Hello, I'm Kate, a senior at Eastern Michigan University. I have been out of the debate for awhile now, and my paradigm might be a little outdated. With that, this is what I know and what will help you understand how to best win me over as a judge :)

In short, my paradigm depends on what event you are competing in, so I will break all that down below. For the most part, please be kind. Do not be rude or condescending in the round. My speaker points usually range from 25-30. If you are rude during a round, I will drop you. I am considerate of all tech issues that may arise, as I am not that tech-savvy myself. Please be mindful and do not take advantage of this.

I do not disclose in rounds, no matter the event. I have never seen the education or advantage of disclosure, so I tend to favor not disclosing unless I have to.

For world schools

Worlds Schools Debate relies on style and strategy. I believe this to be a conversational debate where rhetoric and argumentation can come into play. As a third speaker, this should not be another rebuttal. I want to see the breakdown of arguments through either questions or key areas of analysis. You should be answering at least three questions each speech, and I am okay with multiple people asking points at the same time. With that, please be respectful and mindful of the speaker. Points of clarification are also fine but keep them brief: these are not rebuttals. There are no follow-ups in Points of Information, so be concise with your wording when asking a question.

If you have any questions about my paradigm, please ask before the round. I will not go over my entire paradigm with you. Please do not ask me what my paradigm is, as I will be very angry with you :(

For LD

If you are in LD, do not look at my policy paradigm, they are separate for a reason. I was a traditional debater all through high school, but I was also successful on the national circuit, so I know my way around progressive LD. I am okay with speed but not spreading: there is a time and place for spreading, and it is not in LD. also, for most of my debates, I would say I am truth>tech.

YOU MUST HAVE A VALUE AND A VALUE CRITERION. There is no plan text in LD, there is no solvency on the aff. If you plan to run a counterplan, don't. If you do not have these or plan to run these, you do not want me as a judge. I believe this is a philosophical debate, and thus you should focus on the framework heavily throughout. I really hate theory and would not like to see it, often times it gets very abusive and I cannot follow it.

Cross-examination is always my favorite, and I like it when used wisely, so take advantage of that without being rude. I have to see the clash to find a winner. Clash on whose evidence was better or more recent doesn't cut it. I want to know who had the better impacts, value, weighing mechanism- this should also show up in your KVIs in the last speech.

For PF

I would rather see clash on arguments than cards. pf is an on-balance debate which means that at the end of the round, you should be telling me what you are winning and how you out-weigh on impacts, solvency, framework, etc. every speech should essentially be different and have its own reasons for being there, so I don't want constant rebuttals throughout the whole round. I appreciate the whole picture of what the pro and con worlds look like.

speed is okay, but don't spread, and please sign-post throughout the round and the speeches. I want to know what I am putting on my flow and where it needs to go. line-by-lines are also cool in pf. If you are calling for cards you should have a pretty good reason to call the card I think more time is simply wasted on calling for every single piece of evidence when you aren't even making an attack on the evidence you do call.

For Policy

I am a tech>truth for policy so please make sure that if you are running arguments you are not running them to waste time but to win them. I am okay with speed and spreading as long as I have the doc and you slow the tags down for me. I am more familiar with stock issues within the debate, but I am a tabula rasa when it comes down to it. I really don't like affKs so be aware and try to avoid them around me as much as possible. If you want to win with me as a judge, tell me what you have won and how you have won it in the 2NR and 2AR, and if you are running something you know I don't particularly like, spend more time on it.

topicality- only run this if you plan to keep it in the 2NR, but if not then don't run it just to waste time. I am all too familiar with running T on a random word just to waste your opponent's time, but I would rather see fewer arguments and more impacts.

Ks- I really don't like Ks all too much unless it is a really fleshed-out K that not only makes sense but also creates a valuable debate. I think there are a ton of really good Ks that you can find, I am more familiar with: Cap K, Neolib, Hauntology, psychoanalysis K, and afropes K. I know some of these can be a little older but if you know of Ks that might be similar then it would be best to try that then something that is like way off. YOU MUST HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE. I have seen too many Ks run without alts which kind of defeats their purpose.

theory- not gonna lie I never ran theory as a policy nor LD debater, but I have seen it and I don't like it. often theory can get really abusive and if it comes to that within a round I will drop you for it. if you need to run theory then make it good and simple or I will not be able to follow it and thus I cannot vote on what I do not know.

CPs- they're great, I've always loved a good CP debate and would vote on these easily as long they are good and you have won it.

tag team CX is fine with me as long as it doesn't get too abusive and the person who is supposed to be asking and answering questions is the one mainly talking. I don't use prep when flashing evidence just don't abuse that or I will start timing it if I need to. if you have any questions or if I have missed anything pls ask any questions but pls read the paradigm. I will drop you for things that are not followed on the paradigm.