The first negative is often an underutilized speech. The question is what can be done to increase the importance of the first negative speech? The preparation of a superior first negative speech begins prior to the round by developing briefs, coordinating arguments with the second negative, and having a pre-round discussion to reduce the…

Responds to Rowland's article, (CS 705 841). Considers the difficult question of how the appropriate paradigm for a debate round should be determined. (PD)

Noting that a series of mechanical rules created for pairing and placement of judges at the National Debate Tournament (NDT) may be useful in developing a computer program to pair tournaments, this paper focuses on the methods used to pair rounds at the NDT and also looks at some pairing options frequently employed by other debate tournaments. The…

This paper examines changes that have occurred concerning the nature of inherency, in order to establish a better framework with which to evaluate the nature of the concept. Four changes are examined: the trend toward simular positions taken by affirmative and negative teams; the development of new types of inherency positions; growing differences…

Concludes that (1) the artificially high standards of hypothesis testing cannot be met by advocates who try to apply the paradigm in debate and (2) the values claimed for hypothesis testing can be achieved in other ways. (PD)

Two major problem areas exist in current high school forensics. The first is the decline in the number of debate participants in some parts of the country. Contributing to this decline are demands on extracurricular time and money, a lack of strong leadership as coaches leave academia, barriers to participation such as increased difficulty in…

In recent years, many debates have concentrated on which level of government is most appropriate to adopt a given policy. One suggestion is that fiat power in debate be limited to actions of the federal government. In debate, it must often be decided who should attempt to solve the problem. Too often, debaters forget the real-world limitations on…

Discusses two points in response to the objections raised in the previous essay: (1) higher standards for argument are not justified and could create problems and (2) theoretical issues can and should be debated in individual debate rounds. (PD)

Traditionally, the focus of debate has been on what policy should be adopted. The concept of fiat, or authoritative decree or sanction, has enabled debate participants to discuss the relative merits of competing policies without deciding whether or not the policies being compared could be adopted in the real world. While, for the purposes of…

The concept of inherency is an important issue in contemporary academic debate, although little attention has been paid to the underlying rationale behind its use. A review of the literature suggests that one purpose of inherency is to demonstrate that the cause of the problem that the affirmative position isolates is accurately described. A…

Argues that hypothesis testing is an inadequate paradigm for evaluating academic debates because (1) defenders of hypothesis testing cannot meet the standards they impose on other arguers and (2) hypothesis testing does not achieve its goal of discovering probable truth. (PD)

Each debate judge's philosophy consists not of one single view of argument, but rather of a theory of argument containing several independent levels of belief. One current issue is the extent to which a judge should impose his or her bias on the participants in a debate round. Judges can impose rules on debates by utilizing those rules to which…

Because the affirmative plan in debate cannot be modified once it has been criticized by the second negative, it is important that the affirmative team word the plan carefully in simple and concise language, assuring that it upholds all possible policies and contains only those planks that support the resolution. Other considerations in…

There is a tendency for debaters and judges to view a single quote or opinion as conclusive evidence proving a point. But evidence can only point toward a conclusion; it cannot prove a conclusion conclusively. Experts may offer their opinions (sometimes as fact) but these opinions are only educated guesses. This is not to say that evidence from…

The counterplan is a recent strategy used in debate whereby the negative team can urge adoption of a new policy rather than defend the status quo. This paper isolates some of the requirements for a debate counterplan, discusses its strategic implications, and describes three conditions which debate theorists define as necessary for a valid…