Ewington,+Amanda

I am a parent judge with some limited experience judging traditional LD and no experience on the National Circuit. Given my lack of familiarity with the National Circuit, I have no pre-existing bias on theory issues such as Education v. Fairness.

If I am judging you the following would be recommended:

1. **__No Spreading__:** Since I have not judged National Circuit LD, I have no first-hand experience with spreading, though I have watched several videos online to get a sense of the practice. If you spread, I will not be able to understand you, thus will not be pleased. If I stop flowing, you are going too fast. As a college professor who regularly evaluates presentations and helps prepare students for a world where they need to present arguments in various professional contexts, I find spreading counter-productive. In no real-world context would speaking like an auctioneer prove a useful way of laying out an argument. Please slow down and speak clearly.

2. **__Traditional Case Layout Appreciated__**: Because my only experience with LD has been on traditional circuits, I am more accustomed to the case organization and round-routine of traditional cases. Having said that, my preference for traditional case organization does not mean that you have to stick to traditional arguments. Too often on traditional circuits, debaters collapse the round down to Utilitarianism which leads to a "card war" with no substantive or discernible argumentation. You can run a K, CP, Plan, etc., as long as the case is formatted with a value and contentions; a K can be applied to this format with C1:Link, C2: Implications, C3:Alt (please don't use these terms, but rather frame what each part of the K's argument is actually saying).

3. **__Slang__**: I realize that debaters use a lot of slang, however, explanations would be appreciated. For instance, I have no problem with you running a K, a Plan, a CP, etc. In other words, if using slang, please clarify its meaning. If I look confused, I am!

If you keep these three points in mind, you should find the rounds to be pretty straightforward.