Gertsvolf,+Zoya

I am judging for Palo Alto High School. Though I have judged rounds before, I am what you would probably call a lay judge. As of right now, I have a limited knowledge of debate and so would prefer that you are somewhat clearer in your presentation.

Regarding speed, I would prefer that you go as slowly as possible in order for me to understand all of your arguments. I will attempt to get as many of them on the flow as I can, but will only do so to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that if you sacrifice speed for clarity, you will only be hurting yourself.

The clearest way for you to win the round is by setting up a clear standard by which I should evaluate the round, and proving to me that your advocacy best impacts to that standard. Though I understand what theory debate is, I am not a big fan. I suppose if it is necessary I might evaluate it, but I would prefer that you stick to traditional argumentation. If you must run theory or prestandards issues, be sure to show me why I should vote on those issues and how to evaluate them in relation to the rest of the arguments on the flow.

I of course prefer clear, reasonable, logical arguments, so if you plan on running a counterintuitive case position (such as a critique of the resolution), be careful. I am fine with evaluating counter-advocacies as long as you provide a way to evaluate the different arguments on the flow.

If an argument is “dropped”, explain clearly what I should do with it in the round and how I should evaluate it in relation to other arguments.

I also evaluate the round based somewhat on persuasion, so don’t sacrifice your speaking skills for the sake of argumentation.

Please crystallize and present voting issues at the end of rounds. This makes it so much easier for me as the judge to evaluate the round.

In summary, just remember to speak slowly and clearly, to set up a clear way for me to evaluate the round, and argue well! Thank you, and have fun!