by Harrison Durland | Feb 26, 2019 | Cross Examination, From Intermediate to Advanced, Strategy
Recently, we’ve written some articles that focus on cross examination. Those articles describe a few approaches to CX questioning, but now there’s another question to be answered: (how) do you put CX questions in briefs? As simple as this may seem, from experience I... 
by Josh Arnold | Feb 5, 2019 | Cross Examination, Strategy, Technique
Don’t forget to check out Part 1 first! Catch-22 This type of questioning is more difficult because it is more complex. It involves a string of questions proceeding in a logical fashion to show an inconsistency or contradiction in the opposing team’s arguments.... 
by Josh Arnold | Feb 1, 2019 | Cross Examination, Strategy, Technique
This post is the first in a series on cross-examination. Part 2 will cover “Catch 22” questions and Part 3 will explore the “Storytelling” strategy. Stay tuned! One way great debaters set themselves apart is in their use of cross-examination... 
by Josh Arnold | Dec 29, 2018 | Negative, Strategy, TP
You listen as the Aff speaker presents their case. They drone through their introduction and into their first point, and a sinking feeling begins to slide its icy fingers around your heart. You’ve never prepared a negative strategy against this case; you don’t know... 
by Toby Rivas | Dec 21, 2018 | Affirmatives, From Advanced to National-Class, From Intermediate to Advanced, Strategy, Technique
Last time, we introduced spikes and preemption, and saw what they look like in the 1AC. Today, we move to the 2AC, and next time we’ll talk about Neg. 2AC spikes exist to mitigate the Neg block by making the 1AR easier. This article does a wonderful job of outlining... 
by Toby Rivas | Dec 4, 2018 | Affirmatives, Communication/Rhetoric, From Intermediate to Advanced, From Novice to Intermediate, Strategy
If you’ve ever played volleyball, you know the terror of a spike. A player slams the ball over the net so hard you have no hope of returning it. In debate, a spike is a little different, but still a powerful offensive tactic. Referring broadly to preemption, a spike...