Novice JV Opener at Niles West
2019 — Skokie, IL/US
Novice Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideFreshman debater @ Wake Forest. Debated @ Glenbrook South for 4 years.
I'm pretty much good for anything, not as familiar with critical literature but that doesn't mean I won't vote on it, you just need to be clear.
I don't know topic jargon - please be clear with terminology.
email: alexwakedebate@gmail.com
Add me to the email chain - dulguunb.03@gmail.com
debated at niles west - keep in mind I basically have 0 topic knowledge :)
be nice and have fun.
being funny = better speaks, but don't make me cringe.
General:
disads - great; there could be 0 risk of a disad
cp - yes; thick multi-plank = v good
k - explain it more if it's high theory or more nuanced, the generics like security = yes
T - be concise and clear about your interp and your offense/defense.
fun things to do: impact turns, 15 offcase, well developed arguments, hiding aspec in the 1nc, hiding condo in the 2ac, and extensions with a warrant, an aff mechanism that no links out of all neg offense and is somewhat topical.
not fun things: tagline extensions without warrants, saying "they dropped..." w/o explaining why it's important, spreading through your blocks of theory.
Niles West '21
Michigan State '25
LD
I don't do LD, so be aware of that. I will get lost in a phil debate, but down for theory and any tricks if you explain them fully.
Top level
Evidence quality is important in actual close debates. Won't evaluate the card unless you extend the warrants.
Dropped arguments only true to the extent of the argument actually made. Dropping "states cps are a voter" with no warrant doesn't mean anything.
Won't evaluate any arguments based on out of round issues.
Other stuff
FW/K aff - lean neg. I am unpersuaded by arguments that claim T is violent. However, I will just evaluate the debate off the flow and vote aff if they've won an impact turn, c/i, case outweighs, etc.
DA -
politics is great. Most soft left framing arguments almost never make any sense the way they're deployed in debate. Don't rant about conjunctive fallacy that's just basic risk assesment. Not persuaded at all by any epistemic k's of disads. Creative turns case is important, make those args at every level possible, not just the terminal impact.
CP -
CP's that compete of off immediacy / certainty are probably are not competitive. If your theory argument is "this CP bad" it's much less persuasive than an interp that actually specifies some manner of action that makes it illegitimate.
Overall lean neg on most CP theory stuff. Any amount of condo is fine.
Judge kick when instructed.
T - default to competing interps but can be persuaded. Predictability is the biggest internal link and precision is probably the best determination of such. Smaller topics are better generally but somewhat impossible.
K - will vote for it. Framework is really important. Make your links specific to the 1ac, please be technical and don't just read blocks straight down.
Hi! I'm Maggie, and I debate for New Trier.
Please put me on the email chain: maggiecao.nt@gmail.com Thanks!
Run anything you'd like! Show me you know what you're talking about, make good comparative claims, and engage with the other team's arguments. If you do it well, I'll be happy to vote on it. Do what you do best!
That being said, please also show respect in the round. We're here because we love debate, so please don't be rude or put anyone down. Show respect for the people, and show respect for the activity!
I'm all about creating good habits here, so...
- if you found my paradigm, kudos to you! Show me, and I'll give you +0.1 speaker points.
- at the end of the round, if you show me a good, organized flow, that's +0.2 speaks (but make sure you're not too absorbed in flowing that you lose sight of the round... I have a funny story about that -- ask me about it!)
- shake your opponents' hands at the end of the round and you can get a high five and/or a sticker from me :)
Tips in general...
- make sure you understand your own argument. You're much better off with CP + DA strats that you can explain to me in the context of the AFF than crazy K's or T interps that YOU can't even wrap your head around. I've ran my fair share of those args, but help us all out here -- if you are solely surviving off of pre-made 2nc/1nr blocks I'll be much less inclined to vote for it than things you can explain in your own words. Obviously, if you're a pro at Ks and deep-literature arguments, go for it!
- I default to reasonability. Sorry, I'm a 2A! Unless the AFF is something egregiously untopical, why can't we just let it go and carry on with the debate? Of course, I can be persuaded otherwise... it's up to you!
- the only voters are T and condo. Run as many theory args as you want, but let's be honest, most of them are cheaty anyways. If you can beat the team on the substance of the argument, why waste your time poking at their argumentation? Even though I say condo is a voter, it's honestly not until we get into the 3 or 4+ k/cp range. Again, I can be persuaded otherwise... you tell me!
- "now what?" What does this mean for us after this round ends? We all know that me voting AFF or NEG doesn't really do anything in the real world, but the things we learn are things that follow us beyond the round. So show me what we can all learn from my decision! K-specific: Explain to me how my decision would change how we approach policy-making in the future. T-specific: Explain to me how my decision would impact future debate rounds.
- I <3 clash. No one likes a debate where the two opposing sides never contest to each other's arguments. This is commonly referred to as "two ships passing in the night." That's no bueno! How am I supposed to evaluate your arguments if YOU don't even evaluate them? Good line-by-line, evidence comparison, and impact calc help a lot!
About speaker points...
1. be nice (not just to your opponents, but your partner too!)
2. be clear and/or organized
3. *be fast* (pro tip: speaking drills are your friend!)
4. **be funny** (call me crazy but I love puns!)
These things need to happen in order. I don't care if you can go 500 wpm, if I can't understand you, that means nothing to me. Likewise, you can make jokes, but if it's at the expense of someone in the round, then don't expect anything more than a 25 :/ Do these things well, and I'll be happy to award high 29's or even a 30! :)
Yup, that's all I have to say! Do what you do best and be compassionate and respectful, and we'll have a great time!
Good luck and let's have some fun!!
Glenbrook North '21
He/him/his
Please add derrikcdebate@gmail.com to the email chain, and please give the email chain a relevant name (e.g. "Round 1 Viking Rumble: GBN XX [AFF] v. GBN YY [NEG])
Top Level:
Qualifications: Debated at Glenbrook North for four years as a 2A and mostly read extinction impacts. Champion and 4th speaker at the Cross River Classic Invitational, qualified to the TOC, etc.
Novices -- don't adapt to me. I'll adapt to you. Please be respectful, especially during cross-ex. There is no need to be overly rude, defensive, demeaning, etc. Everyone's learning.
My ideal debate to judge is one where teams go substantially slower, engage with and collapse to truthful arguments, and make bold strategic decisions. I would much rather judge a debate where the NEG reads four developed offcase positions than one where the NEG reads eight or more scattered offcase with no clear strategic vision. However, I do understand the strategic necessity of reading large amounts of offcase, so feel free to do whatever you please.
I largely agree with this section of Anthony Miklovis's paradigm: You do you. I'll do my best to not be ideological. Below are my predispositions that I'll usually err towards when debated equally. None of these are absolute truths and can be easily reversed through technical debating. BUT, my familiarity with certain arguments might affect my ability to adjudicate claims in round, so do be mindful of that when I say "you do you."
I'd like it if debaters gave me easy outs rather than forcing me to dive deeply into contested issues
Sending analytics is good for clash
Please speak slower and clearer, and watch my facial reactions to your arguments, as I tend to be rather expressive
Please respect your opponents
Rounds judged on the water topic: 46
'21-'22 lowest speaks: 27.5
'21-'22 highest speaks: 29.6
'21-'22 average speaks: 28.7
Ks:
I encourage you to read kritiks that function as disadvantages (e.g. Neolib/Cap K)
I find that the aff should get to weigh in the plan in almost all circumstances
It will be very difficult to convince me to vote for high theory or post-modernism
I do not find most ontology claims persuasive
Perf con makes sense versus epistemology claims
Planless Affs:
Generally not the judge for you
The aff should be related to and in the direction of the topic
Fairness is an impact, but I find clash and education-based arguments to be more persuasive
Counterinterps are usually self serving, so I would rather you impact turn T
NEG teams should impact turn (cap good, heg good, etc.)
Please do not go for a K vs a planless aff unless you can explain it extremely well
Topicality:
I would rather you not go for topicality in front of me, but I understand if it's the only option you have versus an abusive affirmative
Precision > everything. I think most interpretation evidence is atrocious and aff teams should exploit that more
I have never seen an affirmative team reasonably explain reasonability, but that does not mean that it is a bad argument
Counterplans:
I'll judge kick if the 2NR makes the argument. Sufficiency framing seems to be a waste of breath because I will always evaluate if the counterplan solves enough of the case.
Process counterplans are probably illegit (oftentimes dependent on literature), but I would rather affirmatives go for a solvency deficit and net benefit takeout than a tricky permutation or theoretical objection
Intuitive analytical advantage counterplans are strategic. Advantage counterplans + impact turns seem to be underutilized strategies that are killer.
Counterplans that are probably bad: international fiat, object fiat, delay fiat, 'going through legal deficits' fiat
If you want to go for theory, make more specific theory arguments to filter NEG offense
Disads:
The preferred 2NR. When I debated, I read politics, rider, case-specific, etc. Neg ground is atrocious, so I understand and would absolutely enjoy if you decide to go for politics. I think that turns case is usually the deciding factor in disad debates. Please do multiple levels of turns case (e.g. link turns internal link, link turns impact, AND impact turns internal link, etc.)
I think no risk is possible but difficult if the NEG executes correctly
Most disad internal links make little sense, so smart analytics can always lower disad risk
The 1AR seems to get away with a lot of murder here
Theory:
I don't think neg teams explain why conditionality is good well.
I have yet to see a team go for ASPEC, but I think it's a competent strategy given all the agent abuse affs seem to do these days. Same with vagueness, I guess.
Misc.
"Troll" arguments are interesting thought experiments, but I'm unlikely to vote on them
Debaters should time themselves during the round. I'll try to keep track of time, but I'm not perfect.
I want to judge impact turn debates (dedev, please)
Scale:
Policy---x----------------------------------------K
Read a plan-x-----------------------------------Do whatever
Tech----------------x------------------------------Truth
Read no cards----------------x-------------------Read all the cards
Conditionality good-------------------x----------Conditionality bad
PIC's good---x-----------------------------------PIC's bad
States CP good-----x-----------------------------States CP bad
Go for T-----------------------------------x------Don't go for T
Politics DA is a thing-x-------------------------------Politics DA not a thing
Always VTL-x--------------------------------------Sometimes NVTL
UQ matters most--------------------x-------------Link matters most
Not our Baudrillard------------------------------x- Yes your Baudrillard
Clarity-x--------------------------------------------Srsly who doesn't like clarity
Presumption------x--------------------------------Never votes on presumption
Resting grumpy face--x---------------------------Grumpy face is your fault
Longer ev--------------------x--------------------More ev
"Insert this rehighlighting"----------------------x-I only read what you read
Fiat solves circumvention-----x---------------------LOL trump messes w/ ur aff
2017 speaker points-------x------------------------2007 speaker points
CX about impacts---------------------x-----------CX about links and solvency
Fiat double bind------------------------------------------x-literally any other arg
email: alexisschia@gmail.com
Please put me on the email chain:
She/her
Currently New Trier '21
Quick Notes
Debate is supposed to be a fun activity, while ultimately debate is a competition, please recognize the other values of the debate community. Be respectful to your opponents and work as a team in round with your partner. I did not go to camp and haven't debated on the topic but I have some limited topic knowledge, make sure to explain any topic specific jargon you use. Tag team CX is okay just don't go overboard-the person who's supposed to be answering should answer most questions.
I will not vote on problematic args (don't run death good or anything homophobic, racist, etc.)
Case
I think the case debate is heavily underutilized. I'm a fan of a well-developed case strategy. I enjoy hearing impact turns and specific circumvention arguments.
T
I don't have a ton of experience with T debates but I'm familiar with the basics.
DA
I am willing to vote on most das, however if the da has poor quality evidence and the aff team is able to point the internal link flaws in the da can be taken down to zero risk. I would avoid running any rider DAs. Both teams need to include turns case and strong impact calc.
CP
Be careful with your plan texts - aff teams should take advantage of any solvency deficits here (since neg teams often mess up with cp texts). I'm not a huge fan of theoretically questionable cps like process cps, agent cps, etc, however I can persuaded to vote neg on theory if debated well. I think cps are most legitimate when there are specific solvency advocates.
K
Don't assume I know the k, the neg has the burden to not just rely upon jargon. Aff teams should pay attention to k tricks (floating piks, fiat illusory, etc.) and use theory to not let the neg team get away with more than they should. I would say I am more of the middle of the road so both sides should prioritize framework. I tend to think neg teams need to defend an alt, but the burden of plan focus/rhetoric/etc. is to be debated.
I only know security, cap, agamben & setcol. If you run something else don't assume I know anything at all. I will vote on other Ks but you will really have to debate them well and know the K.
Speaks
26-26.9 - offensive
27-27.9 - key strategic misunderstanding of the arguments going on in the round
28-28.9 - solid debating
29-30 - probably a top speaker
I tend to find speaks as overvalued by debaters so don't over-stress. It's more important to learn and practice than to get top speaks.
Creds to Alanna Goldstein for the paradigm format
Sure, email chain titandebater8@gmail.com
Some things about myself. I have debated at Glenbrook South High School for 4 years. I look like I am a high school freshman, however, I can assure you that I am a Senior!
Top Level: In any debate round I judge I am mostly a Tech v. Truth judge. That being said, if the other team drops an important argument you must point it out AND explain why the dropped argument matters for my decision, not just that they dropped it. I prefer DAs and CPs over Kritikal arguments however, if you can clearly explain your alternative, and if the K makes sense to me you have a good chance at the ballot. I was pretty policy-oriented throughout my debate career, but that doesn't mean I will totally vote down the K.
Affirmatives: I prefer affs that defend the resolution and advocate for the USFG. You and your partner being the advocacy is not my favorite when it comes to affs. That being said Soft Left, and Hard stick right-leaning affs with big impacts are both ok. In the context of a planless aff, I am very familiar with a T debate, but you should be able to defend and explain your interpretation of the role of the ballot, as well as impact out the round as to why not engaging the USFG or the resolution is bad.
Disads: DA v. Case debates are fun when impacted out well and use of good LBL. When you just tell me your impact o/w because they do isn't a good enough reason for me to vote on them. For a Disad, you should be able to explain the link story as well as how your internal links reach your impacts.
Kritiks: I was pretty policy in my time debating at GBS. I know the basics so when it comes to Cap, Security, Militarism, I'll be fine. However, if you decide to read something fancy or tricky, a good explanation is always crucial not only for me as you judge but also for the other team. To be able to properly engage your opponent is crucial and that's what makes clash so important.
Topicality: If an aff is truly not topical, AND if you properly impact out T then you will win the round. That being said, you should be able to defend your interpretation as well as debate a c/i. Furthermore, if the aff drops T and the neg extends it and points it out with an impact, I will defer to Tech. v. Truth in the round.
Theory: If there is any abuse in round and you properly point it out with a clear explanation, I will vote on it. That being said, Tech v. Truth still applies here. Always explain your violation and why its a voter.
Technical Things: You should always be flowing, if you don't flow and or care about your round, how do you think I am going to react as I have to sit and evaluate what you present to me. Time your own speeches and prep, but I will still keep the main time. If you steal prep and I catch you I will dock speaks, so don't steal prep.
Remember, Debate is a technical game that has a winner and a loser. Please be respectful to both me and your opponents. This activity means a lot to me, so you should be respectful as to not put down or even have someone quit debate. This is without saying, but if you are disrespectful you'll see it in your speaks, and comments, no matter if you won or lost.
David Griffith
Coach at Kentucky and New Trier.
No judge is an impartial critic. This paradigm is meant to explain the preferences that most often make me less than impartial. The two non-negotiables are there because I'm entirely uninterested in adjudicating debates about them. The rest is meant to tell you something about how I feel when neither side clearly wins an argument or how you can avoid having my personal beliefs inform my decision.
This paradigm is organized in order of importance. Non-negotiables are exactly that and only focus on where I may differ from the average judge. The stylistic pointers will maximize your chances of winning/my chances of flowing you. The rest is mostly just general thoughts that may or may not be relevant to you.
Emails for Email Chains:
High School: griffithd2002@gmail.com, ntpolicydebate@gmail.com
College: griffithd2002@gmail.com, debatedocs@googlegroups.com, ukydebate@gmail.com
Non-negotiables:
Aff must depart from the status quo---the easiest way to meet this is to have an identifiable actor outside of the debate and an action they should take. That can mean any number of things, but a good litmus test is whether there is an advocacy statement in the 1AC that clearly identifies both. If the only change that you advocate for is that the aff having another win on Tabroom, you have failed the test. The more the aff relies on simply describing the world and asking for a ballot, the more likely it is that I will invoke this rule and vote neg.
The neg gets infinite conditional worlds---the neg should not be punished for the way they chose to negate. Strategic time allocation and cross-applications will stop any 1NC from skewing the 2AC. Therefore, I will never, under any circumstances, vote on conditionality bad. This includes when it is dropped by the neg. Arguments about judge kick and performative contradictions are fair game.
Other than that, I don't care about much, but here are some stylistic pointers that may help:
Debate like you mean it---I love judging. Making me not want to be there it is the easiest way to lose. If you don't want to win or disrespect your opponents, you won't win.
Be organized---I strongly prefer debaters number arguments. Forcing me to flow straight down is the number one way to make me grumpy. I don't flow the speech doc. If you talk in paragraphs or fly through every argument at the same speed, I will miss arguments and won't feel bad about it. I will vote for pretty much anything so long as I can flow it and explain it after the round.
Tell me what to do---robust judge instruction is your only hope of avoiding catastrophic judge intervention.Final rebuttals should clearly explain the implication of winning your most important arguments relative to other arguments in the debate. Doing so will result in a faster, clearer decision and better speaker points. Failing to do so will result in me taking the easy way out if possible.
Explain why technical concessions matter---the bar I use for this is that I have to be able to explain to the other team what the implication was of them dropping a certain argument. Often, teams will assert that something like "turns case" is dropped but won't say what this means. If you truly believe something is conceded and important enough to jump up and down about, don't leave it up to my intuition to figure out if it wins you the debate.
Complain about new arguments---I generally think new 1AR arguments have gotten out of hand. If the block makes deliberate choices informed by 2AC errors/concessions and tells me this, I am highly likely to obey 2NR judge instruction to ignore whatever the 1AR cooked up. For the aff, I am more than willing to entertain the idea that the 1NR does not get new impacts to the DA (or perhaps give the 1AR add-ons in response). For the neg, I am more than willing to strike an unwarranted "perm do both" from my flow of the 2AC if the 1NC explained why the CP avoided the net benefit (emphasis on explained).
Make complete arguments, and refuse to answer incomplete ones---the 2AC doesn't have to make solvency deficits if the 1NC doesn't have solvency arguments. Often, I consistently see 2ACs that accurately assess that a 1NC position was incomplete and then spend an inordinate amount of time on that sheet. This will make me second-guess whether the 1NC applied because it tells me that you take the argument seriously. Stop doing that.
Think of me as close to a stock issues judge---I am more likely than most to vote on presumption. The burden of proof is the foundation of debate, and "any risk" logic is mostly ridiculous. I'm happy to conclude the world is doomed if I don't know what the aff does to stop it. The need for a particular change is something that must be demonstrated and is never assumed.
How should you approach framework debates involving critical affirmatives?
Focus on what debate ought to look like for everyone---the way that you avoid my intervention for either side is by explaining how the sides in every debate function. I am equally unpersuaded by the neg team that only complains about fairness and the aff team that only talks about how educational their particular aff is. I'm much more concerned with what an entire season looks like because not every debate is going to mirror the one happening in front of me. This makes me a good judge for creative counter-interpretations from the aff as well as neg arguments about switching sides.
Explanation matters more here than in any other debate---I need to understand the implications of what you're saying. I vote neg on framework most when the aff says the topic is bad and fails to explain why that should be allowed. I vote aff most often on creative counter-interps and/or critiques of voting on topicality.
What should you know in debates where the neg goes for the K against a policy aff?
I really hate tricks---I'm a terrible judge for teams that rely on dropped tricks in order to win, especially if those tricks are vague assertions of "serial policy failure" or "ontology" or "root cause" without tailored application to the aff. I'm a great judge for nuanced link debating, competing ethical frameworks, and in particular alternatives oriented towards changing the world in some capacity rather than simply analyzing it. Remember, I must be able to explain why arguments interact in order for me to weigh one in your favor, so if I can't explain why the link turns case, the link does not turn the case.
Tougher sell than most on strong ontology arguments---I struggle a lot with evaluating arguments that say the world must always be a certain way. It is very difficult to convince me that the world cannot get better or worse (especially that last one). This means I have a significantly higher threshold for evaluating ontology arguments than a lot of judges. To me, one ontology argument being true doesn't intuitively mean all others are off the table, and ontology is just a characterization of the world, not an indictment of political action.
By default, perms test advocacy, not scholarship---I generally think that the alt must be mutually exclusive with the plan, not its representations. Therefore, permutations can sever representations, and absent a framework argument, links must be to the plan alone.
Here is a list of thoughts related to counterplans!
I need to understand CP solvency---I do not presume that a CP solves the case in the same way that I do not presume the 1AC reading a plan text automatically means it solves its advantages. This means vague CP texts, especially without cards attached to them, are not likely to persuade me.
Not great in complex competition debates---these debates tend to suck a lot. You need to hold my hand. Too often, these debates end up as block-reading contests where debaters are way more in tune with what's going on than I am. I need to know what arguments you're making, why they matter, and what you're answering more in competition debates more than any other debate.
Judge kick is my default, I guess?---does this even matter in the year of our lord 2024, where no one goes for "links to the net benefit" and very few teams have full-throated defenses of permutations against anything but the slimiest of process junk? If no one tells me to kick the counterplan, I guess I'll kick it, but I'm a very easy sell on the argument that I shouldn't.
Impacts matter---solvency deficits need connections to them. "Delay" and "certainty" only matter if the aff has a short-term impact that requires certainty. These concepts alone are unlikely to win a debate.
Regarding topicality against policy affs.
What is plan in a vacuum?---seriously, someone tell me. How do you interpret the plan in a vacuum? The 1AC read evidence that informs what the plan means. This is why the aff can go for solvency deficits against CPs and nuanced no link arguments against DAs. To me, it seems untenable to suggest that the evidence the 1AC used to define plan function should be ignored when deciding topicality. Now, if I can use the neg interpretation when interpreting the plan and still conclude the aff's characterization of the plan is feasible, plan in a vacuum makes sense.
Unpredictable limits aren't limits at all---I think that the more precise or predictable an interpretation is, the less it matters how good its limits are on the topic in a vacuum. If a "bad" definition is more precise or predictable, limits are solely a reason we should've written the resolution better. I am not compelled by neg limits arguments when attached to unpredictable interpretations. I am equally unpersuaded by whining about aff ground when attached to interpretations that barely define words in the resolution.
2ARs should go for reasonability against most T interps---this is the ultimate conclusion to my disdain for limits. Most neg impacts to T can be taken out easily enough that offense about substance crowd-out can outweigh them.
In the event that the neg goes for the status quo...
This is where I am the most neg biased---I am better than average for believing the world is better now than it is post-plan. I'm generally bad for structural uniqueness arguments if there's adequate link debating by the neg, and I am such a sucker for case defense that even weak DAs end up doing enough for me a lot of the time.
Evidence quality matters---this is in the DAs section of the paradigm because it is where it matters most. Far too often, teams read lots of bad cards that gesture at vague economic concepts for a few rebuttals, tell me to read the cards, and then don't look alarmed when I conclude that the cards sucked. Debates over bad evidence result in more intervention, particularly when that evidence is under-explained by the 2NR/2AR. This means that if you're going for the status quo with a DA that doesn't have the best evidence, you cannot afford to let your cards do the debating for you.
Be smart---I am not a particularly smart person but know one when I see one. Smart arguments as an alternative to getting lost in the cards will not only increase your chances of winning, but it will also boost your speaker points. Knowing stuff about the world is really cool.
Some thoughts on impact turns, since I seem to judge them often.
If you read an impact, you should have to answer the impact turn---it is nearly impossible to get me to toss an impact turn (or any argument really) without substantive refutation. If you can't explain why spark or wipeout or warming good is incorrect, you deserve to lose because the majority of impact turns are academically ridiculous and/or philosophically inconsistent.
Impact framing matters more than impact defense---I am more than willing to pull the trigger on impact framing even with unmitigated impacts from the other side. I am not averse to stomaching a nuclear war if animals come first or risking the heat death of the universe if future generations don't matter. I think people care too much about impact defense in this debates when it rarely matters. Invest more time in explaining how I should decide the debate than assuming I can follow the implication of every technical drop exactly how you envision I should.
Solorio ’21
Any pronouns are coolio.
cesargutierrez.email@gmail.com
If CPS: cgutierrez38@cps.edu
General:
Tech>Truth.
I'll usually vote on anything if well-articulated.
Impact calc is good.
Have fun.
Don't be a jerk.
Clarity over speed.
***Specifics***
Case:
Always important. I do think most teams nowadays are doing less of it. A good 2nr/2ar should always give me a story of what is happening and how I should evaluate it. Overviews are good... just don't forget the line by line. Tell me how the advantage interacts with the disad or kritik and what that means.
Disadvantages:
Love these. I always want a good thorough story of the DA [assume I don't know anything about it]. Turns case should always be there, tell me how your DA interacts with the aff [Don't just be like "Extinction turns the aff", tell me how your impact or Link specifically affects the aff. Blocks are good, just don't rely on them too much. I prefer impact analysis on top instead of an overview. Compare your cards to theirs, "Our card is more recent, qualified, etc...". Every part of the DA is important. You do have to win every part of the DA [Same for Advantages] If they drop a DA [or anything] don't just say "they dropped it", give me a reason why I should care, what does it mean that they dropped it, you get the picture. Link turns case is a really good argument.
Counterplans:
CP and DA is always a good move. Adv cp + impact turn = my fave. You do have to win the net benefit. Won’t vote on a Counterplan without it. 100 planks? Of course. Agent Counterplans are amazing, just make sure to establish competition. Love Pics, the aff does have to win the entire Plan is a good idea. Always remember to answer theory on the CP. Explain how you access the aff's internal links and do the work. Competition determines legitimacy for CPs - if a CP is a legitimate opportunity cost to the aff, aff theory arguments are a bit less persuasive to me.
Topicality:
If you do go for it make sure it's a full 5 minutes. None of this T, CP, and Disad nonsense. Impact out both your standards and theirs. Give me reasons to prefer reasonability and competing interps. Probably need examples of in-round abuse. ASPEC is pure banter. Just don't drop it 2as.
Theory:
This is always an important part of the debate. 3 condo is probably the max. Prove to me why rejecting the team is necessary. If you have to think "is this counterplan shady/cheating". It probably is.
Kritiks:
I find them interesting, explain your theory of power, philosophy, etc. Explain the alt very clear, and how it resolves the impact to the K. I am most familiar in the following, Cap/Neolib, Security, Settler Colonialism, Ableism. Links specific to the aff are amazing. [It has to be why the aff links and not the squo]. Long overviews? Sure why not but don’t just read it and be like “Line by line, done above, done above, done above”. Framework is important, don't undercover this in rebuttals. The vague alt argument isn't very convincing unless made iffy in CX. The alt needs to solve case, establish root cause claims. Not my Baudrillard < Yes, its your Baudrillard.
K Affs:
"Good luck to you" - Conor Cameron 2019.
Misc:
Roadmaps [This is copied from Argent Martinez’s paradigm who copied it from John Tao's paradigm—I agree with them both]
Please. There are four things I've been seeing that drive me absolutely insane - and apparently there's enough for me to even write about it.
1) Roadmapping the 1AC. Don't do it. It's not necessary. It's not a thing.
2) Asking if I want a roadmap. The answer is YES. The answer is always YES (with the exception of the 1AC, because, once again, don't do it).
3) 1NC roadmap - just tell me how many off, and then where you plan on going on. Don't tell me what the Off cases are, that's not necessary.
4) Roadmap by being clear and concise: "DA, K, Case in order of solvency then advantage one." Do not roadmap: "I'm going to go a little bit on solvency, and then maybe the K...and if I have time maybe the DA...."
Important:
Don't be a douchebag. If you are ableist, sexist, racist, etc. I will vote you down on the spot.
Matthew Heublein
Debated for Glenbrook South High School for 4 years (2016-2020)
Attending Northern Illinois University -- Majoring in Political Science and Minoring in Philosophy
2N for 3 years, 2A for 1 year
Email for chains: mattyheublein@gmail.com
A friend of mine recently told me that I should change my paradigm to describe how I think within debate rounds rather than what arguments I am comfortable with so I'll do my best to describe that here:
Notes for Michigan 2020
Please be slower -- I know it isnt to your benefit but I'd rather you be clear than have me not knowing what you said because tech makes things indistinguishable
Always add me to the chain (its above)
Limited tech time at the beginning if need be -- try to be prompt
If its clear that you know your stuff by sounding confident virtually, youre probs getting higher speaks
TOP LEVEL
I will evaluate any debate with the least amount of intervention possible under the idea of "who has done the better debating" using whatever guidelines the debaters set up for me.
AFF v K
I've read into a lot of different literature bases so I most likely will be able to keep up with whatever argument you choose to defend. If I had a preference for how you should debate the K, I think that you should avoid a massive overview with the impact work and spend more time on the link debate and explaining your impacts there instead. Debating framework in front of me is a must win if you are trying to win the K, and the more in depth you get about how I should evaluate each argument, the better off you'll be. Framework "moot the aff" doesn't normally sit too well with me (I do think the AFF should have something to weigh against a competitive alternative), but if you are killing it on the tech level, I will be convinced. Explain the alt and how it would be implemented (it makes it easier on everyone so just do it). Floating PIKs are fine with me; fiat is illusory args have never sat well with me but if you win them on a technical level, Ill vote for you.
Kritikal AFFs v Topicality
If I do find myself in these debates, I can be persuaded in either direction (although I lean towards T). To be completely honest, I do think there is a lot of aspects within T arguments that are persuasive against K AFFs. Most impact level analysis arguments will be more persuasive in my mind if coupled with a reasonable way to hedge back the aff offense. Arguments about "our aff is important" can easily be won by the neg if you are winning TVA or Switch Side. Case debate must be won if you are trying to win T. Other than any of that, I will vote either way based on who debated better.
Thoughts on DA
The more specific your link is, the more likely I vote neg.
Impact out your args compared to that of the aff -- teams that do this better will most likely swing my risk assessment in their favor
Thoughts on CP
Competition is important
Permutations must be explained -- if there isn't a picture of how advocacies would interact, then I will not simply just vote on "Perm do both." That also means that you should have somewhat of that description in the 2AC.
Taken from Val McIntosh because I couldn't agree more -- I think that CPs should have to be policy actions. I think this is most fair and reciprocal with what the affirmative does. I think that fiating indefinite personal decisions or actions/non-actions by policymakers that are not enshrined in policy is an unfair abuse of fiat that I do not think the negative should get access to. For example: the CP to have Trump decide not to withdraw from NAFTA is not legitimate, while the CP to have Trump announce that a policy that he will not withdraw from NAFTA would be.
Thoughts on T
Competing Interps are good
Limits are good. That is all.
Thoughts on theory
I will pretty much evaluate anything here as long as you impact it out and refute their warrants for offense/defense on the violations
Thoughts on evidence
In the wise words of DHeidt "Evidence quality matters. A lot of evidence read by teams this year is underlined in such a way that it's out of context, and a lot of evidence is either badly mistagged or very unqualified."
If you misrepresent or clip evidence, you lose.
Other Random Thoughts
If your aff doesn't have a solvency advocate, I will have a hard time buying a deficit on an neg advocacy because I probs will have a hard time thinking you met your burden of proof against your opponents args.
Give me pen time please
Extra .5 speaks if you insert a card from a GBS FH aff at the bottom of the doc.
Meme about GBS HR SPARK debates and you're also getting boosted speaks.
minnesota 25
yes email chain - one.griffin.jacobs@gmail.com
top line//tldr
i will always vote for the team that does the better debating, you do not need to tell me to vote for the team that does the better debating. both teams can argue about what "the better debating" means but i will always vote for the team that does the better debating
i will try to evaluate the debate in the way that the debaters have prioritized arguments - i will look for the easiest way out of deciding a debate and go from there - this makes impact framing and judge instruction very important for me
depth > breath - this is the most important thing on my paradigm. i think that any given team needs a maximum of 3 pieces of offense to win any given round and should explain why they're winning that/those argument(s) and why it means they win the round extensively. more than 6 offcase will make me grumpy, although i will still listen to all of them
tech > truth - having truth on your side is obviously good and will win the round when the flow is close but debate is about your ability to debate, not about your ability to read objectively true arguments
evidence quality > quantity - most arguments don't need cards - if you are reading evidence, make sure it is specific and warranted - if you cannot explain the warrants in your cards, i will give them far less weight - author qualifications mean a lot less to me than warrants
i have a debate level understanding of whatever kind of literature you're planning on reading unless you're being truly innovative
STOP MISUSING ONTOLOGY CLAIMS - ontology is important, but almost zero actual qualified authors will say that ontology means that nothing good can ever happen - aff teams vs the k need to make this point more.
i will assume util is trutil until told otherwise
i really really really really really strongly dislike arguments that require me to make a judgment call on whether or not one team or debater is a good person/good people - if something is so egregious that a team should be disqualified from a round or tournament either i will directly intervene before the round ends or you should take it up with the tournament and the other team's coaches
the case debate
i know it is cliché - but this is very important! - do not assume i know what your aff is/does, this makes the 2ac/2ar overview crucial
i am probably a better judge for presumption than most - most aff teams need to make massive stretches in order to solve the impacts they specify in the 1AC - this is why i generally prefer affs with specific and solvable impacts
i'm super down for impact turns - everything from co2 ag to china war good to wipeout is cool with me as long as it's explained well
disadvantages
disads don't always need uniqueness - if the impact is framed as a sliding scale, the link can definitely overcome uniqueness problems
impact framing matters a lot - most teams in a DA debate will agree to magnitude x probability - if both teams agree to this framing timeframe is the tiebreaker
i love internal link defense - a lot of teams surprisingly don't do this that much - most DA internal link scenarios are ridiculous and some well warranted defenses to them are quite persuasive to me
politics da's - i will usually default to thinking that durable fiat doesn't solve them because you only fiat enough congress members to pass the plan - i am however persuaded by non-normative interpretations of fiat that allow aff teams to avoid politics da's (like should =/= immediate) - i am fine for political capital links as long as you have specific evidence
counterplans
functional > textual competition - i think there are ways to explain textual competition as functional competition (especially with courts counterplans with specific evidence), however i generally find textual competition unpersuasive
sufficiency framing unless the aff team makes arguments that contradict this - i will generally assume that if a risk of the net benefit outweighs the risk of the solvency deficit, i will vote negative on the cp
theory (except for condo) is probably a reason to reject the argument, not the team
topicality/procedurals
precision is generally the gold standard unless community consensus heavily contradicts it and makes debate near impossible
i like it when t blocks are specific to the topic - case lists of what you allow/what they justify and listing off ground lost is good
effects and extra t arguments are under utilized and pretty important - especially because they're the only real way of snuffing out questionably topical affs that destroy debatability and limits
non resolutional procedurals are cringe but obviously if this is your thing still go for it, especially if it's dropped
kritiks
specific links to the mechanism of the aff are always best but if you only have generic cards, application and explanation specific to the aff will be enough to win a pretty big risk of the link
the alt really needs to solve the links - otherwise i will view the k as a mostly non-unique linear da - this is still winnable but makes it unnecessarily harder for the neg
framework is obviously important - i see the framework debate on a k from the neg more similarly to a framework debate against a k aff more than most, it's a debate about models of debate - this is why i'm generally less receptive to "you link, you lose" framework arguments, especially when the neg is making a sweeping ontology claim, it really leaves no role for the aff
2nr framing and link storytelling is crucial
the alt can result in or solve the aff without losing to the perm - but it requires a more nuanced link and alt explanation - usually about sequencing/framing or solving the internal links of the aff, but not resulting in its mechanism
kritik affirmatives
these are by far the worst and best debates
i am a fine judge for framework/t-usfg - however i will say that i would prefer you do literally anything else besides going for a procedural fairness impact - obviously, if you win it, i'll vote for you, but i will be incredibly grumpy about it - clash and education are far better impacts and allow you to have turns case warrants
if you do choose to go for framework/t-usfg - you really need to be going to the case page in the 2nr - otherwise you're just kind of gifting the aff full solvency and their impact turns which makes it infinitely easier for the aff
for aff teams - i think there are really only 2 strategic ways to debate framework - either impact turn everything and ignore the topic or just be a hard left topical aff - i am increasingly confused by k teams that do this "we're half topical" nonsense because it makes it much harder for you to solve your impact turns while still linking you to all of their framework offense
"the state is an assemblage" is not a real argument
1ac cross-x is crucial - i think every 2n should be asking "what is the role of the negative?" and "what is the relationship between the aff and solving 1ac impacts?" and every 1a should have a well prepared answer to these
i think that a lot of kritical affs have inherency issues and that these very often justify a presumption ballot
pics are often very strategic against critical affirmatives - especially ones that affirm something incredibly sweeping and broad
i love kvk debates - links need specificity though - links along the lines of "you didn't mention/analyze *x*" are incredibly unpersuasive to me - i love the cap k but if your link is "you didn't use the state" i will be quite annoyed
"no perms in a method/tactics debate" is a pretty sound argument to me, especially because it's one of the only ways to garner competition against k affs - competition should be established in cx tho
He/Him/His, call me Sam
OPRF 2021, Iowa 2025
Put me on the email chain - oprfsk@gmail.com
I debated at OPRF for four years running mostly policy arguments. I no longer debate, having decided to try out a novel concept called "free time". Weird, I know. That being said, debate did a lot for me as a person and I'm incredibly glad that I did it, and I think that judging is a great way to stay involved with an awesome community and make sure that new generations also get to have that life changing experience!
Do whatever's the most fun for you. Don't be a dick. Don't be a bigot. Don't clip cards. Tech over truth.
Make smart arguments. Read good cards. Compare evidence. Do line-by-line. Speed is all good.
If an argument isn't on my flow it wasn't made. That means probably send analytics and definitely slow down when you read them. If you're extrapolating a new argument from an old argument, make that clear in the round, I won't do the work for you.
If I think a piece of evidence is relevant to the debate, I will probably read it. If you tell me that a piece of evidence is relevant and that I should read it, I will definitely read it. That being said, the only parts of your card that are relevant are the parts you read. Yes, this means you have to read rehighlightings. I will treat insertions as analytics.
I know nothing about the topic. I did not go to camp or judge for a camp. I might google the resolution at some point but don't count on it.
From the paradigm of the one and only Sam Shafiro:
"I put substantial effort into evaluating every debate I judge to the best of my ability. That being said, the following is a ranking from most to least of my average confidence in evaluating each type of debate: DA/CP/Case Turn v Policy Aff, T v Policy Aff, K v Policy Aff, T/FW/DA v K Aff, K v K Aff."
Be funny. I like it when people are funny, it makes debates less boring.
K Affs:
-Is fairness an impact? Let me know! Debate!
-The safest was to go about explaining the theory of your K to me is by assuming that I have no familiarity with your lit base, even if you're pretty sure that I must have some.
-I'm sympathetic to a lot of T/FW arguments but I'll vote for whoever wins the flow. My job is to evaluate the arguments that are made and I try to do just that, but I think it's important to acknowledge my opinions because they exist whether I like it or not.
-I think DAs vs K affs are dope. Once again, my ballot is still dependent upon you winning said DA.
-I will flow your long overviews, but I won't like it. Put it on the line-by-line.
T:
-I think T debates can be a lot of fun to have (even if they're almost never fun to judge). The way it was always explained to me is to debate T like a disad, where the violation is your link, the definition is your uniqueness, and the impacts are your standards.
-Yes I made a joke about not knowing what the resolution is, but if it comes down to a T debate I promise to make sure that I'm informed on the relevant background information that you would assume a competent judge to have in such a scenario. Translated, this means I'll pull up the resolution of google.
-Do lots of impact work. Make it very clear to me why your vision of the topic is better for debate than you opponents. Make me see that world. Too often teams get stuck in the specifics and fail to describe the bigger picture. Trust me, I lost more than one round because of it.
DA:
-Love me a good politics DA. That being said, politics DAs are stupid as hell. You need to tell me why yours isn't. Run your ridiculous politics scenarios, but only if you can make them make sense to me (and have the evidence to back it up).
-Do impact calc. It's important.
- On the aff, use your case against the DA. You have 8 minutes of 1AC cards on why your case is a good idea, extend them. If you read a framing contention, this does not mean you can drop their DAs impacts. Apply the cards you read on framing specifically to their scenario with more specific impact d. Is that more trouble than its worth? Probably, but you're the one who decided to read a soft left aff.
-Rider disads are probably illegitimate but I can be convinced otherwise.
CP:
-Solvency advocates are important, the more specific the better. This means that planks are awesome only so long as you have solvency advocates to defend them.
-Should I judge kick? Let me know! Debate!
-Be consistent with your perm explanations
-See T for what I think about theory
-See DAs for "use your 1AC cards"
-No neg fiat and other such inane theory arguments are pretty much only ever something I will vote on if they're dropped
-I used to be a big hater of the process counterplan but I've come to appreciate them, so long as they have (you guessed it) a solvency advocate. To be specific, that means a solvency advocate that is at least either in the context of the topic or the aff (looking at you concon).
K:
-I'll probably end up evaluating both the aff and the K unless the framework flow is overwhelmingly in one direction
-See K affs for some thoughts, particularly regarding lit bases and long overviews
-A specific link to the plan will help you immensely here, the more specific the better.
Run what you want, have fun.
Peter Karteczka (call me Peter, not judge)
UIUC '25
GBN '21
peterkarteczka@gmail.com (yes I want to be added)
Top Level -
- I debated at Glenbrook North HS for 4 years (3 years in person, 1 year virtually).
- The ballot goes to the team that did the better debating. That being said I am not well versed in kritikal literature and have little experience going for the kritik so if that is your thing I should not be your ordinal 1.
- Tech > Truth. I am comfortable voting for any argument (process CPs, ASPEC, floating PIKs, plan flaws, etc) as long as it is executed correctly.
- I'll only adjudicate claims about things that occur in-round.
- Quality of evidence is extremely important.
- "Marked copy" does not mean "remove the cards you read." You do not have to do that, and you should not ask your opponents to do that.
- Clipping is an auto-loss and accusations should have evidence.
Online debate -
- For online debate, you need to slow down and prioritize clarity.
- Get verbal confirmation from everyone before speaking and debate with your camera on.
- Please minimize unnecessary tech time, I understand things happen but taking a while to send out emails annoys me.
- If I suspect you are stealing prep I will deduct it from your prep time or speech time.
Novice + Camp debates-
- Don't adapt to me. I'll adapt to you. Please be respectful, especially during cross-ex. There is no need to be overly rude, defensive, demeaning, etc. These debates in my mind are solely for learning experiences, however, keep in mind, that you will get better feedback by going for arguments that I have more experience with.
My predispositions -
- These are my general predispositions, they can all be reversed through technical debating.
- I’d like to stress that you should do you. As a debater, it always annoyed me when judges were ideological or made decisions that I thought were arbitrary, so I try to minimize my own biases while judging as much as possible. However, I'd also like to emphasize that not understanding your argument is not the same as being ideologically opposed to it. My familiarity with certain arguments could affect my ability to adjudicate, if I do not understand your argument I will not vote on it.
- As a 2n, I primarily went for policy strategies (da + case, adv cp + da, process cp) against topical plans and for framework against kritikal affs.
- I like it when debaters gave me easy outs rather than forcing me to dive deeply into contested issues.
CPs -
- As a debater, I went for process counterplans relatively often. However, that does not mean I default negative on theoretical questions regarding legitimacy and competitiveness (having a solvency advocate goes a long way when debating legitimacy).
- I understand the need to go for generic counterplans with internal net benefits, though I think everyone would rather you opt for a more substantive strategy should it be possible.
- I find that affs that have advantages structured around the mechanism to be extremely strategic and persuasive against process cps.
- I will likely default to judge kick (if the counterplan is conditional) absent a substantive debate about it.
- Arguments I don't like: object fiat, delay fiat, 'going through legal deficits' fiat, counter planning out of a double turn.
- Perms should have warrants and perm texts.
DAs -
- I find theory arguments against politics DAs to be unpersuasive.
- Make turns case arguments, and make sure to answer turns case arguments. Having multiple levels to turns case arguments (e.g. link turns internal link, link turns impact, AND impact turns internal link, etc), is extremely persuasive.
- Specific link evidence and carded turns case evidence goes a long way as well.
- "Framing pages" where you say "DAs are bad" are bad.
- It has become apparent that strategic plan vagueness and plan text in a vacuum are becoming increasingly common. If I don't know whether the disad links until the 2ar we have a problem.
- For politics, uniqueness usually determines the direction the of the link. For generic/case-specific da's the link probably controls the direction of the uniqueness debate.
T -
- I appreciate strategic plan vagueness and plan text in a vacuum, but teams are going too far. At a minimum, it should be possible to line up your plan with your solvency evidence and it should be relatively straightforward about what the plan does.
- Don't assume that I know topic dynamics (side-bias/functional limits/link uniqueness/other resolutional words, etc).
- It is your job to paint a vivid vision of what debate looks like under your topic and why their interpretation of the topic is worst than yours.
- As a debater, I found that precision offense encompasses most predictability and ground offense. However, precision claims have to be followed with quality evidence.
- Plan text in a vacuum is silly and should not be your main form of offense.
Ks -
- Kritiks were never really my thing but I will try my best (the closer the K is to a DA the better).
- The strength of epistemological arguments are severely diminished with performative contradictions.
- Util is probably good. I find that approaches where the neg attempts to access aff impact framing through link turns case/alt/other things more persuading than further kritiking the affs framing.
- Long overviews can be incorporated in line by line, there should never be a time where I need a separate flow for the overview.
- It will be very difficult to convince me to vote for high theory or post-modernism.
Plan-less affs -
- If you tend to read these affs, I am probably not the judge for you, I tend to find that it is hard to fully grasp offensive arguments made on framework when I am not versed in the literature.
- Fairness is an impact, but I find clash and education-based arguments to be more persuasive especially when there are case turns involved.
- I find that impact turns are more persuasive as aff offense than most defensive counter-interpretation strategies.
- NEG teams should impact turn (cap good, heg good, etc.)
- Please do not go for a K vs a planless aff in front of me.
How to get good speaker points (28.5+) -
- Have a developed negative strategy with minimized abuse.
- Keep track of prep and speech times.
- Be efficient with prep time and time allocation.
- Have a well-formatted card and speech docs (this can go a long way).
- Sending analytics (As a debater, I was not allowed to send analytics, however, I find that sending them offers more substantive clash).
- In an effort to promote disclosure at the high school level, any team that practices near-universal "open source" will be awarded .3 extra per debater if you bring that to my attention prior to the RFD.
Things that will make me severely dislike: (you should probably strike me if this would apply to you)
- Not flowing, being mean to your partner or opponent, reading more than 7 off (unless new disclosed aff), not following speech times, not disclosing properly (this can be quite obvious), reading offensive arguments, giving up, going to the bathroom multiple times (if absolutely needed, go before opposing teams speech).
about me
they/them. 2nd year out. debated policy at UCLab from 2017-2020. ran K arguments on the aff and neg
please add me to the email chain: annettejkim01@gmail.com
currently debating parliamentary (mostly APDA, some BP) at Swarthmore College
i've judged (5) rounds on the 2021-22 policy topic, adapt as you see fit
advice for novices at the bottom
short version
tech>truth, but truth matters to some extent, especially when both teams are reading the same lit base
judge adaptation is overrated--run what you're comfortable with (but tend towards overexplaining if you’re running something i’m not familiar with or just don’t like)
i'm ok with speed (but does anybody actually admit to being bad w/ speed in their paradigm?)
have fun and don't be rude
T
i have very little topic knowledge, and most of it is outside the context of debate. this will probably reflect in T debates, so clearly explain interps. precision matters
i default to competing interps unless there's a substantial amount of work done on why reasonability is preferable. that being said, i'm probably more likely to vote for reasonability than other judges; it's a good argument that's often articulated in a lazy and unconvincing manner (people who say "just gut check" or "reasonably topical is reasonably untopical" deserve a special place in hell)
slow down on standards
CPs/DAs
case-specific CPs/DAs>>>. that being said, my lack of topic knowledge means you should probably over-explain in these debates
i don't love judge kicking, but i'll do so if the 2NR tells me to and the 2AR doesn't give me a specific reason not to
impact calc/framing is super important in DA debates. zero risk DAs exist, and affs should call out poor DA link and impact analysis
Ks
know what your authors defend so you don't contradict yourself
specific links are awesome
i think it's asinine to expect K debaters to explain every aspect of complicated philosophical concepts during a debate (you still should probably spend a minute in the overview just explaining what the K is). we come to debates with the understanding that there's a shared area of knowledge. policy debaters aren't expected to explain every aspect of the government, and K debaters shouldn't be held to a higher standard. that being said, the explanation that you do should be crystal clear and contextualized to the round, not a generic bundle of nonsensical buzzwords that gets copied and pasted at the top of each speech. bad K debate is the most painful debate to adjudicate
i don't think you need the alt to win the debate -- the burden of the neg is just to prove that the aff is a bad idea. that being said, if you're going for the alt, actually explain what the world of the alt looks like
K debaters shouldn’t be squirrely in cross-ex, especially when it’s clear that the other team doesn’t quite understand what the K is. be kind
K affs
i don't think that a plan text is necessary, but you need to be able to defend your departure from the topic
your aff should probably have some relation to the topic
presumption debates can be extremely persuasive against K affs
FW (against K affs)
i've run FW pretty much every time i hit a K aff. i'm probably more aff-biased in terms of my personal beliefs, but at the same time, debate is a game, and i think FW is a legitimate way to play that game
fairness probably isn't a terminal impact, but clash definitely is. this doesn’t mean you should never go for fairness—if you win on the LBL, you win period—but be aware that if it’s a close debate, i probably won’t be voting in favor of fairness as the terminal impact
neg needs to win that their model is good, not just that the aff's model is bad
i prefer seeing the aff turn the neg's standards to seeing them "meet" the interpretation. chances are, you don't actually meet their interpretation. stop LYING (though tbh lying is sometimes fun and if you do it in a super quirky way, it’s entertaining)
theory
slow down when you're spreading thru your theory blocks
i default to rejecting the argument (except for in the case of condo), but i'm also probably more likely than most judges to vote on theory. if you're going for it, i expect to hear 5 mins of theory in the 2AR/2NR
evidence
i think analysis and comparison of evidence should be done by debaters during speeches rather than by judges at the end of the round. evidence quality matters, but it's probably risky for you to let me read the evidence and decide what it means because my reading comprehension gets worse with each passing year. if the other team's evidence is egregiously wrong and you want me to look at specific cards after the round, explicitly instruct me to do so in the 2AR/2NR
the only time i'll read thru evidence unprompted is if a) evidence comparison in-round is absolutely nonexistent, or b) you have long K cards and i have time to during your speech
re-highlighted cards should be read in speeches
...
@ novices:
1. every arg needs a claim, a warrant, and a fleshed-out impact. do NOT tagline-extend. tagline-extending=dropping
2. LBL -- do it!!! please address and answer the specific arguments that your opponents make
3. impact calc plz
4. don't be afraid to ask questions
5. be kind to each other PLEASE !! we’re all learning
...
in the words of my idol, sonny patel, "deuces"
I coached policy debate at Niles West High School for three years. Prior to that, I competed in Policy debate for four years at Niles West and have also competed in NPDA-Parliamentary and NFA-Lincoln/Douglass debate for four years at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. I served as the Debate Captain for UIUC during my junior year, teaching and coaching new members and running our team's practices. My background is in political science and public policy as well as studying some critical theory so I like to think I am generally well versed in issues usually being discussed during competitive debates.
I highly encourage flowing, clarity, in depth analysis, and argument comparison. (like impact calculus).
I'm very flexible as I have debated very policy as well as critical positions throughout my debate career. I am a flow judge above all else, so if the right arguments are made and extended, I will vote on that. While I have some minor argument preferences, I will generally remove my biases from the round and judge each debater's arguments on its merits.
If you still have questions, ask me before the round or email me.
You can contact me at: Walter.lindwall@gmail.com
My email is Jordynmahome@gmail.com.
Daniel Melero
Solorio '20
UIUC '24
Have not judged during the current topic. Approach debates as such.
DA and CP probably the best strat
Make sure to extend your arguments well and utilize warrants in your cards.
Make sure you have turns Case/DA analysis.
Kritiks need to be explained very well as I am not the best but I will try my hardest.
Tech over truth.
Time yourselves
Clarity is key
Have fun!
Tony Miklovis
Call me Tony, not judge. Add me to the chain: tonymikl11[at]gmail.com
Please make email subjects for rounds something like "Tournament Round x - Aff [team] v Neg [team]"
About me:
Glenbrook North '21
Michigan State '25 (Go Green!)
Assistant Coach at GBS
Feel free to talk to me in person or email me if you are interested in debating for MSU!
This is my 8th year debating, 7.5 of which were spent as a 2N/1A, which certainly influences my opinion on a lot of arguments. Very involved in college debate, less so for high school (so explain!). Sometimes, people tell me that I am very expressive and that I look grumpy. I'm probably just tired, you shouldn't take it personally.
Arguments need claims, warrants, and impacts. Tech over truth, generally*.
*My caveat is that I would strongly dislike if you read death good (this is not the same as war good). I find this argument morally abhorrent. I'll vote on it if completely dropped, otherwise, it's a very tough sell. Frankly, I don't care if this makes me "not tech over truth" or if "people should be able to answer it if it's a bad argument." People intervene with their predispositions about what arguments are acceptable or what constitutes a complete argument all the time. I'd rather be transparent about it now instead of letting you waste 2 hours of our time just to get an RFD that you don't want to hear and speaker points well below average. Surely, you have something else you could read and if you don't, you should re-evaluate where your preparation priorities lie.
Besides death good and other morally abhorrent arguments like racism good, sexism good, etc., I'll try to minimize my own biases and adjudicate the round at hand impartially and thoroughly. Willing to vote on ASPEC, floating PIKs, plan flaws, whatever. Execution trumps pre-dispositions. Make complete arguments and answer them in the order presented.
Feel free to post-round or ask lots of questions (be mindful of the other team!)
I am horrible at responding to messages in a timely manner. Feel free to bump an email if I don't. If I don't respond to an email, that is my own fault and has nothing to do with you.
For online debate: don't start unless my camera is on
Please minimize unnecessary tech time and don't steal prep (it's really obvious, esp. in person)
Non-negotiables:
Ballot goes to the team who did the better debating. The ballot is yours to earn, speaker points are mine to give.
I'll only adjudicate claims about things that occurred in-round. I don't have enough information nor feel comfortable giving decisions about events that occurred outside of the round, especially in a competitive environment.
Follow speech times. I'm going to stop flowing after the timer goes off and let my timer beep until you stop because of decision times. (I can't believe I'm saying this)
Clipping is an auto-loss---accusations should have evidence and stake the debate on it. If I notice it in a varsity round, I'll interrupt the debate.
Specifics:
Not everything requires a card, however, I love the research component of debate and very much appreciate well-formatted and high-quality evidence. I also appreciate evidence comparison, re-highlightings, and the likes.
You can insert re-highlightings (and the other team can also make arguments about why inserting rehighlightings is bad) but you have to explain the arg and the implication for me to evaluate it. e.g. "Alt causes - inserting" is not a complete arg, but "Alt causes - x, y, z, proves the scenario is inevitable - inserting" is a complete argument. As someone who values high quality research and has a disdain for the proliferation of bad cards highlighted to say what you want it to say, inserting re-highlightings is a good backstop for the proliferation of bad cards. I agree with the sentiment of people who are anti-insertion because debate is a communicative activity, which is why I believe you still have to communicate the argument that you think the rehighlighting proves. If you are having a problem with teams spamming re-highlightings, maybe you need better cards...
Counterplans:
-Love them. Big fan of advantage CPs or topic-specific CPs. Don't really care for your uncooperative federalism backfile that everyone has but you can read it, I guess.
-Competition is generally a good determinant of theoretical legitimacy. If you're defining words in the rez to generate competition and it's not something that obviously competes (e.g. advantage CPs), consider doing standards debate in the block. I tend to think substance is your best path to victory when answering a lot of these counterplans.
-Not great for theory (except conditionality) unless particularly egregious (e.g. fiating the usfg+ states OR usfg+ international actors). If you have a topic-specific solvency advocate, I’m heavily persuaded by predictability arguments as a theoretical defense of your argument.
Topicality:
-I'm down for pedantic T interpretations if supported by quality evidence---make sure to do lots of evidence comparison if that is the case.
-Don't assume that I know topic dynamics (explain things like side-bias, functional limits, the core Neg strategies, etc. Ideally this would be woven into your explanations)
-Predictable limits > limits, though I can be persuaded that predictability should be viewed as a floor that an interp should meet and not necessarily a ceiling. Much more in the debatability > precision camp than I was in high school, unless the interp ev is completely unqualified / out of context.
Ks:
-Explain, give examples, contextualize links. I don't read critiques often as a strategy, but I'll vote on it if you win the flow and I am moderately familiar with most K args.
-Try not to performatively contradict yourself - many instances of perf cons are close to terminal defense to subjectivity formation arguments if the Aff explains it right
-Good-ish for framework K's and K's as DAs. If you fiat the alt and don't win framework, I'm likely inclined to find the perm threatening unless you clearly establish which parts of the alt are mutually exclusive or win links as DAs.
Planless:
-Novices should read plans.
-Fairness or clash are both fine. I don't really like "external" impacts to clash like movement lawyering. I think they are too susceptible to impact turns, requires conceding the premise that debate spills out, and often has weak internal links. Frame it as an even if, if you do decide to make those type of args.
-Neg impact turns (heg good, cap good, etc.) or topic DAs are oftentimes more strategic than framework if you win the link.
-Impact turns are more persuasive as AFF offense than most defensive counter-interpretation strategies, unless you're defining every word they've read a violation about
DAs:
The more case specific (esp w turns case), the better.
Love them. Who doesn't? Topic DA + extensive case defense is one of my favorite 2NRs to give/hear
Make and answer turns case argument
Big fan of when teams make mini-T arguments to prove the link (e.g. adopt requires Congress)
Add Me to the chain, if you're on paper be clear.
Email: charliemonical199@gmail.com
Incase Nicole sent you
Very Short Version: I am a lay/mom/clown judge 🤡
I only vote for teams that go one-off.Sarosh Nagar
Glenbrook North '20 / Harvard '24
Please put me on the email chain: snagardebate@gmail.com
Top-level note: I was a pretty active debater for most of high school and did attend the TOC, so I am familiar with most debate lingo. However, for your topic-specific terminology, I may not be as familiar, so please do explain any acronyms/key terms well if you use them in the debate.
I will vote on any argument with the exception of arguments such as racism good, sexism good, etc. These args clearly don't have a place within the debate space, but you do you otherwise.
For the novices reading this paradigm: Welcome to debate! You've entered a fantastic, semi-stressful, and enjoyable community of people who share many of your interests. Feel free to ask me any questions before the round if you need assistance, or for any clarifications after the round.
Top Level;
--- Flow - for the novices I'm judging, this is particularly important.
--- Clarity first - This means both in terms of spreading and clearly explaining arguments and their implications. I will not do any work for either side.
--- Line by line is important and please do it in a coherent order so it is easy to flow you all.
--- I don't like reading ev, but I will probably end up doing it - I will only do if it is the card is flagged by a debater or the content of the card is being represented differently for both teams. If there is an insufficient amount of line by line/lack of clash on a flow, reading cards mean you've effectively put the round into my hands, which is not a place you want to be.
--- Zero risk is a thing, but it must be overwhelmingly well-debated.
--- Smart analytics > bad cards/args - if the frontpage headline this morning will take out the DA but you don't have a card, the analytic might be the best way to go if debated well. I would hope to reward out-of-round prior knowledge about the world.
--- I will try to protect the 2NR from 2AR newness, but 2NR should be explicit about this.
--- Tech > truth.
--- tag team is ok, but don't dominate your partner.
Case
Affs seriously go around reading the most illogical, irrational internal links ever (I know I'm guilty of this as well).
Neg teams should exploit these weaknesses to whittle down the case substantially.
Aff teams should attempt to explain this illogical internal links clearly and tell a coherent story; it will make my life easier when I'm thinking about it at the end of the round.
Good case debates = nice speaker points
DAs
I love them. Have a specific link or link contextualization, a logical internal link also helps, and aff specific turns case arguments go a long way towards winning the debate when combined with proper case mitigation.
Politics DAs are a personal favorite as well so don't be afraid to go for them in front of me.
For the aff, the internal links are probably silly and most DAs are non-unique so I advise that you should point out the logical flaws in arguments and make them a central part of the final rebuttals.
Counterplans
My favorite CPs are PICs and intelligent multiplank advantage CPs, but I'm good with almost all types of counterplans being run.
I do generally think fiat should be certain and immediate, but I am open to a different interpretation based on how it is debated.
I'll go either way on judge kick.
I'm a 2N so I might lean a little neg on theory, but a smart aff team can flip me to vote for them easily.
If going for theory as a reason to reject the team, please explain why rejecting the arg won't solve or I'll just reject the arg.
When aff, please impact out your deficits or links to the net-benefit args. I think the 1AR is the best spot to do this.
Topicality
**READ THE NOTE ABOVE
Topicality can go either way. I won't lean aff or neg instinctively.
I feel compelled to think that legal precision outweighs limits, but limits outweigh everything else. However, if you think some other impacts is compelling for you, go for it.
FW/T-USFG
I won't reject all nontraditional affirmatives and will vote aff if they outdebate the neg.
However, I'd appreciate the aff giving me a model of debate and clearly (simplistic explanations are always better) explain DAs to FW. I do not like cheapshot args that the 2AC makes in a blip to mess with the 2N, so if I did vote for you on that args your speaks will not be pretty.
I generally think skills offense is best vs. identity affs and fairness vs. high-theory Baudrillard nonsense but you do you.
also, i'm not super nice to debate bad args. Debate is a valuable, time-intensive, and reflective activity and because hoofd said serious online video games might be bad does not mean I will.
Ks
I will vote for them. Some of these debates can be hyper-nuanced and interesting to listen to.
For a K to get my ballot, please do the following:
--- a well-explained thesis level claim about the 1AC
--- specific link work to the aff
--- explain how the alt and !s interact with all of the 1AC and how the alt solves the link
--- If you kick the alt, explain how FW/other things provide uniqueness for the link
I'd ask you refrain from using a lot of jargon; I might get it and maybe you might, but if the other team can't clearly explain and answer your args the debate will be a lot worse and your speaks will reflect that.
When aff vs. K, the 1AR should have chosen when perm/no link or case outweighs/alt-fails is the route they'll be going, though generally soft-left affs go for the perm (albeit the links on this topic are very good) and hard-right affs should go for case-outweighs/alt-fails.
Speaks
29.5-30 --- Well done. You will be a good jv/varsity debate and should be top 5 speakers.
29-29.5 --- Nice job. You've mastered the skills of novices and need a few more nuanced. Should be top ten speaker.
28.5-29 - Keep going! You've gained a sufficient grasp of fundamental debate skills, but have a little more to work on.
28-28.5 - At least you tried! You need to gain a better grasp of fundamental debate skills as a novice.
27 and lower --- you were offensive, mean, rude, and generally not fun to watch
Jokes about the following people will improve your speak points: anybody from GBN, GBS, OPRF, or other people I would know.
Jokes about me that are good will increase your speaks by +.3. Jokes about me that are bad will just make me like you less. (jk)
"The plan is the ultimate betrayal" - + .3
"It's gg for the negative" - +.2
Not wearing shoes: -.3
Just remember --- have fun, enjoy debate, and if you have any questions feel free to email me.
@novices, congrats on knowing what a paradigm is! The first team to say 'Nick Remish is a voter for deterrence,' either during or before the round, gets an extra 0.1 speaks per person.
Onto the actual paradigm:
Tech > truth, insofar as you as a debater can tell me how I should evaluate arguments. If there's a key question in the debate that's not answered by either side, I have to then answer it myself to resolve the debate, and the only way to do this fairly is by defaulting to truth. Honestly, that's not just me; pretty much every single judge will engage in some truth over tech when debaters can't resolve every argument.
The easiest way for you to lay the debate out for me is to go down the line-by-line. That means you directly engage the other team's arguments in the order they were presented, which requires **FLOWING**. Once you have the hand of that, especially in novice rounds, you should be in control of everything.
One mini-thing:
-Tag team cross-ex is fine. But it does look bad if your partner takes your entire cross-ex.
maine east '21. emory '25.
put me on the chain: bellapiekutdebate@gmail.com
tldr:
- little to no topic knowledge.
- time yourself. i will forget. i'm not perfect.
- send analytics. if you're good, you don't have to win because they drop things.
- online debate is hard, but please try to be timely and efficient. i'd appreciate if you have your camera on, but i understand that's not possible for everyone. make sure you're clear. if my camera is off, make sure i'm there and ready for the speech.
- i don't like reading through card docs, but will if i have to or am told to. spin matters. i often find that my decision tends to differ from other judges because of this. evidence quality matters, but if neither team tells me what is wrong with the other team's evidence or why their evidence is good, I will not make that determination myself. there is a debate to be had about the quality of evidence, and I view it as interventionist to decide that myself.
- stolen from dani roytburg: "this is the only belief i hold that i allow to determine my ballot: i exclusively evaluate the arguments in a debate and on my flow. the only time where i might see myself making decisions about things debaters don't say occurs with either abysmally little clash or near-perfect debating on both sides."
- nothing pissed me off more as a debater than seeing paradigms that say "specific strategies = speaks boosted." yes, in-depth, specific strategies are valuable and will probably make the debate easier for the neg, but are impossible to prep against every aff for many teams, especially with the proliferation of new affs at end of the year tournaments. what matters most is your ability to contextualize whatever you're going for to the affirmative. that's something that not many teams do well, and should also be rewarded!
- i won't hesitate to stop the round if anything racist/homophobic/sexist/etc happens. please please please be nice and don't be arrogant or problematic. there's a difference between standing your ground and laughing at the other team's arguments.
ks:
- stolen from margaret hecht: "i am admittedly not the best judge for critical arguments. my issue isn't ideological, rather a lack of experience and research. i have no preferences for what you read, relation to the topic, etc., and will do my best to judge these debates, but please don't assume that i know the implication of historical examples and/or have a deep understanding of the literature base." run what you want and if you win the flow, i'll vote for you. that being said, pretend i don't know anything about it. explain it without buzzwords. stay away from long overviews. clash.
- you probably need an alt absent winning framework or strong case turns arguments. make sure the alt solves the links.
- weighing the plan is probably good, but i'll try to be objective about it. i find i vote aff most often when the neg doesn't articulate clearly what the world of their interpretation looks like or have sufficient defense against the aff's impacts.
- on the aff: going for impact turns/heg good/cap good/etc and extinction outweighs has a special place in my heart. or go for the perm, also a fan, just stick to a strat. you're not going to win no link against cap when you have an economy advantage.
k affs:
- never been in a k v k debate [other than going for the cap k which barely counts]. not sure if i'm confident making the correct decision [expect for cap or the other policy basics]. do what you want with this information.
- go for a da! even if it's heg! just clearly articulate the link. i'm more inclined to lean neg on the link debate if the aff clearly doesn't do anything.
- fairness is an impact and probably the best one, but the neg needs to explain it in a way that makes it one. also a fan of clash style impacts. other impacts will probably be not strategic and unpersuasive in front of me. tvas and ssd are not always necessary but usually are helpful. explain how it solves the aff's offense, don't just repeat it accesses their literature. case lists are very helpful, but make sure they're contextualized to the aff's interpretation.
- on the aff, i usually find impact turns most convincing. i tend to view limits/predictability/ground/etc as linear impacts, so going for defense isn't the best strat in front of me, but if it's done well you can totally win. I tend to vote neg when ssd or the tva is mishandled and there's not enough defense extended to the negative's impact or IL.
t:
- i have little topic knowledge, so explain what your interpretation is to me like i'm a child. that being said, I've been thrown into a couple of t debates with little topic knowledge and found that the only real times this hinders me is in predictability debates when both teams insist their cards have topic experts without doing any comparisons or when each team spews case lists without explaining what those affirmatives are. i don't know what "new triers aff" is. explain.
- limits are very compelling, but predictability is probably the best impact. aff ground can totally win you the debate, but you have to do the work to make sure it outweighs whatever the neg's impact is. aff ground is most compelling when there's a structural reason the neg's interpretation makes it impossible to be aff [for example, no solvency deficits to agent cps or infinite pics existing] and when the aff is able to quantify and compare the magnitude of the ground lost to the magnitude of affs included under their interpretation. just saying you lose core of the topic affs means nothing and will ensure a negative ballot.
- like practically every judge, i default to competing interpretations, but mainly because people don't go for reasonability right. if you can do it, do it. contextualize your offense to the neg's interpretation. extend enough defense so that your interpretation is reasonable.
theory:
- don't spread through your blocks, clash!
- absent being dropped, the only reason to reject the team is probably condo. make sure to have clear offense, impact comparisons, and inroads to the other team's offense no matter which side of this debate you're on!
cps:
- cps that compete off of certainty or immediacy make me sad, but i understand they're necessary and have went for plenty myself.
- perm texts!!! write them!!! still, slow down in competition debates. i've been on both sides of these debates, but still get confused.
- sufficiency framing means practically nothing. spend your time explaining why there's no impact to the solvency deficit instead.
das:
- winning turns case is nice, but it's not always necessary [i also don't know why some people give it so much weight]. i would invest time on it if you're behind on case and need to mitigate it.
- don't forget about impact calc. i used to blow it off, but judging has made me realize that it's a lifesaver in close debates.
- i love a good politics debate, but storytelling and evidence quality will make or break it. for the aff, often times, I've found the weakest part of the DA and the part teams aren't prepared to defend is the internal link. although i understand the impulse to go for non-unique or thumpers, which are often strategic, don't be afraid to diversify your 2ar options.
- not much else to say. das are cool.
Maine East '21
Yale '25
Tech > truth
I am most comfortable with policy arguments, but will do my best to adjudicate the round based on the arguments presented in the speeches. Out debate the other team on your k and I will have no problem voting for you.
I am not familiar with the current topic and Yale will be the first tournament I judge this year. Make sure to include any explanations of things specific to your aff or about really niche parts of the topic. I think this is most important for T debates as I have no idea what topic consensus looks like, what affs are being run, how big the topic is, etc. Broad claims about how the topic is bad for one side or how some types of affs on the topic are trash will not be persuasive without detailed, warranted analysis. Be descriptive.
Don't like theory debates that much. Condo is the only reason to reject the team, but condo is probably good. However, solvency advocate theory, international fiat bad and object fiat bad are pretty persuasive reasons to reject the counterplan. Perms are probably your best bet against process counterplans.
Fairness is an impact on T-USfg (probably the best one), but is very difficult to explain well. Invest time in it. Utilize TVAs. I think the most persuasive strategy for K Affs against T-USfg is to impact turn the neg team's model. I usually don't find middle-of-the-road approaches with counterinterpretations very persuasive.
If your aff against the K, I find FW and util very convincing. Utilize your aff and impact turn the alt. If your neg and running the K, I think winning FW or that the links turn the aff is important. I think most alts are silly and don't do much (unless the aff team drops it or you win you can fiat away everything).
Politics DAs are inherently bad, but are necessary. They were a majority of my 2NRs in high school. Go for a clever ptx DA and read good evidence and I'll probably be happy and boost your speaks.
I'm fairly old school. I will vote on stock issues - Topicality, Solvency....
I'm generally open to any issue - if you give me a reason to vote on it. Tell me why it's of voting consequence, and why you won that issue. 2NR and 2AR should not just cover each individual issue, weigh the issues (e.g. risk of Adv vs. Disad) in context of the whole debate, account for the other team's arguments.
I'm ok with spreading it if you don't outpace your own articulation and breathing. I am not a fan of super-spreading. You are better off slowing down a bit for me, making fewer arguments, clearer.
UMW '24
GBN '20
He/Him
Email: Nickremo2@gmail.com - please put me on the chain.
Given that both my high school and college lean heavily on the policy side of the spectrum, I similarly am a very policy-oriented judge.
For the water topic, I am not particularly familiar with the topic but I will try my best to understand everything.
Please flow
Don't steal prep
I place a high value on evidence but will only critique it if one side calls it out. I will not intervene after the round if neither side has emphasized the evidence quality.
Here are my general stances for different arguments:
Case
I love a good case debate, especially impact turns. I believe most affs don't solve their impacts BUT it is the burden on the negative to explain why. Internal link defense is much more convincing than impact defense.
Soft left affs are good with me. They're definitely more true, but I think 2As poorly develop the framing page. The more specific the framing evidence is to the aff, the more latitude I will give the aff. Additionally, applying framing arguments to disads (conjunction fallacy is a good example) make said arguments infinitely more appealing.
T
As someone who read very tiny and marginally topical affs at best in High School, I do lean affirmative but can be easily persuaded by the negative. Specifically, I think ground is the best internal link to education/fairness claims as I find limits for the sake of limits generally unpersuasive. If the neg can win the aff's interpretation justifies a category of affs that are impossible to answer that uniquely skirt neg ground, I can easily find myself voting neg in these instances.
DA
They're awesome, but I discourage the 1NC shell being a one or two card atrocity. I am sympathetic to 2As that don't feel the need to answer parts of a DA that weren't read in the 1NC (This is one of the few areas I agree with Scotty P on).
CP
Process counterplans are generally fine. I prefer process counterplans with a net benefit that is more a disad to the plan that the counterplan provides uniqueness for instead of a net benefit the aff doesn't really link to. For example, if an aff goes through congress and the counterplan uses the courts, I prefer a net benefit that says congress is bad rather than courts are good. I find counterplans with net benefits that actually link to the aff are better at testing the aff because there are infinite contrived processes that theoretically could be beneficial if used but there is only one process the aff uses.
Advantage counterplans are great. I think affs underutilize the efficacy of a perm in these instances, especially if the counterplan is a multiplank monstrosity.
K
Extreme Ks such as death bad are not impossible to win me over, but extremely difficult and likely not worth your time. I am fine with nearly any k, but it needs to do a few things. 1. The link MUST be contextualized to the aff. This doesn't have to be evidence, but some type of analysis of how the K's theory can account for the aff's scenarios. 2. The alt needs to be clearly articulated. Regurgitating the word salad from the 1NC tag is not going to do it for me and I'll be strongly persuaded by aff arguments on the alt failing and perms. 3. Answer case! Similar to the first requirement, some explanation of how the K means the aff doesn't solve is extremely persuasive to me.
Theory
1-2 condo I significantly lean neg on. 3 condo can go either way. More than 3 and I lean aff. Aff arguments about in round abuse are very persuasive for me (perf con basically).
All other theoretical violations are probably reasons to reject the argument and not the team.
K affs
I lean neg on framework, especially on the fairness debate but I can be persuaded otherwise. If the aff wins large swaths of the case page, I can easily vote aff on the aff outweighing fairness. I think switch side is generally a true argument and a nuanced aff explanation of how it doesn't solve their offense is likely required.
Add me To Email Chain: Jeremyrrsolorio@gmail.com
Note this is the first round I judged so be considerable with terms
debated at solorio
Tech > Truth
Policy> K
DA + CP> Everything
Jokes>No Jokes> Jokes that are cringe
Having fun> No fun
Any other Questions= just ask me lol
Violation of a "ism" = This will result in lowest speaks possible, Automatic Loss and report to Tab
K Affs are a no go for me lol and most likely wont vote for them (85%)
BONUS POINTS
.3+ Points= Make a joke about Thano Hatzopoulos, If I don't laugh then no point
.1+ Points= Say "IU Love" in round in the beginning of the 2NR/2AR
.1+ Points= Reference Playboi Carti
.4+ Points= Reference JoJo
- thoroughly explain your arguments and don't just reread evidence, say why this happens
-refer back to others arguments
- focus on impact calc and why I should vote for you
melanie rudolph (she/her)
glenbrook south '21 (debated on education, immigration, arms sales, and criminal justice reform)
northwestern university '25
---
**water topic update** - while I have extensive experience in policy debate, I have no topic knowledge. please keep this in mind when you debate in front of me.
top level - do whatever you want. i've gone for essentially every type of argument so please don't adjust your strategy for me just understand that certain arguments might need a little more explanation for me.
counterplans - these debates are probably the ones that i feel that most comfortable adjudicating. more aff leaning on questions of counterplan theory than others but i of course will try to not let this influence my decision. i won't judge kick the counterplan unless the 2nr explicitly flags it.
topicality - i think t is an often underutilized argument in debate. that being said, arbitrary interpretations are bad for debate. teams going for t on the neg should explain the core generics and their vision for the topic.
framework/planless affs - probably the type of debate that i feel the least comfortable in the back. i have always gone for framework against k affs but would love to hear your creative strategies. i like clash style impacts but will definitely listen to fairness impacts.
disads - nothing really special to say here...the more specific the link/link characterization the better
kritiks - neg teams that let the aff weigh their impacts to some extent but have reasons why that is bad will do very well in front of me. as always, specific link work is infinitely better than rereading the same boring generic block every debate.
impact turns - quite possibly the most underutilized argument in debate. spark? ___ war good? if you are prepared to go for it, by all means read it to your heart's desire.
Please put me on the email chain:
saniadebate@gmail.com
Currently New Trier '21
Quick Notes
Debate is supposed to be a fun activity, while ultimately debate is a competition, please recognize the other values of the debate community. Be respectful to your opponents and work as a team in round with your partner. I did not go to camp and haven't debated on the topic but I have some limited topic knowledge, make sure to explain any topic specific jargon you use.
Case
I think the case debate is heavily underutilized. I'm a fan of a well-developed case strategy. I enjoy hearing impact turns and specific circumvention arguments.
T
I don't have a ton of experience with T debates but I'm familiar with the basics.
DA
I am willing to vote on most das, however if the da has poor quality evidence and the aff team is able to point the internal link flaws in the da can be taken down to zero risk. I would avoid running any rider DAs. Both teams need to include turns case and strong impact calc.
CP
Be careful with your plan texts - aff teams should take advantage of any solvency deficits here (since neg teams often mess up with cp texts). I'm not a huge fan of theoretically questionable cps like process cps, agent cps, etc, however I can persuaded to vote neg on theory if debated well. I think cps are most legitimate when there are specific solvency advocates.
K
Don't assume I know the k, the neg has the burden to not just rely upon jargon. Aff teams should pay attention to k tricks (floating piks, fiat illusory, etc.) and use theory to not let the neg team get away with more than they should. I would say I am more of the middle of the road so both sides should prioritize framework. I tend to think neg teams need to defend an alt, but the burden of plan focus/rhetoric/etc. is to be debated.
Speaks
26-26.9 - offensive
27-27.9 - key strategic misunderstanding of the arguments going on in the round
28-28.9 - solid debating
29-30 - probably a top speaker
I tend to find speaks as overvalued by debaters so don't over-stress. It's more important to learn and practice than to get top speaks.
Creds to Alanna Goldstein for the paradigm format
Introduction
Call me Sam, Oak Park River Forest '21 & Emory '25, coach for Pace Academy, yes email chain oprfgs@gmail.com, I know absolutely nothing about this topic...
In my mind there are two serious reasons you might be reading my paradigm: either 1. you are determining prefs before a tournament or 2. you are determining how I will respond to your strategy before the round. I have organized my paradigm accordingly.
Listed below are the things I think are most important to point out about the way I judge, and the places where I might differ from the "consensus" of the debate community. If I do not bring up a certain issue, you should assume that I adopt the general "consensus view." If there is a particularly question that is important to you that I do not mention, you should absolutely feel free to email me before a tournament or even before a round. I will not write you an essay on what arguments to go for but I will answer straightforward yes or no questions like "is inserting a card ok if it was read in cx" (yes) or "when debated equally, do you think a textually legitimate but functionally illegitimate perm is valid if both teams agree a counterplan must be textually and functionally competitive" (also yes). If you are unsure whether your question is appropriate, ask anyway.
For Prefs
General
-I like smart arguments. I like line by line. I like spreading (while being clear) and reading lots of cards and comparing evidence.
-I put substantial effort into evaluating every debate I judge to the best of my ability. That being said, the following is a ranking from most to least of my average confidence in evaluating each type of debate: DA/CP/Case Turn v Policy Aff, T v Policy Aff, K v Policy Aff, T/FW/DA v K Aff, K v K Aff.
FW/K
-Debate is a competitive research game with a winner and a loser. It is my job to determine who the winner and the loser are based on who does the better debating in the round. It is very difficult to convince me to vote for something outside of the round (however, a team responding to "out-of-round" arguments should still defend why these arguments exceed the ballot's purview).
-I have not judged many T-USFG/FW debates, so I am not sure how idiosyncratic my approach of them is compared to common community practices. However, all else being equal, I have yet to see a convincing argument for why the affirmative should not have to defend a topical plan.
For Pre- (and Post-) round
General Notes
-Do not over-adapt. Do what you do, do it well, and you will get my ballot.
-I am easily impressed by debaters who demonstrate that they command an extensive but approachable understanding of American foreign policy, the internal politics of other countries, "critical" debates in academia, etc. I am easily depressed by debaters who's knowledge of these subject is superficial or who can not describe these things in a way that is easily digestible. The best way to prove to me your quality as a speaker is to debate an important area of study both in-depth and in a way that a non-expert could understand.
-Read re-highlightings.
-Have perm texts (it's ok to insert them).
-I generally flow in-person debates on paper. If you think you are going too fast you are. If you think you are unclear you are. Please slow down when you are making a lot of non-carded arguments in constructives, especially on T/Theory/K OVs.
-Generally, after the debate ends, I will create a list of the questions I need to resolve to determine which side won. If the answers to any of these questions can clearly be determined based on my flow I will resolve them in the appropriate way. Finally, I will read the evidence presented by both teams on the more ambiguous questions on my list, and incorporate evidence, spin, and analytical arguments into evaluating them. Therefore, while good evidence is always important, evidence quality begins to matter a lot more to me if you have done less work with spin/analytics/etc, which is something you should keep in mind in how you approach your 2nr/2ar.
-Online: I highly encourage you to turn on your video if you are able to do so. Debate is a communicative activity and seeing you speak significantly helps me understand you on a psychological level.
T
-If the most precise reading of the resolution results in a bad topic, that's a gripe for the topic comity, not a justification for trying to re-define the topic (on either the aff or the neg). Is it possible to win my ballot on debatability? Yes. Does it require a lot of impact work? Also yes.
-Instead of focusing on only winning I should look at debatiability, predictability, or any of their component parts, consider how I will evaluate the round after it ends. Often times both teams have offered multiple lenses that modify one or more of these categories and how they interact. The teams that win T debates in front of me are usually the ones who come closest to identifying all the impacts and framing devices in the debate and explaining how they resolve.
DAs
-I love the politics DA. However, politics DAs require a story. The words "strong-arming moderates" in your uq ev + an "aff requires PC" card do not a story make. I will give good points for (decent) innovative politics strategies because I think they get at the heart of what makes debate fun and the ambiguities that fiat creates.
-There is a direct, positive, linear relationship between the amount of impact calc you do and how likely I am to vote for you. I know that's a cliché and I'm still including it here which should clue you in to how important this is. This also means that I am not a fan of framing contentions, and I only think they are useful in so far as you impact out and do impact calc with the applicable arguments on the appropriate DA or counterplan page. This is not to say I will throw out framing contentions; I will still try to adjudicate the debate as fairly as possible, just know that all else being equal I lean negative on theses issues and if you are running a framing contention you are better off convincing me the neg's impacts are securitized and bad then you are convincing me that DAs are fake.
CPs
-I default to counterplans needing to be functionally and textually competitive. However, the way the affirmative determines if the CP meets that burden is the permutation. Therefore, when debated equally, a textually legitimate but functionally illegitimate perm is valid.
-I am sympathetic to being time pressed in the 2AC and think the threshold for a sufficient explanation for a perm or solvency deficit in the 2AC is that I am able to reasonably predict the subsequent 1AR explanation. However, I am a lot less sympathetic to perms and solvency deficits (especially impacts to solvency deficits) that sound substantially different in the 2AR then they do in the 1AR (or that barely feature in the 1AR but feature prominently in the 2AR). While this is opposite to your strategic incentives, the earlier you explain your arguments the better for me as a judge, and perms or solvency deficits that are explained thoroughly in the 2AC require less time investment to explain in the 1AR, so there is a cost/benefit calculus you have to take on.
-In my mind, perms are a yes/no question. My default way to evaluate perms is to look at each one, see if it clearly establishes that the counterplan is not an opportunity cost the the plan, and depending on if the answer is yes or no discard the counterplan or move on to other arguments respectively. One implication of this is that I am generally unsympathetic to "any risk of a link to the net benefit" answers to the perm. Nevertheless, my stance on perms as a yes/no question is somewhat malleable if debaters make explicit arguments for why I should understand the perm in a different way.
-I view CPs through the lens of negation theory. The negative is, first and foremost, responsible for giving me a reason the aff is bad (not just a reason the aff is less good than it could be). That means all counterplans must have offensive net benefits. I will never vote for a counterplan whose net benefit is better aff solvency. Even if the counterplan solves the aff better, and is mutually exclusive with the aff, it has not provided a reason the aff is bad.
-By default neg leaning on theory. The two most important things to my ballot on a theory argument: 1. Win topic side bias AND/OR how this theory argument implicates this topic specifically AND explain the implications of this. 2. Do impact calc. These debates often get messy, so being simple and formulaic is to your benefit.
-If judge kick is not brought up in the debate, I will kick the CP for you if it has been clearly designated as conditional/dispositional. Otherwise, I will evaluate the arguments for/against judge kick presented in the debate. If the counterplan has not been clearly designated as conditional I will not kick it.
Ks
-If neither team forwards a "middle ground" fw interpretation, like "weigh the advantage but also weigh reps links," I will not intervene and make one for you. I will only decide between the fw interpretations forwarded by either side, but a team can make arguments that modifying its fw interpretation in later speeches to attempt to take the "middle of the road" and capture the other team's offense.
-I am uncomfortable adjudicating anything other than the debating that took place within the round I am assigned. If there is harassment within the round, I hold the appropriate course of action to be stopping the debate and going to tab, where I am happy to argue that the team doing the harassment should be expelled from the tournament and talk to the team's coaches about the debaters facing repercussions. If there is harassment outside the round, talk to me and/or send me an email and we can go to tab and/or try to determine an appropriate course of action.
Final thoughts
-I think debate is no fun when everyone is up-tight and being a little fun and/or silly is a good thing. However, this should never come at the expense of debating well.
-I am probably a better judge for arguments like death good than the rest of this paradigm makes it seem.
-If you feel unsafe during a round for any reason, send me an email.
-I am still paying attention even I am staring off into the distance, especially if I am flowing on my computer.
University of Southern California '25
Add me to the email chain: abhishahdebate@gmail.com
Policy debate (2N) at Niles West High School for four years (2017-2021).
Tech > Truth
I went for only policy arguments during my high school career.
T: I am pretty 50/50 on this and I love good T debates. CI>Reasonability unless there's very very little neg offense. Plan text in a vacuum = no.
DA: The more specific the better. Politics is fun.
CP's: Read them. Debate them. Lean AFF on consult/process CP's. PIC's out of the actions of plan are probably good.
K's: Links should be specific to the actions of the plan.
Neg vs K Affs: The role of the affirmative is to defend hypothetical government action. Debate is a game.
Impact Turns: Love them.
Theory: Everything but condo is a reason to reject the argument.
Other stuff:
If you opensource everything, let me know before the RFD and I'll add .2 to your speaks.
Read rehighlights
"Did you read X card?" is cross ex
Shotty highlighting = new 1ar answers.
Compile a relevant card doc at the end of the round
maine east '21
2a/1n
please add me to the chain - sobskimedebate@gmail.com
refer to nicole piekut's paradigm for more information.
Debated at GBS
PSA: I have not looked that deeply into CJR, so keep that in mind with your usage of lingo/abbreviations during round.
Top Level-I prefer DAs and CPs over any kind of K, but I am willing to vote on anything if it is explained properly. I will only vote for a dropped argument if it's pointed out by the opposite team, but it still has to be explained to me why they should lose on it. It is up to you to convince me why I should vote for you, and I should not have to do any work for any of your arguments after the last speech.
Affirmatives: I am a policy-oriented judge, and I prefer affs that are centered around USFG action and that is grounded in the topic. K Affs are not my thing, but I would still vote for them. I am more likely to vote for Policy Affs than K Affs.
Disads- I love a good Disad/Case debate, but you have to properly impact out your DA for me to vote on it.
Counterplans- Love Counterplans, but you have to provide adequate solvency advocates, as solvency deficits can hurt your chances to win on the CP.
Kritiks- I understand the generics of Ks, but I am not that well versed in the specifics of a lot of Kritiks, so it is really up to you to explain that to me during the round.
Theory- It is a hit or miss for me, Limit on condo is kinda wonky and I'm pretty open to interpretation on that. Otherwise, it is really up to you to prove to me why I should reject the team.
Topicality- Topicality I think is a great negative strategy if done right. It is up to you to prove to me why your interpretation is the best for debate, and properly extend your impacts throughout the entire debate for me to vote for you.
Remember to flow, time your own prep, and DO NOT STEAL PREP
Yes, I want to be on the email chain, and my email is k.subadedebate@gmail.com, I will add some speaker points if you add me to the chain without asking.
Yes, email chain: ju59@cornell.edu
Cornell '24
Solorio '20
I debated all 4 years of High school.
Since debate is a fairly liberal activity here are my Pronouns: He/Him as a judge Él as a Debater
Important notes about me:
- I do not like rude behavior, there are moments when you can assert dominance in a speech and during CX but it is your burden to know when it is appropriate and right.
- I am policy-oriented but that does not mean I am not versed in K lit so read what you are comfortable with
- I will only flow arguments that I hear so be clear
- Sometimes debates are learning moments to grow on our humanity we all make mistakes but be conscientious of all debaters. This means do not be racist and prejudice against other debaters
- Do not be arrogant, if you know you are better than another team this is a moment to be humble and give the other team a moment to learn. This does not mean throw the round but be aware of others ability to debate and reflect as a human
- Try your best and enjoy the debate
- Debate is about the need for change, give me the nexus question of the debate in your rebuttal and tell me why that is important
- DO NOT GO FOR T
Hey y'all my name is Eva Vasilopoulos and I'm a second year political science, public relations, and economics majors at Iowa State University. I just recently got back into the debate realm this year so I am not fully in the loop on the topic. I did policy debate in high school for Niles North.
Top-level
Also please make jokes, debate gets boring really fast
I don't know this topic that well so keep that in mind
Just call me Eva, not judge
line by line is important
I don't care what speed you read but just be clear
(For CX)
Case
Impact calc key for affs to do if y'all want an aff ballot. All of my debate career I have only read soft left affs, but I do understand the literature from all aff types. If you have an aff and it has a structural violence impact with some framing, and another impact of war, disease, Econ collapse, etc. Go for one, not both if the 2ar extends their genocide and war impacts, a big no-no. (this happens a lot too)
K-Affs
I like these affs, breath of fresh air from the basic policy affs from the topic resolution. I would prefer teams to read a plan text and defend some action. (doesn't have to be USFG as an actor) I have judged and voted on identity affs a good amount during the arms sales topic and cjr topic.
DA's
have a clear internal link and link story, how does point A lead to point B. Don't use generic evidence for the link, there has to be a clear point that the AFF. I lean slightly aff on this so the neg needs to do some work to prove the DA. If you run a da PLEASE RUN A CP, with it cause yeah there is a risk but I don't have another way to solve that's on my flow. If you are running a relations da, Econ da, or other one make sure you have recent evidence so the impact is concrete.
T
t has been very over-limiting on a lot of topics I have debate on, majority of T arguments only make certain big affs topical. breath>depth. I'm pretty neutral on judging this, it comes down to the extensions in the 2nr and the response in the 2ar on how I should write my ballot. ASPEC I'm not a big fan of, if you go for it the 2nr should be just aspec and explain the voter in the round and why fairness and ed are key. CJR specific I have voted on t on this topic and I have voted against it.
CP
Love a good perm/theory debate. Both sides need to do work to prove whether if the cp is competitive/noncompetitive and that it does/doesn't solve the aff w/o linking to the net benefit. impact calc of the nb is key for my ballot.
K
A good amount of 1st-year rounds I judged were more critical. I'm in the loop on K literature, so you really don't have to explain terms just the world of the alt looks like and why I should pick the neg's fw over the affirmative. these rounds are either really good or really bad. Known to be very messy Only run it if you really understand it.No no generic link cards, have to be specific to the aff. By the 2nr the neg should have a clear story of what the world of the alt is, and why the k matters in this round.
Add me on the email chain: irenemxu@gmail.com