Three Things You Can Do To Improve Your Cross-Examination by Adam Torson

Cross-examination is one of those debate skills that some people just have a knack for. Some struggle to fill the time with pointless clarification questions, while others lead their opponents down the…

Judge Fatigue by Chris Theis

This weekend at Harvard between the round robin and the tournament I judged a total of 23 debates. I did not…

When Is It Appropriate to Restart Speeches?

Every once in a while I encounter a situation where a debater wants to restart a speech. When is this appropriate?

There are a variety of factors to consider. The basic concern is that it may be unfair to give a debater a chance…

Three Things You Can Do To Improve Your Research by Adam Torson

The depth and quality of your research is strongly correlated to your success on a given topic. For that reason, you should spend time cultivating your research skills just like you do your in-round technical skills…

Should Judges Time Rounds?

Should judges time rounds or may they rely on debaters’ cross-timing? At one time the community norm was…

Ranking Educational Objectives by Stephen Babb

Even some of the best theory debates are plagued by shallow and unimaginative discussions of education. Buzzwords like “depth” and “scope” are tossed about in mindless recitation while the judge wonders why they should even be flowing the same…

Survey by Jake Nebel: The State of Debate

I’ve created a survey to figure out what people think about various judging principles, debate practices, and aspects of debate today. As a community, we may wish to do some soul searching to figure out what kind of activity LD really is, and what kind of…

Paradigms and Principles: Are “I Meets” Always Terminal Defense?

A. Is an “I meet” argument always terminal defense on theory?

An “I meet” argument is an answer to theory which claims that there is no violation — the debater has complied with the rule…