1. If you want me to vote on anything, it needs to be in final focus. If an argument other than weighing is in final focus, it needs to be in summary. This means no new frontlining backlining etc. in final focus. You can always respond to something that was new in the previous speech, and the first speaking team can extend defense from rebuttal to final focus. No need to go over it in summary. I don't vote on defense that isn't extended into the second half.

2. If you choose to concede a delink to get out of a turn, that concession MUST be done in the speech after the delink is announced (if you don't understand this don't worry; it probably doesn't apply to you) otherwise I probably won't vote off of it.

ex: Team A says tariffs hurt the economy in second constructive. Team B says that tariffs will actually help the economy (turn) and that they won't happen anyway (delink) in first rebuttal. Team B ignores both of these responses in their rebuttal and so Team A goes for the turn as a voting issue in first summary. Team B suddenly decides to concede tat tariffs won't happen (the delink) in second summary to get out of the turn. Do not do this, with me as a judge, Team B MUST concede the delink in second rebuttal.

3. Evidence violations: I WILL drop you for miscut evidence. Having said that, I probably won't call for evidence unless one or both teams asks me to do so. If it isn't egregious I will take off speaker points instead of dropping you.

4. Warrants: please explain WHY something is true. It is almost never enough to just give me a piece of evidence stating that it is true.

5. I trust you to time yourselves.

6. When two arguments or pieces of evidence conflict, please tell me why to prefer yours.

7. Voters: This is probably my biggest preference as a judge. Please tell me exactly what arguments you want me to vote on and why, in your summary and in your final focus (they should be the same). You don't need a voter structure so long as you tell me at some point (preferably early in your speech) what issues you want me to look at in this round.

8. Weighing: Please weigh. This doesn't just mean say the sentence "we outweigh on scope/magnitude/etc." it means explain to me that you should win bc you affect more people, or even though your opponents affect more people you affect them more deeply and I should prioritize that for x reason. If you don't weigh I will have to do it for you in my decision and you may not like how that goes.

9. CX: If something important happens in cross be sure to bring it up in a speech. I do not flow CX, although I do use it to help determine speaker points.

10. Speed: If you are going to go fast, please be clear. Many debaters think their clarity is much better than it is. Do not spread if your opponents can't handle speed. Please check with them if you are planning on going fast and offer to send speech docs before your speech. I will be able to flow what you are saying but it will be a problem with me if your opponents can't, they say so, and you don't take that into account. Unless you are planning on purposefully talking super fast/spreading, don't worry about this part of my paradigm.

11. I almost always give an oral RFD in addition to a written one. Please feel free to ask me any questions, argue with me, whatever you want. I want to make sure you understand why I made the decision I did and I want you to be able to improve your arguments after the round.

12. Evidence: If you don't have a cut card (the quotation you cited + context) and you can't access the original evidence I will mark the evidence off my flow.

13. Offensive overviews in second rebuttal: For the ones that are basically additional contentions, please don't. I will be very receptive to arguments that they are abusive.

Some unlikely scenarios:

If neither team has offense at the end of the round I will give the win to the team that spoke first, seeing as the structure of PF advantages the second-speaking team, making it harder for them to end up being the one with no offense.

If one team is overtly racist, sexist, homophobic etc. or personally insults the other team in any way I will drop them.

There are very very few arguments I will not put on my ballot if you ask me to. However, if you seriously misrepresent what is or isn't allowed in a debate, what fiat is, or something similar, it will have a hard time making it onto my ballot, especially if your opponents mount any kind of defense.

The need to speak, even if one has nothing to say, becomes more pressing when one has nothing to say, just as the will to live becomes more urgent when life has lost its meaning.

My actual paradigm: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KCHII3qVhIbGtqdos6dUGkuGa0WZZzw-L305yb8_43U/edit?usp=sharing

I competed for four years in public forum debate at Lake Highland Preparatory School. Please make my job easier and weigh. I, like most judges, will vote off of the clearest path to the ballot. With that being said you still need to warrant your weighing analysis.

Don’t read a new contention in rebuttal and present it as an “overview”. It's abusive and your speaker points will reflect that.

If you are the second speaking team you should frontline the arguments you plan on going for in summary and final focus in the second speaking rebuttals. I don’t require a 50/50 split between your case and theirs but you should spend some time rebuilding your own case. Don’t read new turns or a new weighing analysis in second summary if you want me to vote for it.

I’m fine with speed but be mindful that if you speak so quickly that I can’t understand what you’re saying it makes it a lot harder to vote for you.

I’m open to critical arguments and most theory shells (the only exception being disclosure theory — I think its abusive to run it in a community where disclosure isn’t the norm).

I’ll call for evidence if I think it sounds interesting (or fake) but I’m not going to base my decision off the legitimacy of said piece of evidence. If you do want me to vote off of a piece of evidence you need to make that argument in round. I’m not going to intervene on either team’s behalf.

If you make a comment that I deem racist, homophobic, sexist, or ableist at any point in the round it completely eradicates the integrity of the event and creates a space in which individuals can’t compete fairly and I won’t think twice about dropping you and giving you 0 speaks.

Oh and for speaks I consider 28 to be average, 29 to be above average, and 30 to be perfect.

If you have any questions please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to clarify.

4 years debating mostly in PF, graduated in 2018

updated for BR: I am old now so pls don't assume I know anything about this topic and also speak not too too fast thank u <3

• If you need any accommodations to be able to access the round, such as keeping it below a certain wpm, let me know before the round and directly in front of your opponents

• I can understand theory and am willing to vote on theory, but I have a particularly hard time voting for disclosure theory

• I won't evaluate unrelated DAs/new contentions/new impacts past case. Additionally, if your argument is one thing and constructive and suddenly becomes something new (adds an impact, changes an impact) in the final focus I'm not evaluating it.

• No defense in first summary or rebuild in second rebuttal required.

• I'll call for any piece of evidence you tell me to in a speech if it'll make an impact on my decision even if you don't say why. However, if you explain why it's misconstrued or otherwise bad I'll be more likely to see the problem.

• I don't vote for impacts that aren't terminalized.

It should go without saying that if you say something offensive that passes the threshold of an innocent mistake your speaks are getting dropped, and if you get called out on it and continue to do it you’re getting the lowest speaks possible from me.

My email is meganmunce2022@u.northwestern.edu if you have any questions before or after the round!

However you want to debate in front of me is fine.

I won't require defense in first summary, unless second rebuttal frontlines.

Don't forget to have fun!

**Updated October 2022**

Hi, I'm Ellie (she/her)! I have experience competing and judging in PF and WS. For four years I competed mostly in APDA for Yale. I coached for Blake after my high school graduation. I have judged many rounds over time, but not recently, so be aware of that. 

Feel free to message me for feedback (if I forget you can nudge me), if you have questions about APDA, for moral support, or anything else. I'm happy to help!

Please put debate.ellie@gmail.com and blakedocs@googlegroups.com on the email chain if you make one!

This paradigm is for PF, though some things apply across events (eg: the decorum section).

The Split

Everyone frontlines now. That's nice.

Speed

I can flow speed, but proceed at your own risk. You can "clear" your opponents but do this sparingly. I don't use speech docs to fill in things I could not catch/understand.

Types of arguments

You are the debater and I want you to enjoy debating things that interest you. There are few things I refuse to hear.

Progressive arguments are important. I'll do my best to evaluate them fairly. I am not super well versed in K lit so while I will try and understand whatever you read, there's a risk I just miss something.

I really don't like when teams run squirrelly arguments just to throw off their opponents. Your points may suffer even if I vote for you and my threshold for responses will be lower.

If you're on a topic where people tend to run "advocacies" please prove there's a probability of your advocacy occurring.

I am not amenable to speaks theory.

The only other args I refuse to listen to are linguistic and moral skep – I have yet to hear them in PF, but don't even try lol

Dates

read them lol

Evidence

I very strongly prefer cards > paraphrasing, but it isn't a hard rule. I will punish you for misrepresenting evidence or knowingly reading authors that are fraudulent or very clearly unreliable.

Know where your evidence is. If you can't find it, it's getting kicked. Do not cut cards in round.

Bracketing is bad. No debater math pls.

Summary and Final Focus

Extend defense. Don't go for everything. Args needs to be in summary to be counted in FF. Also, weigh.

~~Decorum~~

Being funny or witty is fine as long as it isn't mean. I am not afraid to tank your speaks if you are rude.

Prep

keep track of it i won't

Misc

sIgNpOsT!!!!!!!!

don't delink your own case to escape turns just frontline them

You can enter the room and flip before I get there (when we're back in person that is).

If you want to take off your jacket/change your shoes/wear pajamas, go ahead!

If you're trying to get perfect speaks, strike me. A lot of my speaks end up in the 27.5-29 range.

My paradigm is pretty simple. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. 

-Weighing. is. crucial. Please do not make me do extra work - this is super risky for you.

-Any extensions of offense made in the FF should have also been made in the summary if you want me to vote off of them. This includes turns. That being said, do not extend through ink...

-I don't require defense in summary and, if you are giving the first summary, you definitely shouldn't be extending defense. (I will be incredibly frustrated if you do.) However, you must respond to turns. If you're giving the second summary, I think it's strategic for you to extend 1 or 2 pieces of key defense. 

-Please collapse on a couple of voting issues in the summary and FF. Don't try to go for everything. You should be going for the arguments that win you the ballot, and you should be weighing these arguments in the context of the round. 

-Please don’t misinterpret your evidence or make silly oversimplifications. I do call for contested evidence.

-To ensure clarity, please signpost!!!! If it’s not on my flow, you’ve wasted your time. I’m fine with speed, but I am not fine with disorganization and/or a lack of clarity. This is a big pet peeve of mine, especially in the summary.

-I enjoy good puns. 

If you can't get the same clarity going fast as you could going slow, don't go fast. I do not require second rebuttal to respond to first rebuttal, however I think responding to turns is in your best interest strategically. I do not think terminal defense needs to be extended in first summary.

I've been debating and coaching teams across the country for a while. Currently coaching Dreyfoos AL (Palm Beach Independent) and Poly Prep.

MAIN STUFF

I will make whichever decision requires the least amount of intervention. I don't like to do work for debaters but in 90% of rounds you leave me no other choice.

Here's how I make decisions

1) Weighing/Framework (Prereqs, then link-ins/short-circuits, then impact comparison i.e. magnitude etc.)

2) Cleanly extended argument across both speeches (summ+FF) that links to FW

3) No unanswered terminal defense extended in other team's second half speeches

I have a very high threshold for extensions, saying the phrase "extend our 1st contention/our impacts" will get you lower speaks and a scowl. You need to re-explain your argument from uniqueness to fiat to impact in order to properly "extend" something in my eyes. I need warrants. This also goes for turns too, don't extend turns without an impact.

Presumption flows neg. If you want me to default to the first speaking team you'll need to make an argument. In that case though you should probably just try to win some offense.

SPEAKING PREFS

I like analytical arguments, not everything needs to be carded to be of value in a round. (Warrants )

Signpost pls. Roadmaps are a waste of time 98% of the time, I only need to know where you're starting.

I love me some good framework. Highly organized speeches are the key to high speaks in front of me. Voter summaries are fresh.

I love T and creative topicality interps. Messing around with definitions and grammar is one of my favorite things to do as a coach.

Try to get on the same page as your opponents as often as possible, agreements make my decision easier and make me respect you more as a debater (earning you higher speaks). Strategic concessions make me happy. The single best way to get good speaks in front of me is to implicate your opponent's rebuttal response(s) or crossfire answers against them in a speech.

Frontlining in second rebuttal is smart but not required. It’s probably a good idea if they read turns.

Reading tons of different weighing mechanisms is a waste of time because 10 seconds of meta-weighing or a link-in OHKOs. When teams fail to meta-weigh or interact arguments I have to intervene, and that makes me sad.

Don’t extend every single thing you read in case.

PROCEDURAL LOGISTICS

My email is devon@victorybriefs.com

I'm not gonna call for cards unless they're contested in the round and I believe that they're necessary for my RFD. I think that everyone else that does this is best case an interventionist judge, and worst case a blatant prep thief.

Skipping grand is cringe. Stop trying to act like you're above the time structure.

Don't say "x was over time, can we strike it?" right after your opponent's speech. I'll only evaluate/disregard ink if you say it was over time during your own speech time. Super annoying to have a mini argument about speech time in between speeches. Track each other’s prep.

Don't say TKO in front of me, no round is ever unwinnable.

PROG STUFF

Theory's fine, usually frivolous in PF. Love RVIs Genuinely believe disclosure is bad for the event and paraphrasing is good, but I certainly won't intervene against any shell you're winning.

I will vote for kritikal args :-)

Just because you're saying the words structural violence in case doesn't mean you're reading a K

Shoutouts to my boo thang, Shamshad Ali #thepartnership

I did PF for 4 years at Byram Hills. My paradigm's pretty simple:

- Collapse and weigh at the end of the round. If you want me to vote on an argument please do the work for me and tell me why. Do not try to extend everything.

- Any and all offense you want me to consider needs to be in BOTH summary and final focus, including turns. That being said, DON'T extend through ink.

- No, I don't require defense in summary, but I strongly suggest it, especially for second speaking teams. I would also really prefer extensions of defense in first summary IF the second rebuttal frontlines case.

- On that note, I think it's probably strategic for second speaking teams to frontline in rebuttal, but I don't require it.

- I won't call for evidence unless it's been contested in the round and I'm told to call for it, so if your opponents miscut something TELL ME and I will call for it.

- Roadmaps aren't necessary. Definitely sign post though.

- Speed is fine, but please don't spread - clarity is a requirement for me to be able to judge.

- I am old and never debated progressive arguments myself, so if you want to run Theory or Ks you need to explain them really well. If these types of arguments are run properly in front of me and not adequately responded to, I will vote for them. That being said, I don't want to hear a full T shell, and Ks need a role of the ballot argument.

Be nice! Have fun! Talk pretty!

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hi! I did PF for 5 years and graduated in 2018.

***Harvard 2020 - bring me food and drink please ***

Things that make me weird

1) Preflow before round

2) I'll call for whatever evidence I'm told to in addition to what I want. If you misconstrue evidence I will intervene and drop the evidence AND maybe the entire argument if the entire link chain is misconstrued

3) ima give you a common sense amount of time to pull up cards before I start running your prep. have your cards available!

4) I'm an absolute FIEND for some warrant/link comparison instead of impact comparison. Also comparison of weighing mechanisms is the path to my heart

5) postround me idrc - just be considerate of both of our time and recognize that at a certain point we may just disagree about the debate

Other than that, please refer to Ryan Zhu's paradigm and imagine it was 3 years older. Tech > truth just do your thing

Feel free to ask me any questions before or after the round, through Facebook Messenger, or email me at richardzhu64@gmail.com.