Minks,+Katie

Katie Minks

===I can be ok with a lot in a round, but ultimately it needs to stay within the spirit of the academic exercise. With that, I’m going to address three issues that you will be very interested in if you find that I am judging you: speed, theory and values. ===

===Speed It is important that both your opponent and I fully understand what you are saying, otherwise I can’t appropriately score you and your opponent can’t appropriately argue against you. If you speak too quickly or do not enunciate you defeat the purpose of the debate and your score will suffer. If I ever have to yell, “clear,” at you, you’re in trouble. ===

===Theory I don’t mind theory, so long as you understand it and can explain it well in Round. Theory should be used as a shield, not a sword. While I am familiar with some theory, I don't claim to be familiar with everything, so if you're doing something a little unorthodox, slow down just a touch. ===

===Values are an important part of the academic exercise of this style of debate. Values are inherent in the origin of this debate, and don’t infer that morality is inherently valued in the round. For example, you could value economic growth and the other person could value technological advancement. Both of these things could be argued without any impact to morality. I agree that a lot of values can have a morality impact, but that doesn’t give you license to change the way that the style of the debate functions. Ultimately, this is an academic exercise that is intended to see how well you and your opponent can move around your topic, your case and your opponent’s case to prove your point(s). This means you must know and understand every single aspect of your case full. If I see that you do not understand your case, then you will lose a significant number of points. ===

Have fun, respect your opponent, and enjoy debate.