Comella,+Chris

Comella, Chris

Lincoln-Douglas Debate is a public speaking activity in which each debater should persuade the judge that his/her vision of the world ought to prevail. Persuasion happens in part when debaters speak naturally and expressively so that I as the judge can flow their arguments. Arguments should have signposts to assist in the flow of the debate.

The affirmative has the burden to prove that the affirmative scenario offers a higher value to society than what the negative proposes. This can be done through either logic or evidence or both. The negative should demonstrate either that his or her value is just as good as or better than the affirmative’s value or that there is no appreciable benefit in the affirmative’s world. The winning debater needs to show a clear and realistic vision which provides for the best possible society.

The debaters have an obligation to create clash, but they do not need to clash on every point. It is better to argue one essential point well, than to argue all points insufficiently. The number of pieces of evidence and/or lines of logical analysis is not as important as the strength of the evidence and/or line of logical analysis.