Moorin,+Angela

I have been judging for three years at local and national tournaments. I realize and appreciate how much work it takes to do this activity. This makes me a very conscientious judge and I strive to get it right. I read the Victory briefs and sometimes the Baylor briefs in order to have a //base// knowledge of the arguments I may encounter.

I vote on a strictly offense and defense paradigm. Weighing offense through framework or superior evidence/logic is crucial for me to determine who has the most offense at the end of the round. I will not insert myself into the round. If your opponent drops your arguments and you do not acknowledge the drop, I will not connect the dots for you. Arguments are strongest when they are warranted and continually extended thoughout the round. I will not extend or cross apply arguments for you. Crystallization and clear voting issues are extremely important. Make sure you tell me what you are doing right and what your opponent is doing wrong.

Arguments need to be resolutional. Ultimately, LD is about upholding or negating the resolution. Creative arguments are nice unless they fly in the face of logic. (example- Not taking high school exit exams leads to Nuclear Holocaust) I'm not crazy about Theory. Most of the time it just sounds like whining to me.

I like when debaters find the clash between their positions. Arguments are more persuasive when bouyed by solid evidence. However, I feel I should hear the debater's logic and reasoning as to why it is important to their framework and not just tag lines followed by a reading of someone else's opinion.

Speed only becomes a problem when enunciation is lost. If you speak clearly and don't slur your words, I'm OK with you jamming in as much information as you feel you need to convey. With that said, sometimes less is more and word ecomony coupled with laser focused logic is more impressive than speed reading three cards which basically say the same thing.

Well organized cases and signposting make a judge's life easier and are appreciated.