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…

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…

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)

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…

Because legal argument shares many of the characteristics of academic debate, it can serve as a paradigm for evaluating debates. Like debate, legal argument is bilateral, the judge is external to the deliberation and excluded from raising his or her own arguments, and reasons have been developed for assigning presumption, determining the wording…

While several paradigms for judging debate have been thoroughly discussed, the view of the judge as a tabula rasa has received little treatment. The tabula rasa approach can take the form of a framework added onto a traditional judging framework, or it can take the view that making debate theory debatable is only one of several implications of…

Although academic debate is not viewed highly by many in the critical thinking movement, most of the attacks are based on a misperception of the activity, while others target faults that are not inherent to the activity. Contrary to the claim that debaters seek only to win, this desire is regulated by rules of evidence, time limits, rules…