National Speech and Debate Tournament

2025 — Des Moines, IA/US

Will Aarons Paradigm
Lincoln-Douglas
Lincoln Douglas Debate Judge Philosophy

Your experience with LD Debate (check all that apply)

Former LD competitor
Experienced LD judge

How many years have you judged LD debate?

5

How many LD rounds have you judged this year?

0-10

What is your preferred rate of delivery?

3/91 = Slow conversational style
9 = Rapid conversation speed
 

Does the rate of delivery weigh heavily in your decision?

Y
 

Will you vote against a student solely for exceeding your preferred speed?

N

How important is the criterion in making your decision?

It may be a factor depending on its use in the round
 

Do you feel that a value and criterion are required elements of a case?

N

Rebuttals and Crystallization

 

Voting issues should be given:

Either is acceptable
 

The use of jargon or technical language ("extend", "cross-apply", "turn", etc.) during rebuttals:

Is acceptable
 

Final rebuttals should include:

Both
 

Voting issues are:

Absolutely necessary

How do you decide the winner of the round?

I decide who is the person who persuaded me more of their position

How necessary do you feel the use of evidence (both analytical and empirical) is in the round?

9/91 = Not necessary
9 = Always necessary

Please describe your personal note-taking during the round

I keep detailed notes throughout the round
Additional remarks: I choose whichever side persuades me that they are more thoughtful. To that end, I don’t flow and don't care about “dropped” arguments. Engage with the cruxes of your opponent’s position, but if there are too many claims and/or if some of them are silly, I won't reward you for covering them. I'm not going to pretend that I don't have priors and won't hesitate to give less weight to claims that (subjectively) strike me as ridiculous, irrelevant, or insufficiently justified. It's also your opponent's job to argue why your claims are ridiculous/irrelevant/insufficiently justified, but that doesn't mean I'll give equal default weight to any proposition you raise. I like to see debaters slowing down, making fewer arguments to spend more time explaining them, and prioritizing thoughtfulness/good faith over trickery.

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