
Being AFF is like defending your house


A 1ac should be useful later in the debate.
1) Longer cards with better warrants
2) Anticipate the negative responses
3) Practice the 1ac frequently
4) The 1ac is about the 2ar


1) Must have an answer to the politics disad

2) Must have an answer to the terrorism disad
3) Have a trick on kritiks
Have a trick against common neg arguments


A good pre-flow will help you answer common case arguments

Type or write out your pre-flow very neatly

Write out multiple warrants in a card

Save your pre-flow —cut it out and tape it to future flows


Get intel on the team your debating

Read the judging philosophy

Write blocks vs. arguments they like

Avoid: Milling around aimlessly —you have a job —to win your debate


The 2ac is increasingly the hardest speech in debate

The NEG has numerous options available, and conditionality has increased the number

 PREP during your 1a’s cross-x of the 1nc.
Asking questions will drain your 3 minutes of free prep time
 You can ask one question like, “is the counterplan conditional” but no questions on trying to clown the other team

Take no more than 3 minutes prep. That gives you 6 minutes prep for the speech —
3 minutes Cross-X, 3 minutes prep.


Start with the case —which will be the hardest part

Write analytic answers to each case argument

You should kick an advantage to gain time back


Put the case first

Start with an advantage you are going to kick

Then line by line the 1nc in the 2ac

You must use your flow to do this —you should be reading your analytics from the flow
 TIP: Don’t get “speech doc’d” only answer what they actually read
 TIP #2: Don’t be a noob and ask: “which of these did you read?”


No new cards on case defense (you need the time on off-case)

You can read new cards on case offense

Extend 1ac evidence to answer 1nc evidence and attack their arguments


You should time map your 2ac
 Don’t spend more than a minute on each T violation or off-case theory

Try to evenly cover other arguments —you don’t know what they’ll go for

Advanced Tip: If a team always goes for one argument, download on it


You should have a front-line for each word in the topic

We meet: You meet their interpretation

Counter-interp: Have a counter-definition and a counter-interp

Prefer counter-interp: use standards

Make fairness arguments: like reasonability, lit checks, overlimiting, etc
 Avoid RVI’s they make you look bad


T urn: probably link turns

NonU nique: DA will happen anyway

No L ink: Make them debate the specific plan

No I mpact: You may need to grab impact defense from a generic impact defense file

P lan Outweighs: Start the impact analysis in the 2ac


S olvency Deficit: Always generate a solvency deficit

T heory: Always initiate a conditionality debate if the neg runs conditional options
 NO more than 3 arguments —Time Skew,
Strat Skew, Voting Issue

O ffense: Run disads vs. cplan or add-ons

P ermutations: Always at least say do both


Basically the same as counterplans
 Alt doesn’t S olve: Point to specificity of
AFF & vagueness of alt

T heory: Initiate a Framework debate & a vague alts debate

O ffense: Run turns to their theory

P ermutations: Always at least say do both
& do plan + non-competitive parts of alternative


Immediately hand your flows to your partner

Your partner should fill in your flows on the off-case and any case arguments you didn’t flow

Your partner may have to scratch out case args you didn’t make
Again: The 1ar should not be involved in the c-x after the 2ac, your job is to back-flow for your partner


The 1ar should be writing answers on their flow to the 2nc —this is three minutes free prep versus the 2nc

While you should get some cards, many times you should just give an analytic 1ar


Leave your partner at least 2 minutes prep

Put the case first, then theory/T, then their off-case

Consider kicking an advantage

Time map the 1ar

 http://debate.uvm.edu/NFL/rostrumlib/Cheshie rJan%2700.pdf
 Many would say the 1ar is the hardest speech in debate…Why?
 They get 13 minutes, you get 5
 2nc 1nr 1ar
8 mins 5 mins 5 mins

 You can’t over-explain
 Wide variety of arguments to deal with
 The 2ar can’t make new arguments
 You must save prep time for your partner


1) Answer any “voting issues”

Voting issues: topicality, theory, anything labeled a voting issue

Sneaky neg teams like to hide voting issues
Tip: A strong cross-x by your
Look out for what they hide partner can make voting issues look silly…


2) Generate some offense
Offense: Arguments that prove your plan is good:
Advantages
Add-ons
Solvency deficits to counterplans
Turns to disads/kritiks


3) Play defense against their arguments

Defense: Arguments that prove your plan is “not bad” (no link to their disad, no impact to their disad)


T ime Map

I mbedded Clash

M ake Choices

E fficiency
 TIME is the key to the 1ar…

T

A time map is a guide to how long you should spend on each argument

Before the speech begins, take 15 seconds with your partner and decide how long to spend on each piece of paper

Example: T —4:00, Spending—3:00,
States 1:30, A1 —45, A2--0


Write down what the timer will say…

Put important arguments top of the order:
1) Your offense first, then
2) Off-case theory (Topicality, ASPEC, etc.)
3) Their major off-case positions
(Counterplans, Kritiks, Disads)
Hint a 1:3 ratio —if they spent the whole 2nc on something, spend about 2:30 on it


1) Watch the clock

2) Follow your time map

3) Have your partner call time at 1 minute intervals

I

2) I mbedded clash

I mbedded clash means that you answer arguments without specifically identifying that you are…
 The usual rule is “repeat and defeat” the 1ar is just
“defeat”
 Example:
 “Literature doesn’t exclude us, because the 1ac proves we’re in the literature
 Reasonability outweighs competing interpretations because competing interpretations creates a race to the bottom”

M

The negative has issue selection, the affirmative has argument selection

Two kinds of choices:
 1) Extend select answers on the off-case
 2) Kick advantages


Selective Answers
 Do:
 1) Pick the best answers
 2) Pick answers they under-covered/dropped (often at the bottom of flow)
 3) Pick answers your partner wants you to go for
 Don’t:
 1) Pick the top answer
 2) Pick answers on ideology
 3) Overrule your partner


The 1ar should jettison advantages that are going poorly
 To “kick” an advantage means to no longer defend it.

Kicking an advantage:
 Identify that you are kicking it
 Concede their arguments to kick it
 Explain why any turns are gone

E
The error people make is to assume that you have to be fast instead of efficient.
Ways to increase efficiency:
1) Group arguments:
“Extend the non-uniques—my 1 is, my 2 is…”
“Group the advantage…”
2) Say things in the least amount of words


Three tips on efficiency:

1) The 1ar extends previous arguments

2) The 1ar should provide
2-3 answers per position

3) 2ar controls the ship


1) Use the block against itself

2) Write 1ar blocks with short cards & explanations
 3) “Light fires”

4) Learn to straight turn arguments
5) Learn to sand-bag
6) Use the c-x and redundant parts of the block for prep


Think big picture first: start by writing your overview
 Make choices: don’t go for more than one advantage

Go for select answers on the off-case


Start with an overview: magnitude, timeframe, probability
 Use “even/if” analysis

Put your offense first

Put anything that might mitigate your offense next (like counterplans)

Then their offense