Katy ISD Novice Night 3
2023 — Katy, TX/US
Congress Paradigm List
All Paradigms: Show HideWords flow like a river, clear and true,
With a voice that echoes, and a message to pursue,
A battle of wits, a test of might
Give me a good debate, I'll judge you right
Quickly I’ll down, those who don’t speak
You are here to learn, so OPEN YOUR BEAK
Hey, I'm Iris! I'm a first-year at Harvard and I graduated from Seven Lakes in 2023, where I competed in Congress + Extemp + LD. It's been a minute since I did debate, so the safe bet is to treat me as your average flay judge. I'll rank well-developed + strategic analysis high and will generally reward for flipping. Not a big fan of flowery rhetoric or AGDs but keep it interesting. POing doesn't guarantee you a specific rank – depends if the rest of the round does well or not, but if you're good at it, go for it. Don't rehash. I love a good crystal and will reward risk-taking/out of the box analysis. Have fun and good luck!
Don’t be annoying, don’t be mean, Don’t be stupid. Just be good!
Wazza! If you are reading this, you are most likely about to get judged by me and if you are reading this as you are getting judged by me I salute you as a proud member of the procrastination nation. A little introduction about me, my name is Fadhil Lawal, I graduated from Seven Lakes High School in 2024 and I now attend Vanderbilt University. I competed mainly in Congressional Debate during my four-year career, however I did a little bit of PF, and a bit more of speech. Some of my notable achievements include winning Nationals (House), TOC, TFA, Emory, and Glenbrooks (2x). Here's how I judge.
PF - I judge content only, I will not evaluate theory and Ks etc. Stay topical.
Email: fadhillawal06@gmail.com
Coming from a Congressional Debate background, clarity in all aspects is the utmost priority for me when it comes to judging . First, clarity while speaking. I should not struggle to hear what you are saying because that takes away focus that I can be using to evaluate the round better. Please speak clearly. I am opposed to spreading because most of the time whenever it is done I end up not being able to distinguish the words competitors are saying, as a result I cannot properly evaluate you as a judge and that will negatively impact your performance given that I cannot hear your argument. You can speak fast, but you cannot spread. I will give you 3 warnings throughout the round concerning clarity. I will say "CLEAR" 3 and only 3 times. If you do not adjust I will try my best to evaluate your arguments but at that point I think I have done enough to try and help you to help yourself. Second, clarity while arguing. I am not opposed to jargon and know the majority of the PF ones but remember I did Congress, not PF, so travel at your own risk. The more high level the jargon is the higher the probability that I will not understand it, an example of this is an RVI. Additionally, keep argumentation clear and clean. Keep the debate organized so I can more easily evaluate it. Don't just drop cards on me, the analysis/warranting on those cards is also important so don't forget that. Provide an off the clock roadmap for rebuttals etc. AND follow them please, otherwise you make me even more lost than I would have been without it. I like rhetoric so do with that as you will. Extend your arguments, don't bring up new stuff when you're not supposed to and make more sense than your opponents. Last but not least,I read case, if I find evidence that is horribly cut you will be penalized for it and if I find that your case is a patchwork of cards that do not rlly contribute towards the argument that you are making you will also be penalized, don't try any sneaky doo doo and have a fun round!
TLDR: Speak clearly and assume I am a flay judge with a decent amount of argumentative experience.
Congress -
In General: I am a 50/50 judge. 50% content, 50% speaking. On content, I search up every piece of evidence I hear within a round. If I find that you are lying, you automatically will get a 9 and I will report you to the tournament. Congress is the only debate event where your competitors are trusting you as a competitor to debate in good faith. If you cannot uphold that trust, you do not deserve to advance nor compete in the rest of the tournament. Obama Mic Drop type ting. Additionally,
Sponsorships: Pop off. I love a good sponsorship. Give me and the rest of the round a good baseline for the debate. Make sure that you are hitting the meat of the debate in your speech, if you are not, you shall not rank highly as you have failed. I shouldn't have to learn about your bill from other people in the round, I should be learning that from you.
PO: Unless you knock the socks off of my feet, buy me Chick-fil-A, and propose to me, you will rank no higher than a 5 as a PO. I believe that at its core PO'ing is an unfair aspect of Congress that should be abolished. You are hitting a gavel on a table. I literally cannot rank you the same as someone who prepared for hours, paid attention during the round, and braved their nerves to speak in front of others. I can't. DO your job and you will get a 5.
speak good do good
My Background:
I have competed in Congressional Debate and Extemporaneous Speaking for 4 years, so I value delivery as well as simple argumentation.
Congress: I like confidence, delivery, vocal variation, and a simple logic chain that can be defended in questioning. I like new arguments at the beginning of the round, warrant-level refutation in the middle of the round, and pure blood bath refutation if you are giving the last speech with rhetoric as well. POs start as my 3, if you do extremely well you could get my 1, but if you do poorly your rank will reflect your work.
Extemp: Answer the question, have vocal variation, be funny, be fluent, be your best.
PF/ LD: I'm listening for simple easy to understand arguments. Don't make me do the work, it is your job to spoon-feed me the argument: the claim, warrant, link chain, and impact.
Anything Else: Treat me as a lay judge.
If you need to contact me in anyway my email is manaspathak11@gmail.com