Hi, I don't know if this is still a relevant thread--if you've already made your speech of not.
But you need to have a claim, support, and warrant (IB History taught me something, dammit!) Your claim is that the Smashing Pumpkins are the best band of the 90's. Your support would be all of the things that people have been listing above. So what you need now is a warrant.
This is the "definition" of your terms. If you phrase it as an if/then sentence:
"If the best band of the 90's is defined as (blank--this is your warrant), then (this is your claim) the Smashing Pumpkins are the best band because (this is your support) of blah blah blah.
I don't know what your warrant should be. But when my friend and I were trying to decide on the best band of the 90's, we had limiting terms. The band couldn't have had major releases before 1990. They had to be active in both halves of the decade. This would disqualify bands like Nirvana, who collapsed in 1994, and U2, since they're totally and 80's band.
It may seem like this is just disqualifying bands to make it easier, but keep in mind that the question is over who the best band of the *90's* is.
Then you need to define what would make a band the "best," and I would basically categorize the stuff that people have listed:
artistic diversity, fan base, online community, etc. And then elaborate on that for your support.
I hope that this little lesson in IB B.S. has been helpful for everyone.
Good luck on your speech!
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