Make my job as easy as possible by weighing throughout the round and telling me exactly where I can vote for you. I prefer a couple of nicely explained arguments over a million blippy arguments. 

If you want me to look at evidence you need to say so in a speech, otherwise I won't call for it. 

Have a respectful round. If you keep cutting off your opponents, I won't be happy and you can bet I'll lower your speaks. 

I also hate off time road maps unless you're going to do something unusual. Saying that you're going over their case and then if time allows your own, then you're wasting time. 

Please speak at a conversational pace. If I can't understand your argument, I can't flow your argument.

Prefer quality over quantity. One solid argument will persuade me more than a dozen undeveloped arguments.

When speaking, please introduce evidence with the author’s full name, qualifications, publication, and publication date. This information is essential to evaluating the strength of your evidence. While last name/year may be the minimum requirement per NSDA rules, it is not sufficient to win the ballot. Each piece of evidence should be introduced with a brief pause or by saying “quote/unquote.” This is necessary to distinguish between evidence and analysis.

Please signpost with arguments, not authors.

Please ensure that your evidence supports the claims you are making. Disconnects between claims and evidence will seriously damage your credibility.

EMAIL: jcohen1964@gmail.com

I judge Public Forum Debate 95% of the time. I occasionally judge LD and even more occasionally, Policy.

A few items to share with you:

(1) I can flow *somewhat* faster than conversational speed. As you speed up, my comprehension declines.

(2) I may not be familiar with the topic's arguments. Shorthand references could leave me in the dust. For example, "On the economy, I have three responses..." could confuse me. It's better to say, "Where my opponents argue that right to work kills incomes and sinks the economy, I have three responses...". I realize it's not as efficient, but it will help keep me on the same page you are on.

(3) I miss most evidence tags. So, "Pull through Smith in 17..." probably won't mean much to me. Reminding me of what the evidence demonstrated works better (e.g. "Pull through the Smith study showing that unions hurt productivity").

(4) In the interest of keeping the round moving along, please be selective about asking for your opponent's evidence. If you ask for lots of evidence and then I hear little about it in subsequent speeches, it's a not a great use of time. If you believe your opponent has misconstrued many pieces of evidence, focus on the evidence that is most crucial to their case (you win by undermining their overall position, not by showing they made lots of mistakes).

(5) I put a premium on credible links. Big impacts don't make up for links that are not credible.

(6) I am skeptical of "rules" you might impose on your opponent (in contrast to rules imposed by the tournament in writing) - e.g., paraphrasing is never allowed and is grounds for losing the round. On the other hand, it's fine and even desirable to point out that your opponent has not presented enough of a specific piece of evidence for its fair evaluation, and then to explain why that loss of credibility undermines your opponent's position. That sort of point may be particularly relevant if the evidence is technical in nature (e.g., your opponent paraphrases the findings of a statistical study and those findings may be more nuanced than their paraphrasing suggests).

(7) I am skeptical of arguments suggesting that debate is an invalid activity, or the like, and hence that one side or the other should automatically win. If you have an argument that links into your opponent's specific position, please articulate that point. I hope to hear about the resolution we have been invited to debate.

This is an updated paradigm.

EXPERIENCE

A long time ago (in college at Swarthmore), I was a WUDC finalist, APDA National Champion (team and 1st speaker), and TOTY.  Then I taught high school and coached debate at St. Paul's School.  And then, while in law school at the University of Chicago, I coached the parliamentary team.  This is my fourth year of judging public forum debate.

CRITERIA

At the end of the round, I decide which side has done the better debating.  To me, that's a combination of quality of argument, persuasive use of evidence, and presentation (including style and speed).  I approach the round as if I know nothing (so I am willing to vote on the basis of something that I don't believe / know to be untrue), but not as if I am not smart (I will not vote on the basis of repeated misstatements of evidence or dishonest efforts to turn/discount evidence).  I'll say a few words about each of my criteria.

Quality of Argument -- Good arguments are logical and develop across the course of a round.  They also have a certain coherence.  I am in favor of a thematic approach to a resolution and of both sides actually grappling with it.  Said differently, I take seriously any argument and welcome arguments that call out efforts to avoid or inappropriately shape the resolution.  I also am willing to consider abstract arguments.  And I will vote on these issues to the extent a team takes them seriously and explains why the are appropriate voting issues.  I look less favorably on the argument buried on the flow that suddenly becomes the whole round in Final Focus.  A high quality argument is easily understood and then extended through each speech.  

When I vote at the end of the round, I look at the flow through this lens -- how did the case evolve?  How did the themes of the case inform the response to the other side?  How clearly did each team explain why I should vote for them?  One more word here -- I do not think that the second rebuttal need to respond to the first rebuttal.  That is not to say that it cannot -- although if it does, it must be effective and it must not be done at the expense of responding to the other side's case.  Another -- the rebuttal should not extend or expand upon a case to which the other side has not responded.  This is literally a waste of time and there should not be time to waste.

Also, with regard to extensions, turns and cross-application -- all these are good, but shorthand is dangerous.  When you put a turn on the flow, make clear why it is a turn and not a response; when your cross-apply, explain the impact of the cross-application; when you extend in final focus, tell me why the argument you extend makes a difference.  With that in mind, I can see on my flow when an argument is dropped.  Be sure it is when you claim it is and if your opponents have dropped something inconsequential and you don't pull it in your final focus, I will not vote on it or revive it for them.  A dropped argument is a dead argument to the team that abandoned it.

One more word about arguments -- if they are good, I am fine with them.  I do not enter the round committed to democracy or believing that our system of government is somehow beyond question or reproach.  Although I will say that the debater who chooses to take on some settled piece of our geopolitical structure had better be well prepared to take it down.  If you take aim, you best not miss.

Persuasive use of evidence -- It goes without saying (but I will say it) that evidence needs to buttress the kind of argument I described in the last paragraph.  Even more so, evidence should help the judge understand more fully the reasons for or against a particular point.  In order for this to happen, the debaters need not only to read the evidence, but understand it.  Moreover, they need to believe (and be able to explain why they believe) that the evidence is worthy of credence.  Too often, I have heard debaters resort to "well that's what the quote says" rather than being able to explain why the evidence says what it says and why it is right.  Less often, but sometimes, I have heard debaters claim that evidence says something it does not say.  This is very bad.  I will call evidence if I doubt that it has been appropriately represented and I will not vote for a team that misrepresents evidence and asks me to rely on it as misrepresented.  Integrity is a critical component of debate, and nowhere is it more directly tested than in the use and abuse of evidence.

Presentation -- part of how you win an argument is to present it effectively.  This includes word choice, appropriate use of emotion / passion, and interaction with the other side.  Speed is a factor here too.   I can and will keep up with you no matter how fast you go, but I find excessive speed to be closely linked to poor presentation.  I will cut points for it and I do not approve of the use of speed to avoid actual clash by simply putting so many arguments on the flow that you claim that one is dropped and that you therefore win.  Effective presentation includes effectively responding to your opponent's contentions (reflecting both an understanding of them and an ability to put them in a context that makes clear that they should not be persuasive).

In the end, I balance these components in deciding on the substance of the round. 

A word on speaker points -- I view them as a the measure of all that I have set out above.  In my mind, 27s and 28s are good scores.  29s and 30s suggest I have seen something great.  And 26 is the fate of the debater who violates or ignores the various maxims with which I approach a round.

Background

I am currently one of the debate coaches for Milton High School in Massachusetts. I have been coaching/advising the team since 2014 and have judged most tournaments that we attend. These typically include local tournaments but include at least one national tournament a year. I have no personal experience as a debater.

General:

Please speak slow and clear. If you speak extremely fast I won't get all of your information/main points and at that point its out the window as I won't ask you to repeat or clarify.

Be nice. Being out right rude will cause you to lose points.

Be clear and specific during rebuttal. Let me know why your opponents contentions are weak. Using rebuttal to go over your case a second time will not help you.

Keep track of your own prep time

Use summary and final focus to let me know why you won the round

I'm an appellate criminal defense lawyer (once a prosecutor), and a part-time teacher, who has done some teaching within philosophy.  So, regardless of your debate event, I'll be impressed with a communicative, clear, and respectful style of debate, with attention to highlighting main points, and attention to the relative strength of all of your points, as well as how they fit together (i.e. which are subordinate).  I will not be impressed with the use of obscure, unexplained terms merely for the purpose of confounding your opponent, or merely suggesting to the judge that you have read a lot.  Debate should enlighten, not obscure, and there is nothing more ironic (or ineffective) than someone arguing against their opponent's position as unhealthy elitism while deliberately clothing their argument in language inaccessible to the average citizen.

I frankly don't think that the different debate events are all that different, in the final analysis.  All debates involve a claim that the resolution either should or should not be adopted, and reasons for doing so (or not).  A reason is simply an explanation of why someone should do something despite arguably countervailing interests/arguments.  A reason, therefore, must always appeal to someone's logic and common sense about how to acheive what is most important to them, necessarily making some argument, too, about what should be most important to them.  If you want to call that a "warrant" within a "framework" which consists of a "value" evaluated by a specific "criterion" -  to show me that I should "drop" your opponents argument even if I were to adopt the "value" proposed by the other side - so be it.  But, in sum, it's just all about convincing me that I should want to adopt (or not adopt) the resolution, despite what the other guy/gal is saying,  giving me good reasons for doing so.  Please keep that your focus, and avoid getting distracted (or distracting me) with debating terms which obfuscate more than they clarify.  For example, I'm afraid it is not helpful to argue about a "cap K," even though I know what that is. The theory, I guess, is that such shorthand lets you fit more argument in the round.  But I think it instead distorts, obscures, or mistakes the real arguments, which can be made just as succinctly in standard English if they are truly worth making at all.  *If* such terms help *you* understand your argument/strategy when you are prepping with fellow debaters, that's fine.  But please be prepared to tell *me* straightforwardly why you want me to vote for your position.  If you have to call something a "cap K," you haven't worked hard enough to explain what you're actually arguing, and why it is worth arguing.

Clear outlines/sign-posts which help lead me through your argument are very much appreciated; I may not be as smart as you are, but your smarts won't do you any good if you don't bring me along, at the end of the day.  You should be able to state your central position(s) in one clear sentence, then elaborate with attention to that (those) central theme(s).   Time-limitation does not require rushing, and rushing detracts from the persuasive value of your speech.  Time-limitation should instead lead to you to make your argument as tightly/efficiently as possible, without sacrificing needed empirical support.  And one or two persuasive arguments arguments beat 15 unconvincing arguments any day of the week, even if all 15 weak points are conceeded.

It would help me if you would try to understand the focus of your opponent's argument as well, helping me to understand what *you* understand it to be, and for you to respond to it at its core - that is, at its strongest - first and foremost.  

Please also use truly authoritative, and usefully-identified empirical support, wherever that's appropriate, making it clear what proposition you are trying to support, with attention truly to identifying the authority of the person/source you are quoting (a mere name, or the fact that something has been published without my knowing where, won't convince me that the source you're citing has any weight, unless its something like "President Lincoln").   Again, one or two truly authoritative sources beat 15 weak ones.   My understanding of my role is to vote for the argument most persuasive to the uninitiated, truly testing your ability to bring me all the way from the ground up to your view.  

So I like substance, not maneuvering and jargon and spreading -- as well as attention to the merits of the resolution which you have actually come to debate, with serious attention to how the world outside the room would receive what you have to say and how you are saying it.  That doesn't mean you cannot be creative with argument, making use of theory, but I would prefer you to think very carefully about how and whether your most creative arguments truly serve the ultimate goal of convincing me to vote for your position.  To be truly creative - that is, to truly explicate a reason which was not clear/considered before - an argument must be not only new, but also convincing.

The issues you are debating are truly important social issues usually having to do with fundamental rights on both sides, or at least the potential of a particular policy to create a better society, and even if you are not personally convinced of the merits of both sides, by doing the best job you can of articulating the position you do not like, you are insisting upon the development of the best arguments on the side you ultimately support.  Please remember that you have a very real opportunity truly to influence someone's perspective (mine), thereby shaping a little piece of the future, and though that may be done by speaking with conviction, it is rarely accomplished by merely shouting someone into submission, and often requires some concessions.  

Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to reassure me that deliberative debate is a worthwhile pursuit, designed to help reasonable people arrive at what's most reasonable.  By your thoughtful and respectful participation in this activity, you can spread the habit of thoughtful debate, demonstrating the worth (and joy) of deliberation as the essential glue holding together our fragile democracy.  Please do not waste the opportunity you have here.  Anything which might otherwise seem trivial, tangential, gimmicky, or distracting, should be very carefully and articulately tied to the merits of the resolution itself, so that it no longer seems tangential to me, or its tangential nature may cost you my vote.

Paradigm 

I vote on almost anything if you win the debate. I believe that debate should be an even competition of what happens in the round and how it affects the outside world instead of the other way around. Also don't do anything racist, homophobic, sexist, patriarchal, transphobic, heteronormative or simply disrespectful in round without expecting poor speaker points. It will also affect how I view your argumentation in this safe space.

 Spreading

In regards to spreading I'm fine with it just don't start out at full speed I need time to adjust to voices. Also be clear and slow on tags so I can know what you are saying and what I should be voting on. I can't vote on something that I  can't hear.

I am a parent judge from Hunter College High School. I have been judging for a few years now. Please speak slowly and clearly, no jargon. You should concentrate on the 1-2 most relevant arguments at the end of the round and point out to me why I should vote on those. If you want to win off of an argument, please highlight it in the summary and reiterate it in the final focus speeches. Please be civil to your competitors.

I went to the TOC 3x, have worked at CBI and Capitol, and have coached Bronx Science and Scarsdale. Please believe me when I say I can understand fast and technical debate but I absolutely abhor it and my decision will reflect that. I want you to treat me as if I am a small child, or maybe a Labrador, and make things excruciatingly, brain-deaddeningly simple for me.

History: 

Bronx High School of Science (2007 -2011)

1 year Policy

3 years PF

Bronx Science PF Coach 

2011 - 2015

Other details: 

Generally speaking, I will vote for any kind of argument and am comfortable with a variety of styles and speeds. However, I have rarely judged since 2015, and may struggle if you are fast AND unclear, or if you fail to do adequate weighing in later speeches

I reward speakers - w/ higher points - who make a presentation effort - (eye contact, slowing down on impact work, grouping & weighing in final speeches vs. a line by line, some humor if you're actually funny) but will give high speaks to other kinds of debaters too 

I don't judge often, so excessive speed is counterproductive on the debaters' part. I follow where the rounds are going, and expect to be led to the big arguments for either side, which I hope will somehow conflict with one another. In the average PF round I've seen, decisions boil down mostly to a couple of points, so if each team has three voters separate from the other side's voters, you're asking me to intervene. Pick the arguments you really want me to decide on.

Background:
I competed in LD debate, Extemp, and Congress from fall 1998 - spring 2002 (plus some other speech events). I then competed in Parliamentary debate for all 4 years of college. I find speech and debate to be highly valuable to the participants and wish to give back to the community. That is why I started coaching in 2014 when I returned to the US after my army service.
Current Affiliation: Needham High School Assistant Coach (speech and debate)
Last Update: February, 2023

LD Paradigm:

QUICK: I am old school / traditional. I expect LD to be like it was when I did the activity. If someone has a value and criterion, links their arguments back to their criterion and impacts how those arguments achieve their value, I am extremely happy and give high speaker points. I also really like it when people have strong crystallizations (voters). Clearly weighing and explaining why I should value your arguments more than your opponents make my job easier, which give you more speaker points.
I dislike theory / policy debates in LD. Policy debate exists, do whatever you want in a policy round. Don't do it in a LD round.

Additional Details: I love LD debate because of the standard debate inherent to the activity. The ability to explain why I should use a certain moral standard and then explain how your arguments lead to the achievement of your standard are critical in my mind. That is the only thing I want to vote on. I expect the debate to be centered around the resolution provided.
Any other argument, ie, policy debate, theory, fairness, etc, no matter how well done, or how much time is devoted to it, misses the point of the activity in my mind, so it will be treated as such in my RFD.

Also, as a speech and debate coach, I value both the delivery and the analysis. Both are part of the speaker scale. For speech aspects, speed, clarity, sign posting, eye contact are things I look at. For analysis, the more in depth, the better. I want to hear the student, not the card. Telling me to extend a card without telling me why the card is important in the round in not analysis.

In addition, since I do believe in the educational merit of this activity, I will gladly talk with anyone after the round. I usually don't disclose, but am fully willing to explain how I saw the round, what can be improved, and what was done well.

DO NOT BULLY! I will punish anyone that is abusive / racist / sexist with low speaks and a loss rather quickly. Making fun of an argument can be acceptable, though not necessary or helpful. If it is a bad argument, then just beat it, don't waste time mocking it. Mocking someone is never acceptable! Abusive arguments are also never acceptable.

Finally, I object to the concept of a low point win. Points represent the entirety of the round so it is impossible to have a low point win.

Policy Paradigm:

Everything I hate in LD is kosher in Policy, so knock yourself out. That being said, I enjoy rounds on substance and the speaker points I give reflect that. I will repeat from before: DO NOT BULLY! I will punish anyone that is abusive / racist / sexist with low speaks and a loss rather quickly. Making fun of an argument can be acceptable, though not necessary or helpful. If it is a bad argument, then just beat it, don't waste time mocking it. Mocking someone is never acceptable! Abusive arguments are also never acceptable.

Finally, I object to the concept of a low point win. Points represent the entirety of the round so it is impossible to have a low point win.

PF Paradigm:

I enjoy judging PF. Due to my LD background, having some sort of framework / framing the round helps me as a judge and helps you win the round and get higher speaker points. Due to the short speech times, I really want you to explain why one or two arguments that you are winning are more important than the one or two arguments your opponents are winning. Weighing is really important!

Something a bit more specific - being the second team to speak in a round means your rebuttal can deal with the first 3 speeches, and while I don't require you to do so, it really helps your side when you deal with both the pro and con cases. Use that advantage!

I will repeat from before: DO NOT BULLY! I will punish anyone that is abusive / racist / sexist with low speaks and a loss rather quickly. Making fun of an argument can be acceptable, though not necessary or helpful. If it is a bad argument, then just beat it, don't waste time mocking it. Mocking someone is never acceptable! Abusive arguments are also never acceptable.

Finally, I object to the concept of a low point win. Points represent the entirety of the round so it is impossible to have a low point win.

Cheers,
Adam Nir

I am a former PF debater, and I now coach for a team. I like things warranted, and also quantified. A combination of logic and evidence makes for the best debate. If your opponents read evidence that isn't saying what they claim it is saying then let me know and I will examine it. In the summary and the final focus, please tell me "what", "where", and "Why". What argument, where on the flow is it, and why does that argument matter in the context of this round. If you want an argument to be in the final focus then it needs to be in the summary. If it is not in the summary, then I do not see it as a voter in the final focus. Also please signpost in the summary and final focus. Do not just name cards and not tell me where on the flow they are. This does not mean you need to do a line by line, but rather tell me what arguments or cards you are referencing, so it is easier for me to follow. 

Yes, I am a parent judge, yet travelled with my son's team for three years and judged at every tournament. I want you to convince me with your arguments, not with a bunch of PF lingo.  I do not like speed for speeds sake, as I can't flow. If I can't understand what is coming out of your mouth, I can't follow you. If I can't follow you,  I can't vote for you. I originally came from a speech background, I care about speaking technique. Quality of argument over quantity. 

Be clear:

Public Forum's roots are based in "one" going before the general public, persons of diverse education, intellect and knowledge.  I expect the presentation of your arguments to reflect that. Please don't dumb down because I am a "parent" judge.

Be clean: Please do not play dirty, the world is dirty enough. Be clean.

Be respectful: In crossfire, don't get muddled in stupid arguments, use them intelligently to undue the other side. Please do not be rude or condescending.  There is no room for that.

Use:

Your constructives to set me up for your arguments - build your case, tell me the story.

Your rebuttals to give me reason to disagree with your opponent. Don't just attack, you need to defend.

Your summaries to clean up anything vague or muddled. 

Your final focus to make me vote for you. 

Thank you!

Do not lie about or manipulate evidence. All arguments and rebuttals must be across my flow throughout the round. Do not make a point in rebuttal and drop it in summary and final. You must weight and you must link to impacts. I appreciate good speakers but will award low point wins in any round where the better speakers fail to cover the flow, weigh, link to impacts or address framework (when applicable).

Look at my good friend Gabe's paradigm. It is pretty much the same as mine and he managed to express it quite eloquently.

Here is a link to it.

https://www.tabroom.com/index/paradigm.mhtml?search_first=gabe&search_last=rusk

Updated for Princeton 2018

Email: paveldtemkin@gmail.com

Debated for:

PF: Princeton HS, NJ (2012-14)
APDA: Rutgers University, NJ (2015-2018)

Coached for:

PF: Stuyvesant HS, NY (2014-15)
PF: Bergen County Debate Club, NJ (2018-present)
APDA: Johns Hopkins University, MD (2018-present)

Lincoln Douglas Paradigm

I'll be as non-interventionist as I physically can be, sometimes to the point of mind-boggling obstinacy. If you explain every step in the link-chain I will be happy, if you don't you won't be happy.

Speed: Moderate. May ask you to CC me on the email chain.

Framework/Theory/Kritiks/T/DAs: Fine. Please be clear, especially in the very first links and the very last impacts.

Philosophy: I studied analytic philosophy, so I'll be very familiar with that literature, in particular metaethics and epistemology. I have read some continental/critical stuff, but have less familiarity.

Literally do not care what you do in a round.

Public Forum paradigm

A few remarks:

1. If it's important to my RFD, it needs to be in both summary and final focus, especially if it's offense. A few exceptions to this rule:
1. Rebuttal responses are "sticky". If there's a rebuttal response that was unaddressed, even if it wasn't in your opponents' summary or FF, I will still consider it against you.
2. If a central idea is seemingly conceded by both teams, it is true in the round. For example, if most of the debate is on the warrant level, and the impacts are conceded, I will extend the impacts for you even if you don't explicitly, because this allows you time to more adequately analyze the clash of the debate.
2. Especially on framework, you have to do the work for me. I won't evaluate arguments under a framework, even if you win the framework; you have to do the evaluation/weighing.
3. Warrants are extremely important; you don't get access to your evidence unless you give me warrants.
4. If you are non-responsive, I am fine with your opponents "extending through ink" -- in order to get defense, you need to be responsive.
5. Feel free to make whatever arguments you want.

I can be interventionist when it comes to evidence; I will call for it in three scenarios:

1. You read evidence that I have also read, and I think you misrepresented the evidence.
2. Your evidence is called into question/indicted.
3. You read evidence that sounds really sketchy.

In all cases, I will call for the evidence and decide for myself. I will sometimes call for evidence in round, after a team asks to see it during prep; do not be alarmed, I'm doing it to discourage abusive misquoting.

Speaker Points

I tend to be fairly low-speaking. What matters, in rough order of importance:

• Ethical treatment of evidence, both yours and your opponents'. (I have given 20s to teams misusing evidence in the past, and I'll gladly do so again--don't tempt me.)
• The presence of weighing/narrative.
• Nuanced, well-warranted analytical argumentation.
• Well-organized speeches. (Road maps optional; Signposting non-optional)
• Appealing rhetorical style.
• In-round courtesy and professionalism.

I am a fourth-year PF parent judge from Stuyvesant High School.  I flow the round.  Feel free to motor through your case, but don't spread or I may miss something.  In rebuttal, I expect a specific response to each subpoint of each contention.  In summary and/or final focus, you must extend your voters -- with your evidence -- and give me your weighing mechanism for the round.  Why should I prefer your evidence over theirs?  Write my ballot for me, or you'll be at my mercy.  I generally sit back during cross; if you think you have gained something during cross, you or your partner must reiterate it during a subsequent speech.  Any rudeness, arrogance or unprofessionalism will be reflected in your speaks.  Likewise, clarity of thought and expression will be rewarded.

Name: Mike Wascher

School Affiliation: Lake Highland Prep

Number of Years Judging Public Forum: 10

Number of Years Competing in Public Forum: 0

Number of Years Judging Other Forensic Activities: 15

Number of Years Competing in Other Forensic Activities: 8

If you are a coach, what events do you coach? Public Forum, extemp

What is your current occupation? Debate coach

Please share your opinions or beliefs about how the following play into a debate round:

Speed of Delivery As long as it is clear, speed is not important

Format of Summary Speeches (line by line? big picture?) Turning point in the debate where the debater should take from the line by line the arguments they envision as being the decision points. Whether it is organized by the same order as the line by line or re-cast in voting issues makes no difference.

Role of the Final Focus Tell me what arguments you win, explain why those arguments, when compared to your opponents arguments, means you win the debate. The comparative work is crucial. If the debaters don’t do it the judge has to do it and that is a door debaters should never leave open.

Extension of Arguments into later speeches While I have no autocratic rule, I would imagine that something you plan to go for would be something that is extended throughout the debate. If argument X is a winner it just seems reasonable to me that it should be included in all speeches.

Topicality Sadly, this argument isn’t advanced much because the time it takes to present it is generally critical time lost on case arguments and the trade off is seldom worth. Having said that, I would vote on a T argument.

Plans Specific plans are, by rule, not allowed. Generic ideas about solving problems necessarily discusses policy options. The general idea of those options is the resolution when were have policy topics.

Kritiks If Public Forum is supposed to be debate about how current events are debated in the real world I find little room for theoretical ideas that are not considered by real world policy makers. If, however, the critical argument has specific links to the topic, (and history suggests that few I’ve heard do) it should not be rejected because it is critical.

Flowing/note-taking I flow the key parts of the argument and sometimes flow authors. I find myself noting dates when they seem to be old (and possible dated). I listen to cross fire and sometimes make notes when I heard something worthwhile.

Do you value argument over style? Style over argument? Argument and style equally? I value argument and I especially value warrants (which aren’t tag lines) that explain why your claims are persuasive.

If a team plans to win the debate on an argument, in your opinion does that argument have to be extended in the rebuttal or summary speeches? Not a hard and fast rule with me but I can’t imagine why a winner would be left out.

If a team is second speaking, do you require that the team cover the opponents’ case as well as answers to its opponents’ rebuttal in the rebuttal speech? Also not a hard and fast rule with me but strategically it is probably important you get back to some of your case, unless you plan to win offense on turns on your opponents case.

Do you vote for arguments that are first raised in the grand crossfire or final focus? Never!

If you have anything else you'd like to add to better inform students of your expectations and/or experience, please do so here. The three things I would like to hear more often in Public Forum debates are:

1) Comparative work. Explain why you win the debate not just win some arguments. You can win every argument you discuss but still not have a better story than your opponent. Take the time to explain why the arguments you win form a better story than your opponent’s offering.

2) Warrants. Claims are not persuasive. Why your claim is true, significant, harmful, etc., make for a persuasive argument. The best claim from the most qualified author is generally useless and it is sad when those “Best” authors write warrants and debaters fail to cut that evidence and read it.

3) Paraphrasing. I recognize that the PF world is at this point. I don’t like it. I believe there are ethical issues when one cites three different authors, for example, and none of the three are working on the same argument but rather writing one line that fits in and is found in a google search. I also find it problematic that some think they can summarize a master’s level work in six words. Paraphrasing opens the world to a lot of potential evil. I read a lot on our topics and do not be the person that is misrepresenting an author by a poor paraphrase. It’s as bad as clipping. Given the power to change the world I would mandate we go back to reading evidence but then again I can’t find enough people, maybe even one other person, willing to give me that power. So we will paraphrase but we will properly represent the evidence.

I'm the coach at Boston Latin School, and I've been coaching at the high school and college level for about the last 15 years. I've done most forms of debate at one time or another, including Policy, Parli, LD, and even Congress and Worlds. I'm generally fairly well versed in the topic area, but it doesn't hurt to define unusual acronyms the first time you use them. Also, just because I can follow technical debate it doesn't mean that you need to be a spewtron with a million cards to impress me. Especially in PF I tend to appreciate a slower, more well reasoned case over a ton of carded claims any day.

Specific things to know for me as a judge:

1. Be honest about the flow and extend arguments by tag, not by citation. I like to think I can generally flow decently well. Repeatedly telling me your opponents dropped something that they actually had multiple responses to it tends to annoy me and degrade your credibility (and speaker points) pretty quickly. That said - don't assume I've snagged every card citation you blitzed in your constructive. When you extend carded arguments, extend via the tag - not via the citation. Even if I do have the cite for that specific card it's going to take me longer to find it that way and while I'm doing that I'm paying less attention to what you're saying.

2. Don't be a [jerk]. I don't generally flow CX, though I do listen and may jot down relevant things. DON'T BE A JERK IN CX (or elsewhere). Like many people, I tend to have a bit of a subconscious bias to see kinder and more respectful people as more reasonable and more likely to be correct. So even if you're not interested in kindness for its own sake (which I hope you would be), consider it a competitively useful trait to develop if you're stuck with me as a judge : )

3. Warrants really matter. I generally care much more about warrants than I do about citations. That means that putting a citation behind a claim without actually explaining why it makes logical sense won't do you a ton of good. There are a fair number of teams that cut cards for claims rather than the warranting behind them, and that practice won't go very far against any opponent who can explain the logical problems behind your assertion.

4. Extend Offense in Summary, Defense extensions are optional there. What it says. Any offense that isn't in the Summary generally doesn't exist for me in the Final Focus. Extending your offense though ink also doesn't do much - make sure to answer the rebuttal args against whatever offense you want to carry though. On the flip-side, If you have a really important defensive argument from Rebuttal that you want to hi-light, it certainly doesn't hurt to flag that in the Summary, though I will assume those arguments are still live unless they're responded to by your opponents

5. Explicitly weigh impacts. Every judge always tells you to weigh stuff, and I'll do the same, but what I mean specifically is: "tell me why the arguments you win are more important than the arguments you might lose." At the end of the vast majority of rounds each side is winning some stuff. If you don't directly compare the issues that are still alive at the end of the round, you force me to do it, and that means you lose a lot of control over the outcome. As a follow up (especially as the first speaker) make sure to compare your impacts against the best impacts they could reasonably claim, not the weakest.

6. Collapse down. I respect strategic concession - make choices and focus on where you're most likely to win. By the Summary you should have an idea where you're likely to win and where you're likely to lose. If you try to go for everything in the last two speeches you are unlikely to have enough explanation on anything to be persuasive.

If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to ask.

Good luck, have fun, and learn things.

Hi, I'm the Director of Speech and Debate at Poly Prep.

I did 8 years of policy debate in HS & College. I started my career coaching college policy at NYU, was then the Director of Debate at Byram Hills HS, and now have been at Poly for the last 5 years.

I see rounds as technical applications that interact with each other and split out a winner. My goal as the judge is to be the least involved with the decision I make as possible. The more you let this happen for me, the happier you will be with speaker points.

I have no preferences in the types of arguments you run - but make sure to provide a framework for how to evaluate said arguments.

**2020 TOC add-on:

I have been on the sideline from judging for the last several years due to health issues that limited the use of my hands. I am so pumped to be able to judge again. That being said - in order to make sure I have a correct flow, if you are going too fast for my hands to catch up (which for PF should be fine, but just so you know), I will unmute and say 'slower'.

Experience:

Debated PF and parliamentary debate in regional and state competitions through high school, 2010-2013.

PF Preferences:

I originally learned debate through PF and stuck with it for most of my debate career, so prefer PF fundamentals over Policy/LD tactics coming into the debate. At it's core, PF is about convincing the everyday person of your overall argument through facts and rebuttals, not about speed or debating rules and pedantic details. Don't skimp over the background on the topic and what context you think is important.

The quickest way to lose my attention is to switch from debating to arguing and talking over each other during crossfire.

I believe the most effective debaters tell a cohesive story with their arguments over the course of the debate. In the final focus, it is your job to tell me what to vote on - e.g. "You have to decide on XYZ argument. We have shown that by ABC" - and this is more effective if you've been telling it throughout.

Lastly, I'm a stickler for sources -- please cite your sources for all the major contentious facts/stats that you're bringing into the debate. Without a source attached when originally stated, stats carry very little weight for me.