Purcell,+Margaret

Hi! My name is Margaret Purcell and I am a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. I did debate on the local and national circuit for 4 years at Northland Christian School in Houston, Texas. I also taught at GDS this summer. Please add me to the email chain before the round: margapurcell@gmail.com

NOTE: if you do not take your own prep and keep track of it, I will be angry. This will result in loss of speaks. Fight me.

I prefer a clear and substantive debate that is centered around the topic. Please weigh, make solid extensions (claim, warrant, impact), and tell me how arguments interact in the round. I'm not really the judge for running dense philosophy or critical literature in front of, but if you feel like it is your only option, please explain it well and go slower or I just won't vote on it. Every round should have some framework/standard that it links back to, so make sure everything you go for links back. I love any kind of policy argument, so reading those is a safe bet around me. I'm a pretty expressive judge; if I look confused it's because I am confused. You'll be able to read me pretty well, so just pay attention & you should be good to go. My senior year I became a fan of soft-left affs (cap, colonialism, militarism, etc)! I think that they can be really fun and is something that I really like to see.
 * General Philosophy:**

Be clear, make good arguments, and/or be strategic and you'll get good speaks. Be incomprehensible, read annoying positions filled with spikes and tricks, and/or be rude and you'll get bad speaks! Simple. I'll yell clear a lot, but if you still stay unclear I'll just stop flowing. I love it when people are perceptually dominant in round, but please don't use that as an excuse to be rude to the other debater! You can be loud, but please for the love of all things sacred, DO NOT yell for everything. If you're really passionate about something then you can be loud for it, but just not everything. Giving good, effective overviews is also a good way to see your speaks go up! Also, I appreciate it when people stand instead of sitting :) TLDR: be nice, don't be stupid, don't read tricks, and be strategic!
 * Speaker Points:**

I honestly really like theory debates and I think that they can be used to check back bad positions etc. But I also really hate bad theory debate! If you are running theory for the sake of running theory and it is a BS shell, I'm going to get annoyed (which will lower your speaks :) ). If there are multiple shells, weigh between them and tell me which is the most important.
 * T/Theory:**

I love these! Also don't say counterplans don't belong in debate ... they do.
 * Policy Arguments:**

As long as you are clear, I'll be able to flow well! (HINT: do this for every judge). That being said, I still prefer debates that go a little bit slower and really engage in the arguments. I prefer depth over breadth on this issue; I think that if you're really investing time into a smaller amount of arguments, it is better than trying to win every single argument on the flow (bc your prob can't...). Like I said earlier, I'll yell clear or slow if I can't flow you.
 * Speed:**

- I like it when people are funny or sassy! (keep in mind: being sassy doesn't mean rude...) - Don't read things that you don't understand. I love it when debaters know every single thing about their positon. - If you're debating someone that is not on your level (i.e. a senior debating a freshman) don't belittle them or poke fun at them for being less experienced! You were there one too, so take it down a notch. - If you couldn't tell by the rest of my paradigm: I'm not a fan to tricks or a lot of spikes, I'll listen to them, but I really dislike it not going to lie. - PLEASE don't make the debate round unsafe for anyone inside of it!! (don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc) - Don't make morally repugnant arguments!!! Including but not limited to: racism good, rape good, genocide good, etc.)
 * Random extras:**

I'll close with a Hannah Montana quote: "Life's what you make it, so let's make it rock!" Debate is what you make it, so make it rock and read positions that you really care about.

If you have any questions please let me know!