college. They want you to see both sides of the topic, to widen your views and be more open minded on topics.

You should've told this teacher that