Notes for the newbies

Basis of the Round

Affirmative Constructive- 6 min.
*affirmative gets up and reads their case
Negative Cross-Ex- 3 min.
*negative gets up and asks questions about the affirmative's case
Negative Constuctive- 7 min.
*negative gets up and reads their case and then they get a chance to do a rebutal
Affirmative Cross-Ex- 3 min.
*affirmative gets up and asks questions about the negative's case
Affirmative Rebuttal- 4 min.
*affirmative gets up and gets to defend their case and attack the negative's case
Negative Rebuttal- 6 min.
*negative gets up again and defends their case and attacks the affirmative's case
2nd Affirmative Rebuttal- 3 min.
*the last time the affirmative gets up and defends their case and attacks the negative's case

FLOW
*you should have a flow sheet. One should be what B.J. gave you (short one) and the one for the whole debate club (long one)
1. Affirmative 2. Cross-Ex 3. Negative
*value *Questions to clarify * Same as the affirmative
* criteria the round * then notes on the other person
* definitions
* contentions

4. Cross-Ex 5. Aff. Rebuttal
* Questions to clarify * defend your case(mention everything)
the round * attack your opponents case(mention everything)

6. Negative Rebuttal 7. 2nd Aff. Rebuttal
* same thing as aff. rebuttal * same as before
* value clash


How to build a case

1. "Quote"
2. Resolution
3. Value- say why it goes with case
4. Criteria- say why it goes with value(upholds your value)
5. Definitions
6. Contention one- Second Stongest Point
7. Contention two (negative usually only has two contentions)- Weakest Point
8. Contention three (affirmative usually has three)- The Strongest Point

How to write a contention?

The tagline comes first. " MY first contention tagline is.......". Use an example; philosophy, court cases, quotes, and statistics. Then you will want to say why the example goes with your contention, your side of the case; Impact. **Remember to tie this back to your value and your criteria**