IBA March 2022 Novice Tournament
2022 — Online, GA/US
Novice Public Forum Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideAdd me to the email chain: aanya2cool@gmail.com
I've been doing public forum debate for roughly 6 years under Ivy Bridge and Lambert, made some deep elim rounds
General Preferences:
1 - Come pre flowed unless we're flipping before round
2 - Give off time roadmaps (a simple "my case, their case, weighing" will do fine)
3 - Signpost in speech
4 - Be prepared for me to call for cards after round - DO NOT cite something you don't have a card for
5 - Send speech docs if you're planning on spreading
6 - Don't prep while you exchange cards
Case:
1 - Logical warrants > evidence dumps
2 - Don't misrepresent evidence
3 - I love framework debates, but don't read it unless you know how
Rebuttal:
1 - Implicate every response, especially turns
2 - I only evaluate turns when you a) extend a clear warrant for why it's a turn and b) weigh it
3 - Frontline
Summary:
1 - Collapse
2 - Resolve the weighing debate by a) reading comparative weighing and b) responding to the opponents weighing if you're 2nd summary
Final Focus:
1 - I don't evaluate anything new in final focus unless it was in grand cross
2 - This is a personal preference but please, please, please don't just repeat summary - final focus is supposed to blow up the reasons why you win, not just go over the round like summary does
Speaker Point Philosophy:
I start everyone at 28, and I increase/decrease based on how you did in the round
You get speaks if you:
1 - were funny
2 - did a line by line in rebuttal
3 - used final focus to explain why you won instead of just repeating summary
4 - had a good amount of topic knowledge in cross
You lose speaks if you:
1 - were rude in cross by speaking over the other team or interrupting them a lot
2 - brought up a lot of new things in final focus (if it's just some new things I won't dock speaks but I also won't flow it)
3 - were openly racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.
4 - misrepresented evidence, let's encourage better evidence norms guys
He/Him
Hi I'm 16 years old a PF debater I don't have much rules in a debate but here are some things I take seriously:
Racism, Homophobic, Transphobic and etc.
Im new to judging but I'm experienced in PF debate so speak at a lay judge speed.
Contention: Speak in a lay judge speed meaning your opponent can understand what you are saying and so can I. In your contention speak clearly with a calm voice.
Cross: I normally don't flow cross, but if someone brings up a really good point then I will write it down but most of the time it won't affect my overall vote. Remember to be nice to your opponent and try to speak clearly.
Rebuttal/Response: I will take in if you dropped any of your opponents' points and if you did not properly respond to your opponents points.
I would like if you impact weigh here or in your summary/closing.
Summary/Closing: Dont bring up any new information please try not to drop any of your opponents points as well.
(FF): this is only if you are doing PF debate not ES I would like you to convince me on why you won this debate and how your case is more beneficial.
I'm a high school pf debater. Here's a few things I'd like for you to do in round:
- Collapse in the summary to a few key arguments that outline your overall narrative. This is a great way for me to figure out where to vote.
- Give me a comparative weighing analysis where you actually compare your impacts with your opponents'. This a surefire way to tell me how to evaluate the round and convince me that anything you're saying matters in the big picture.
- Warrant your arguments rather than only reading me cards. I prefer knowing the logic behind your argument over just knowing your author's last name.
Misc:
- Some speed is fine, don't spread though. If I can't understand you, I'll say "clear."
- I'm ok w paraphrasing
- No sticky defense
- Second rebuttal should frontline
+1 speaks for sending me your case; my email is adyabhatta@gmail.com
Hi! My name is Jiin, and I'm a new varsity that has been debating for about 6 months. I've been to Harvard and Georgetown- I'm a second speaker, so naturally, I'm going to look closely at your rebuttal and impact weighing. You guys can talk fastly/spread, just be clear.
I also do enjoy intense debates, or aggressiveness
when you're making a turn please have an impact to it!
(she/her)
I've been a pf debater for almost a year and a half.
Yall don't need to refer to me as judge if you don't want to since I'm not an adult - you can just call me Sanjana :)
Overall, just don't be rude to your partner or opponents during the debate; don't be racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. just be respectful to everyone
Some tips for the debate:
cross: I don't typically flow cross, so if you say something important that you think I'll need to know, then make sure you bring it up in one of your speeches. Also, unlike other judges, I like an aggressive crossfire, so ask interesting questions and be passionate about what you're saying, just don't be disrespectful!
cases: As long as your case isn't disrespectful/has no link to the topic, I'm fine with anything. I'm also good with speed as long as you're speaking clearly. Make sure that I can understand what you're saying. Also, make sure that your cases have good content. If your only impact is something like nuclear war, then it's gonna be very hard for me to vote for you.
rebuttal: Make sure to attack every part of your opponent's case. If you're the second rebuttal, then frontline if you can - if you don't, that could be pretty bad because now you can't really extend any responses against your opponent's responses and you don't really have anything to build your case back up. Also, if you have time, make sure you WEIGH, whether you're first or second. THIS MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER TO WEIGH THROUGHOUT THE DEBATE.
summary: This is THE MOST IMPORTANT SPEECH. Make sure that you:
1. extend your case- should take like 20-30 secs; just collapse your case and only say the important things (uniqueness, link, and impact)
2. frontline - make sure you respond to your opponent's responses against your case, especially offensive responses like turns and delinks.
3. extend responses - Make sure you extend responses because your partner can't bring up anything you didn't say in summary, so make sure you extend responses that you think are important.
4. weigh - MAKE SURE YOU WEIGH (if you weighed in rebuttal, then you can just extend your weighing). Try weighing on more than one thing, not just magnitude or something like that, but make sure you get to weighing. Proper weighing makes it easier for me to decide who wins the debate.
ff: don't bring up anything new or anything that wasn't said in summary. Again, make sure you weigh. Tell me why I should vote for you.
(If you're novice and you didn't understand some of the stuff on here, that's perfectly ok just debate as best as you can!)
speaker points:
30 - I don't normally give 30s, so if you get a 30 then wow good job
29 - ur really good
28 - this is a good place to be, means you spoke clear and strong, emphasized where you needed to, and just did what you were supposed to do overall
27 - you have to practice a bit more but you're almost there!
26 - this is the lowest amount of points you can get, just means that you have a lot more practice to do but that's ok bc you're going to get there!
to get good speaks, just be confident and clear, and stress what you need to when you're speaking. don't be monotone or sound like you are uninterested because that just makes the debate boring for everyone. also if you ask "is water wet?" or say "Blackpink in your area" I will give u extra speaks!!! :)
put #sanjana2022 in the chat to show that you've read my paradigm!
Hi, my name is Imani Gayasuddin. I have been debating Public Forum for a while now, and am a freshman in high school at the moment.
My first point is please do not be aggressive with your opponents, this should be a peaceful debate.
Make sure to impact weigh, if you forget to do it in summary try to do it in final focus, you will not lose speaker points for doing impact weighing later on in the debate, but you will if you fail to impact weigh at all.
Also, when doing cross, do not waste all of your opponents' time by reading paragraphs as the answer, this not only fails to get your point across, but it frustrates your opponents.
And have fun :D
Hi,
I am a flow judge, however, I do appreciate the big picture throughout the debate but specifically through the last 2 speeches on both sides because that, overall, clears things up and helps me decide what to vote on.
My Debate Experience-
-
South Forsyth HS Sophomore
-
PF Nat Circ Debate with 5 years of experience including multiple national tournaments
Please add prakharg2805@gmail.com to the email chain if there is one created for the round.
Things to watch out for-
What I instantly drop you for (Debate is a safe space)- Cheating (card clipping, stealing prep, somehow hacking into the opponent's computer, etc.) NO BEING MEAN (no racism, homophobia, bullying, profanity, etc.)
What I vote off of- Moving on, I usually vote off of arguments in Summary. Whatever you present to me before the round I usually only flow it. The things before the summary have to be clearly extended in the summary and FF for me to vote for them. I am always trying to vote off of technical arguments made throughout the debate however whatever is not extended don't expect me to evaluate that. If you make a bogus/ bizarre argument I will not take it into account at all.
Rebuttal- 2nd rebuttal is obligated to frontline At least half if not all of the responses made in 1st rebuttal. If there are no frontlines present then I consider them dropped and easy for 1st Summary to extend without much warranting needed. I don't want to hear like 30 responses to your opponents' case because my hands start hurting and that's bad for both teams since then I can get fewer things to vote off of during summary and FF. I also do not like it when you only extend defense so also try to have at least some offense on their case if not a lot.
Extensions- I also do not like spreading but if you do it I won't drop you. If you drop an argument then you still have to answer all the turns on that argument for me to consider it dropped, if all the turns aren't answered then the opponents can still extend those. I do not care if you run a Kritik but I care if you form it in an abusive form. I am going to drop you automatically.
Final Focus- Try to clear up the big picture. I have usually made my decision by summary based on frontlines and extensions but I will still listen and if there is something big that was mentioned in summary and you blow it up I count that since it still counts according to PF rules.
Crossfire- Don't think crossfire doesn't matter in my decision. If I think that the round was a wash then I will look at every cross so I am paying attention to these as well. I do sometimes write down notes during cross if any important arguments are mentioned that were mentioned through the debate. Try to do a good job defending your argument and attacking your opponents' argument at the same time and with good warranting.
Weighing- A lot of judges care about weighing but I am not one of those. I don't like very long weighing and complicated weighing. If you do weigh make it clear and short so I can easily flow it. If you do weigh I also want it to start from Rebuttal whether be 1st or 2nd. If it starts, in summary, I consider it late and if the round comes down to weighing then I will look at it. Whichever side has the better weighing and was easier for me to flow I will vote for that side.
Cards- I will call for cards if need be. And sometimes I might just do it because I want to make sure your paraphrasing is correct and not taken out of context.
Evidence- Any evidence violation outlined in section 7.2 of the High School Unified Manual is grounds for me to give you a loss for the round and nuke your speaker points, based on section 7.4. Here is a list of common evidentiary practices in PF that will result in this outcome-
-
Sending a link to a piece of evidence rather than a cut card in an email chain (and, in a related vein, telling your opponent to “ctrl-f” anything in a PDF or a website).
-
Not including a citation when you send your opponent a random piece of evidence in an email chain (accidents are fine, but if you’re just sending a chunk of text without a citation and you don’t correct it if asked, no). A citation includes everything in section 7.1.C of the rules.
-
Taking more than 3 minutes to produce a piece of evidence. Failure to produce a card will not result in me “removing” a card from the flow. You will lose the round, because you have used “non-existent evidence.”
Speaking- Clarity = speed --> I want clarity and not a lot of blank time during speeches. If I don't understand your argument, I don't buy it. If you see me drop my writing utensils through the debate during any of your speeches it means you are going way too fast and I will not evaluate what I can't understand or flow.
Specific Speaker Point evaluations-
<26 --> You need to work on speaking. Not going to give this to a lot of people unless your speaking was honestly bad. Please don't be offended.
<26.1 to 26.9 --> I don't think you were very knowledgeable on the topic. Your speaking skills could be improved.
<27 - 28.9 --> Did a decent amount of job holding onto your arguments during cross. Some amount of stuttering was present but was overall good. However, you did make some bad decisions throughout the round.
<29 - 29.9 --> Smart decisions made throughout the round. I liked your arguments. You were very knowledgeable about the topic. Your speaking could be improved a little bit to just get on the perfect level but overall was good.
30 --> You are very good at defending your arguments during the crossfire. You have no stuttering and/or blank spaces in your speeches. I like your arguments a lot and you are almost an expert on the topic meaning you researched a lot in my opinion.
Thanks,
Prakhar Gupta
I am a Georgia Tech CS student and debated public forum for the Milton High School Debate Team. Here are the things I would like to emphasize:
-Any speed is fine, but clarity is needed. I cannot judge on what I cannot understand. Please try to refrain from spreading if you can though.
-Make sure to weigh and use off time road maps so I can better comprehend and create my RFD.
-Time yourselves, though I will also keep track of time myself as well, so watch your time and do not go over. Prevent any down time so that we can finish the round on time. That includes calling for a card, which should be minimal.
-Be respectful. This should be self-explanatory.
-I habitually place the rebuttal and summary as the most important speeches so make sure those are solid.
-I have been screwed by judges with personal opinions before, so you can be certain that I will not place any personal bias against you or the opposition. What you show me is what I decide from.
-Preflow before the round.
-Disads, kritiks, and theory are fine by me.
-Speaks: Do not become "insufferable," and you can expect a fair score.
-I mainly give oral feedback rather than written.
Any other questions should be addressed before start time.
I am a college Student with some judging experience over my highschool year. I am very intrested in communications and listning to speech and debate, hence judging these compitions is very intresting and would love to explore more in this field.
I would like to be in the email chain if y'all make one. My email is kadiyalasaanvi01@gmail.com.
I prefer well-supported arguments with sufficient evidence and reasonable impacts. I will give you speaker points based on enunciation, creativity, confidence, and eye contact. Stealing prep time will be counted negatively in your speaker points. Pre-req weighing is also the most important in my opinion.
When evidence sharing, prep time starts after the team receives the card they're asking for.
Tech> Truth. I am a tabula rasa judge, but any offensive speech will be an automatic loss and will take a major toll on your speaker points.
Impact weighing is really important to me, but it won't matter that much if you don't tell me why your impact will become true.
If something is not extended in both the summary and final focus, it will not be counted in my decision. I also flow the entire debate, so I will know what you dropped and extended throughout the entire round.
Good luck!
Hey, I'm Riya!
I consider myself a regular flow/tech judge.
Here are some of the key factors that will influence my decision in a debate:
Contention: I prefer clear arguments with strong warranting and evidence. Try to emphasize your most important points and have realistic impact scenarios.
Rebuttal: Try to respond to all of your opponent's main arguments and go into specifics if you have time. Make sure you read concise responses with good warranting, and avoid repetition. Try to avoid extra time in this speech because it’s essential to have good offense that you can extend throughout the round. Please signpost to make it easier to understand your speech and so I know where you are on the flow. Going in order will prevent unnecessary confusion and will make your responses more understandable.
*I strongly encourage frontlining in second rebuttal.
Summary: I consider summary the most important speech of the debate. Here are some of things I’m looking for:
Case: Make sure to briefly extend your case, but try not to make it too long to save time for the rest of your speech. Frontline your case, especially against turns. Collapsing on your best arguments is encouraged but definitely not required.
Responses: Extend your most important responses; everything you want me to evaluate in the round needs to be in summary. Try not to drop arguments.
Weighing: Weighing is crucial. Try to specify which weighing mechanisms you are using and give warranting as to why it outweighs your opponent’s impacts (comparative weighing.) Please do not just state weighing mechanisms, but explain them thoroughly.
Final Focus: Explain to me why you should win the debate, extend and weigh.
Other
Time: I will be keeping time but please try to keep time as well. :)
Speaking: I’m fine with fast speaking as long as it's understandable.
Please be respectful to everyone in the round, and have fun!
Feel free to ask any questions!
I'm a junior at South Forsyth High school and debate with Ivy Bridge Academy. I have a couple of years of PF experience.
Since I have debate experience considered me a tech judge.
General Notes: Please do not speak so fast that I cannot flow. If I can't flow I won't count it in the debates.
I don't flow crossfires but if something important comes up I will flow it.
I will keep track of your time(speeches, crossfires, and prep time), but I would recommend you also keep time so you know how you are doing time-wise.
Speeches(Cases, Rebuttal, Summary) - Please warrant your case. In terms of time, it is okay if you go 20ish seconds after the time limit I won't count it against you. However, if you go above 30 seconds that is not okay and I will not let you read anymore.
Crossfires - Please give each turns to answer questions. Don't spend the entire cross on just one question, move on. Confidence is key in this speech.
Summary - This is the MOST important speech of the debate and this speech is WHERE I DECIDE WINNER. What is extended in this speech is what will be considered. If you don't extend something I will not weigh it.
I would like it if you frontline your case, respond to their case, and weigh in this one speech. I know it may be difficult but if you can do all of this it will make it easier for me to make a decision on the debate and it gives you a huge advantage.
Final focus - Weight your impacts and explain why you won the debate. This speech will help me finalize my decision. You cannot go more than 10 seconds above time limit in this speech.
Speaker points:
30 - no complaints about your speaking. Perfect.
29 - Really good but there may be something very small you can improve on
28 - Errors in speeches(some stuttering, a few pauses in between the speech, etc) and/or small gaps in understanding the topic and research.
27 - Errors in speeches(stuttering, long pauses in between speech, going under time by 1 min or more) and/or it looks like you didn't research the topic much.
26 - Something went wrong in this debate for you. It happens to all of us.
Hi! My name is Saanika Rane I have been debating for quite a while and am excited to be your judge (:
In a debate, I am a second speaker so when you are doing your response and final speech I will put close attention to see how you do. I do love to see great impacts so if I am your judge hopefully you will have good impacts such as timeline, severity, magnitude, etc.
A general rule for all debates is to speak clearly, be respectful, and lastly be confident! this could also get you good speaker points
Mainpoint:
Make sure you state your contentions clearly
Make sure to include links and impacts
Responses:
Be sure to make it clear about your response to the opposition's side
Be sure to frontline for the 2nd rebuttal
Add information that you want to add now than in the summary and final focus
Crossfire:
Make sure to be clear and polite
Don't continue residing on one topic/question because it will waste time and stay in the provided argument.
NO signs of rudeness and aggression towards the opposition, including name-calling, minus speaker points.
Be prepared to attack or defend against the opposing side
Summary:
Be sure not to add extra info because I will not take that into account, add it in your main point or response
Weigh!, be sure to weigh your impacts, and an organized section
Frontline
Final Focus:
Be sure not to spend too much time talking about your own case, respond to your opponents' case
Weigh!
If you have time you can summarize your own case BUT don't do it if you don't have that much time
Speaking
Like I said before make sure to speak clearly and at a good pace (I myself am I fast speaker so I will understand most of the time) it is not just for me but for the opponent. , be sure to use prep time in a good orderly manner, I will be keeping track on time so don't worry and also keep track of your time for your speeches because it will definitely help in the future . I will not tolerate if you are rude towards your opponents and I will take off your speaker points if that happens. I do like a little aggressive debate but there is a limit on how it is
Speaker points:
26-you still have a long way to go and need a lot of practice but that's ok because practice makes perfect (:
27-you are getting there but still need practice
28-you are quite good and I can't wait to see where you will be in the future
29-you are awesome
30-you are amazing with your speech and I hope to see you as a top future debater (:
I will be giving you feedback so if anything feel free to ask and I will answer
I recognize that you may need to talk quickly in some situations in order to cover as much information regarding your issue as possible. I'm OK with pace as long as it's structured and you provide cues throughout the speech that I can follow and relate to.
I also realize that you are vehement about your ideas. Respect must be maintained at all times.
I'll be keeping track of every point in your argument, how you defend it, and how you refute your opponent's case. You should be OK as long as you do it convincingly!
Best regards!
Hi! My name is Saanvi Sinha. I have debated Public Forum for 6 years. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to debate, so don't question me on my decision after round.
Non-negotiable, you being rude(sexism, racism. bullying, homophobia, etc.) in round or before, results in a dent in your speaker points and a loss. Debate should be a safe community, and if it's not, my view of you is never going to be good.
Some general stuff, I will be keeping a timer, but I would recommend keeping your own timer. Please notify me of the amount of prep time just so that we can make sure we have no problems ("running prep", "30 seconds"). Just so you know, I don't flow crossfire, but if you address me, I will write it down. If you're going to spread, send me a speech doc before, otherwise rules below apply. Also, this is just me, but don't eat with your camera on. I get nats are long and not fun sometimes, but just turn your camera off if you are going to eat.
Be respectful at the end of the round too, I know you might be sad about losing, but I still want to see a "Thanks for debating" or "Good debate" at the very least.As a judge, I give verbal feedback at the end of the round. Going verbally allows me to give you more in-depth feedback, but if you are not okay with me doing so, please let me knowbefore the round starts so I can type it up. Also, I usually like to give detailed feedback so that after every round you can improve as much as possible. What this means is that I don't think you are a bad debater, just everyone has room for improvement, so I like to point that out, rather than what you are good at.
Before the round, you can ask me any questions that you have about my paradigm (terminology and if I didn't address anything). I know I sound like a lot, I just don't want anyone to be confused about anything.
Novice PF
1. Case-For most Novice students, they aren't allowed to create their own contentions. If you are allowed, I would ask that the contention is not too far-fetched, as you are only a novice student.
2. Rebuttal- Your rebuttal should include responses to most of their points. It would be easier to go line by line, and please number the responses. It is not required for the 2nd speaker to frontline (respond to responses), but I would definitely recommend it. If you do frontline, please frontline the turns. If you frontline, but don't frontline the turns, I might not buy your case and it would be difficult for you to win.
3. Summary- Summary must frontline on both sides if not done so in the earlier speeches. I would recommend extending responses, as I would know what I am voting on, but if you don't, I will still evaluate it. I consider a case extended if you frontline it or talk about it.
4. Final Focus- Final Focus must focus on the big picture of the debate. If you could, try to extend responses and your case. Please try to weigh. What this means is that you should compare why your impacts are more important. It isn't necessary to weigh in Novice, but I would definitely suggest it.
5. Speaking- Typically, Novices speak at a good speed, but if you don't clarity is more important. As a debater, I understand that it is difficult without speaking fast, but I must be able to understand you. If I say "Clear" 2 times or more, I will reduce speaker points.
6. Asking for cards- I don't usually call for cards, but if I do, I need you to have cards, or I will not evaluate it in the round. If your card contradicts what you are saying, I don't care about that point anymore.
If you have reached this point, tell me your favorite thing to do before the round starts for +0.3 speaker points.
JV PF
I don't like theory or K's because it muddles everything up, and actually doesn't change my decision. If you read it, I won't punish you in anyway, but I just won't evaluate it, so don't waste time doing that.
1. Case- Some of y'all have more far fetched arguments. I would say stay out of the memes and focus on a case that makes logical sense. As long as you can give me direct evidence, stating this leads to that, I will buy the contention, but I don't want any bad vision leads to nuclear war arguments.
2. Rebuttal- Your rebuttal should include responses to most of their points. It would be easier to go line by line, and please number the responses.
Try to implicate your responses, tell me why it matters. For turns, your turn should have an impact or you need to weigh the turn, otherwise I'd probably evaluate it as offense.
For JV, I would want the second rebuttal to frontline at least the turns, or I will be extending them on your case. You do not have to respond to every single point, but I would like you to respond to the majority of the arguments, and at the very least, the turns.
3. Summary-
Let's start with first summary. So there is a few things that I require for a good summary. First, is your case. So on this, I need some proper frontlining and extensions of case. Don't try to extend case but not frontline because that's bad and I'm not going to evaluate the argument. Second, the opponent's case. Here, I just need some extensions of a few responses, preferably turns WITH their impact, on the main points. You can try to respond to they're frontlines, but it isn't required, and finally weighing. I need weighing in this speech. Don't be a bad debater and not weigh until Final Focus, because I'm not gonna evaluate by then. And please specify the type of weighing you are going to use, I do not want to have to work to figure out the weighing mechanism. Please warrant how you outweigh in whatever weighing mechanism, I'm not going to evaluate "We outweigh on everything." My weighing order is
1. Advanced Weighing Mechanisms
2. Prerequisite
3. Probability
4. Magnitude
5. Timeframe
6. Any Others
As for second summary: it's pretty much like the first summary, just please frontline the responses that were extended to again.
4. Final Focus- Final Focus must focus on the big picture of the debate. If you could, try to extend responses and your case. Weighing is the most important thing in final focus, so please spend time weighing in the speech. Comparative weighing is preferred because it allows me to compare why I should weigh one type of weighing over the other.
5. Speaking- As a debater, I understand that it is difficult without speaking fast, but I must be able to understand you. If I say "Clear" 2 times or more, I will reduce speaker points.
6. Asking for cards- I'll probably not call for many cards, but if I do, I need you to have them, or I will not evaluate it in the round. Paraphrasing is okay for me, but cards would be better. If your card contradicts what you are saying, I drop the point.
Varsity PF
I don't really like theories or K's because it muddles everything up, and actually doesn't change my decision. If you read it, I won't punish you in anyway, but I just won't evaluate it, so maybe don't waste time doing that. If you have to read theory, just don't contradict yourself (ex. para but your cards are paraphrased).
1. Case- Some of y'all have far- fetched arguments. Focus on a case that makes logical sense. As long as you can give me direct evidence, stating this leads to that, I will buy the contention, but I don't want any bad vision leads to nuclear war arguments. This however, doesn't require it to be on a generic packet, I recommend you do that, but just don't lead to any sketchy or weird arguments. One thing to highlight, and this goes for any judge, if they aren't able to understand what your contention is about, it's not likely for a win, so keep that in mind.
2. Rebuttal- Your rebuttal should include responses to most of their points. It would be easier to go line by line, but just signpost if you don't. Implicate your responses, tell me why it matters. For turns, your turn needs to have an impact or you need to weigh the turn otherwise it will not be evaluated as a turn, instead as offense. I'd prefer you respond to the impact, and not just cross-apply your responses on their link-ins. For Varsity, I require the second rebuttal to frontline (most of the responses) to the contentions you are extending, or I will be extending the responses on your case.
3. Summary-
Let's start with first summary. So there is a few things that I require for a good summary. First, is your case. So on this, I need some proper frontlining and extensions of case. Don't try to extend case but not frontline because that's bad and I'm not going to evaluate the argument. Make sure to extend impacts as well, I would recommend writing out how you are going to extend it so that's there's not a lot of "uhs" and "ums." Second, the opponent's case. Here, I just need some extensions of a few responses, preferably turns WITH their impact, on the main points. You should respond to their frontlines that they made, because otherwise that's just extending through ink. I want to see why their frontline doesn't apply, and finally weighing. I need weighing in this speech. Don't be a bad debater and not weigh until Final Focus, because I'm not gonna evaluate by then. And please specify the type of weighing you are going to use, I do not want to have to work to figure out the weighing mechanism. Please warrant how you outweigh in whatever weighing mechanism, I'm not going to evaluate "We outweigh on everything." By the way, weighing is not saying "our impacts are .... and their impacts are." My weighing order is
1. Advanced Weighing Mechanisms
2. Prerequisite
3. Probability
4. Magnitude
5. Timeframe
6. Any Others
As for second summary: it's pretty much like the first summary, just please frontline the responses that were extended on your case again.
4. Final Focus- Final Focus must focus on the most important things, so give me the voters of what you want me to vote on. Any offense and defense that you want me to focus on should me emphasized. Weighing is the most important thing in the speech, so please spend most of your time doing that. You must do comparative weighing in this speech. Please for my sanity, don't introduce new things in final focus. My ballot is pretty much already decided by summary speech, so it's not going to do anything, and just make me think of you/your partner as a bad debater/speaker.
5. Speaking- As a debater, I understand that it is difficult without speaking fast, but I must be able to understand you. If I say "Clear" 2 times or more, I will reduce speaker points.
6. Asking for cards- I'll probably not call for many cards, but if I do, I need you to have them, or I will not evaluate it in the round. Paraphrasing is okay for me, but cards would be better. If your card contradicts what you are saying, I drop the point AND speaker points. You cannot miscut evidence after this much experience. There is the evidence out there, you have to put in the effort to look for it, and if it's really not out there, don't run the argument :)
I have been a PF debate coach at Ivy Bridge Academy for the past 7 years and I also did policy debate at Chattahoochee High School and UGA. Here are things that are important to me in debates and will influence my decision:
1. Debate is fundamentally about winning arguments, so make good arguments. I will do my best to evaluate your argument as objectively as possible but make sure contentions are well-developed with clear warrants, evidence, and impacts. The more unrealistic the argument, the less likely I’ll vote for it, but I do also believe it is the burden of your opponent to clearly articulate why the argument is wrong.
2. Frontlining - while not doing this isn’t technically against the rules, I highly encourage it and will reward teams that do it effectively with better speaker points. I don’t consider something dropped in the 2nd rebuttal, but I do expect teams to cover everything you plan on extending. I also like teams condensing to one contention in the second rebuttal if it makes strategic sense.
3. Summary - condensing down to a few key voting issues is important to me. If you don’t do weighing in rebuttal, then it should start here. Anything, including defense, must be in the summary if you want me to evaluate it. Don’t drop responses or contentions in these speeches. I will reward summary speakers who make good strategic decisions and manage their time well.
4. Final Focus - Clear voting issues and weighing are important to me. I will only evaluate arguments extended in the summary here. Having a clear narrative and focusing on the big picture is important, as well as answering extended responses. This is also your last chance to win key responses against your opponent's case. Make sure to not just extend them, but explain them, answer the summary, and what the implications are if you win x response.
5. Paraphrasing - I’m fine with it, but you need to be able to produce either a card or the website if asked. If you can’t produce it in time or deliberately misrepresent the evidence, then I will ignore the argument, and in extreme cases, vote the guilty team down.
6. Weighing - this is important to me, but I think debaters overvalue it a bit. The link debate is more important in my opinion and realistic impacts are as well. Try and start the weighing in the rebuttal or summary speeches. Comparison is key to good weighing in front of me.
7. Crossfire - any argument established in crossfire must be brought up in the subsequent speech for me to evaluate it. I will reward creative and well thought out questions. Please don’t be rude or aggressive in the crossfire. That will definitely hurt your speaker points. Civility is very important to proper debate in my humble opinion. You can sit or stand for the grand cross.
8. Speaking - I will give higher speaks to passionate speakers who are good public speakers. I did policy, so I’m fine with speed, but I don’t like spreading unless you absolutely have to cover. Please clearly signpost which argument you are responding to and when you are moving to the other side of the flow or weighing.
9. Prep - I will do my best to keep track of it, but please, both teams should also be tracking the time.
10. References - any well-executed Biggy, Kendrick, J. Cole, Drake, or Childish Gambino reference will be rewarded. Don’t overdo it though and I reserve the right to decrease points if it’s way off point.
11. Speech docs - if you share your case with me, then it will help me flow, understand your arguments, and I won't have to call for ev, so I will give both speakers 2 extra points if they do so.
sohamverma03@gmail.com - add me to the email chain pls
PF
Tech>truth - Front lining is also a must. These are key to winning debates and I vote for arguments that are clashed. If something is dropped by both teams I don't make my decision based on it.
If you drop a case that still has turn on it and the other team extends it, IT COUNTS AS OFFENSE. It's technically reverting their point toward them therefore it is an offense and is a valid point to argue for. If you flesh out a turn well you can very likely win the debate because of it. Impact weighing is key and for me to evaluate it you must relate to any of the weighing mechanisms. Most teams just talk about their impact but I need you to compare it for me... so like saying why their impact is bad. If a team frontlines a response and the other team does not respond to the frontline I will count that response as dropped. please collapse flesh out warrants well.
Policy
Your speech should probably follow along the border of this:
1AC - Aff reads plan and advantage.100% just reading the evidence
1NC - Reads DA's and advantage answer.- 95% evidence, 5% analytics. Some people include analytics on cases or mention things that were said in cross-ex (CX)
2AC - Extends 1AC to explain why 1NC case defense is wrong & reads answers to DA's - case is all extensions NO CARDS unless absolutely necessary, answers to DA's are 95% cards, 5% analytics that you think of or come from CX
2NC/1NR - Extend DA's and advantage answers --- 50/50 cards and extensions you want to extend 1NC cards and then support them with more evidence
1AR - Re-extends what was said in the 2AC on the case & choose the strongest arguments to go for on the DAs (Can't go for everything b/c 1AR is 5 minutes vs Neg block which is 13 minutes) - -- 80% extensions, may need a card here or there for new things read in the block
2NR - Makes final decision on what the neg is going to go for. For example, if reading 2 DAs, 2N has to choose 1 to all in on. Do impact calc on the DA vs the advantages - 100% ANALYTICS AND EXTENSIONS
2AR - Makes final decision on what the aff is going to go for. Only extend 1 advantage and do impact calc on the ADV VS DA - 100% ANALYTICS AND EXTENSIONS
Just make sure to clash a lot and win dropped args and ill end up voting for u