What is flowing in policy debate?

In policy debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate, and public forum debate, the flow (flowing in verb form) is the name given to a specialized form of notetaking or shorthand, which debaters use to keep track of all of the arguments in the round.

What is significance in policy debate?

Significance is a stock issue in policy debate which establishes the importance of the harms in the status quo. As a stock issue has fallen out of favor with the debate community almost all debaters and judges now believe that any plan which is preferable to the status quo is significant.

What are some good debate topics?

Debate Topics Master List

All people should have the right to own guns.
The death penalty should be abolished.
Human cloning should be legalized.
All drugs should be legalized.
Animal testing should be banned.
Juveniles should be tried and treated as adults.
Climate change is the greatest threat facing humanity today.

How do you start a debate against?

Opening the debate:

[a nice opening is using a quote]
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to this debate.
Welcome from this side of the house…
The motion for debate today is: …
Now we as today’s proposition/opposition strongly believe that this is true/not true.
let us first define some important terms in this debate.

Why is it important to flow debate?

Flowing is simply just a way to take notes and keep track of the debate. Flowing is an important way to keep track of what’s going on in the debate. This is absolutely crucial to make sure that you answer the arguments that need to be answered and keep up with what your opponents dropped.

What is uniqueness in policy debate?

Uniqueness: Claims about the status quo (typically undesirable, or heading in a bad direction). Link: An argument of how/why the plan causes something in the status quo to change.

What are the four S’s to refutation?

This is often referred to as the “Four S’s” of singposting, stating, supporting, and summarizing.

How do you write an opening statement for a debate?

Opening Statement Checklist

State your theme immediately in one sentence.
Tell the story of the case without argument.
Persuasively order your facts in a sequence that supports your theme.
Decide whether to address the bad facts in the opening or not.
Do not read your opening statement.
Bring an outline, if necessary.

What should be the starting lines of a debate?

“Good afternoon, honourable adjudicators, members of the opposing team, chairlady and audience. I’m the Captain of the affirmative side. Today, our motion is ______________.” This is the standard greeting.

What does spreading mean in a competitive debate?

Spreading (debate) Spreading is a term used in competitive debating in the United States—a portmanteau of speed reading —to refer to competitors speaking extremely fast. The prevalence of spreading is attributed to ‘failing to answer all opposing arguments’ being an easy criteria for judges to award a win on,…

What is the definition of a policy debate?

Policy debate is a form of debate competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government.

Why do people spread their arguments in a debate?

Spreading (debate) The prevalence of spreading is attributed to ‘failing to answer all opposing arguments’ being an easy criteria for judges to award a win on, thus speaking fast and fielding an overwhelming number of distinct arguments is a viable strategy.

How does speed of delivery affect policy debate?

Policy debaters’ speed of delivery will vary from league to league and tournament to tournament. In many tournaments, debaters will speak very quickly in order to read as much evidence and make as many arguments as possible within the time-constrained speech. Speed readers benefit from “dropped arguments.”