by Patrick McDonald | Apr 8, 2021 | Negative, Team Policy
“I voted for your opponents because lives are important.” Staring disappointedly at that solitary sentence, I felt overwhelmingly perplexed and perhaps even a tad disappointed. It has happened to all of us: you compete in a debate, you feel sure that you...
by Ben Brown | Apr 1, 2021 | From Advanced to National-Class, Team Policy, Technique
Anybody who’s been in TP or LD debate for any considerable amount of time understands the necessity of delivering a memorable 2AR. After all, being able to give the final speech of the round poses a significant rhetorical advantage to the affirmative–an...
by Jeremiah Mosbey | Mar 23, 2021 | From Intermediate to Advanced, Judging/Judges, Strategy
A couple of years ago, Harrison wrote a couple of excellent articles (here and here) delving into the different types of debate judges, and the pros and cons of each style. While we all understand the fact that there are different kinds of judges, it’s still very...
by Ben Brown | Mar 19, 2021 | Technique
Every region has “that one team.” That one team that, when you see their name on postings next to yours, makes your heart sink a bit. No, we’re not talking about the team that goes 6-0 and wins the tournament every time, we’re talking about the one that,...
by Kyle Lee | Mar 17, 2021 | Best Resources, From Intermediate to Advanced, Strategy, Technique, Thinking Strategically
In the last article (found here), we covered why over-practice is a real threat to competitive speech & debate success. That article wasn’t saying that practice is inherently bad. It isn’t. Practice is fundamental to improving at anything. But there...
by Patrick McDonald | Mar 13, 2021 | Communication/Rhetoric, Speaking
Earlier this season, I received a ballot from a judge who was thoroughly and absolutely confused. At the base of her puzzlement was the solitary word: inherency. My partner and I had argued that the affirmative plan had essentially already been passed, and thus...
