Basics
directly attacking the opposing teams’ arguments (also known as “clash”)
What is refutation?
a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses to determine the best approach to a problem
What is cost-benefit analysis?
poor arguments that rely upon an non-exhaustive body of evidence
What are hasty generalizations?
judges who are either coaches or former competitors with a fair amount of debate experience
What are tech/flow/flay judges?
A specific amount of time each debater is allowed to use in between speeches to write down notes or gather their thoughts.
What is prep time?
note-taking during a debate, accurately recording the most important arguments and rebuttals. The paper on which this note taking occurs is known as a flow.
What is flowing?
the affirmative’s responsibility to prove that the resolution is true. If the affirmative fails to prove the resolution, they ought to lose the debate.
What is burden of proof?
argument evades the task of addressing the question and instead appeals to the feelings of the audience
What is ad hominem?
any judge with minimal to no debate experience
What is "lay judge"?
This refers to when debaters actually compete against one another.
What is round/ pairing?
a stock issue that states the plan must solve for the harms it claims to solve for
What is solvency?
the negative’s responsibility to disprove the affirmative case.
What is burden of rejoinder?
"after this, thus because of this" An error created by assuming that sequence indicates causation. Many things happen in succession without any direct connection.
What is post hoc?
The key points in a debate that are crucial to the outcome. These are reasons why the judge should give the decision to a team
What are voting issues?
index used to evaluate individual participants’ oratorical and rhetorical capacities
What are speaker points?
a reason why a claim is true. can be analytical or evidence based
What is warrant?
An argument that the counterplan is not a real opportunity cost, that the plan and some or all of the counterplan can be completed at the same time.
What is permutation?
the fallacious presentation of two possibilities as the only possibilities.
What is false dichotomy?
the standards by which a judge evaluates the success of the affirmative and negative cases, standards by which a decision is made
What is weighing mechanism?
a group of folks, typically coaches, who are directors and organizers of the tournaments
What is tab/tabulation?
An offcase argument about the assumptions made by the affirmative plan and how an alternative can resolve the implications of those assumptions
What is kritik?
The negative can kick the counterplan if a permutation is introduced on that counterplan
What is dispositional?
an illogical statement, one that seems to draw a conclusion not supported by the premises
What is Non sequitur?
a judge’s educational philosophy; the model or view that guides his or her decision. In other words, what a judge does or does not want to hear in a round.
What is judging paradigm/preferences?
After the round, once a judge has disclosed, students will typically ask questions and for direct feedback from the judge.
What is post-rounding?