What’s in Your Debate Bag?

Backpack, Backpack: What’s in Your Debate Bag?
By: Kyle Allen-Niesen & Cory Wynn

Where the Argument Leads by Jake Nebel

I try to judge debates fairly. This means that I don’t decide who wins or loses based on…

Changing Our Minds by Jake Nebel

I think debaters are particularly bad at changing their minds. This includes former debaters who have…

Camper of the Day: Corbin Hopper

With the start of Session 2 of VBI at UCLA, we’re bringing back an old favorite: camper of the day!
Corbin Hopper

Three Ways to Improve Your On-Case Refutation by Adam Torson

On-case refutation is something of a lost art. A standard negative strategy is often to read a variety of positions for the majority of the 1NC/NR and do little or no work on the AC itself. On rare occasions this can be…

New Topics Released

What do you think of the new topics?
September/October LD:

Resolved: The United States ought to extend to non-citizens accused of terrorism the same constitutional due process protections it grants to citizens.

Meet the Staff of Session II: JP Gooderham

LOS ANGELES, CA — As Session II begins, our staff is gearing up and getting ready…

Camper of the Day: Jhaelon Edwards

Ever seen the guy who carries the resistance band around with him everywhere? He’s today’s camper of the day! Meet Jhaelon Edwards, a rising senior at the Harmony School of Advancement in Houston, Texas.

Against Tabula Rasa, Part 1: Is Everything Up for Grabs?

This is the first in a series of five posts on tabula rasa judging — i.e., the view that judges should not use their pre-round opinions to evaluate in-round disagreements. Using pre-round opinions in this way constitutes…

State of Debate Survey Results by Jake Nebel

Six months ago, I posted a survey of opinions about debate. I couldn’t figure out…

Three Things You Can Do to Clean Up Messy Rounds

Many factors can cause rounds to devolve into the dreaded “messy debate,” including unclear speaking, excessive speed, purposeful obfuscation by one or both debaters, and complicated or overly abstract argumentation. Whatever the cause, it is in…