By Dr. Kevin Meyer
Director of Forensics @ ISU
&
Donny Peters
Director of Debate @ ISU
 Importance of flowing
 Necessary materials
 Setting up your flow
 What to write on your flow
 Flowing techniques
 Advantages of flowing on computer
 Flowing by speech
 Suggestions
 Exercise
 Why is flowing important?
LEGAL SIZE
PAPER
DIFFERENT
COLOR
PENS
1AC
1NC
2AC
NEGATIVE
BLOCK
1AR
2NR
2AR

Make 8 Equal Columns: First Affirmative
Constructive, First Negative Constructive, 2nd
Affirmative Constructive, The Negative Block,
1st Affirmative Rebuttal, 2nd Negative Rebuttal,
and 2nd Affirmative Rebuttal.

For off case arguments started in the 1NC, you
only need 7 columns.
In order of importance:
 Claim or Conclusion
 Citations – author’s name and
date
 Summary of Evidence
The following is read into the debate:
Starting School Later Would Improve Student’s
Academic Performance
Sarah Bernard, Edutopia Organization – The
George Lucas Educational Focus, January 23,
2007.
http://www.edutopia.org/community/spiralnote
book/?p=223
“According to recent reports by the National Sleep
Foundation and several university research
centers, teenagers are wired to be sleepier in
the morning — their levels of melatonin (a
sleep-promoting hormone) don’t fall until at
least 8 AM. As a result, some high schools
have begun delaying the morning bell in order
to make the school day more manageable for
sleep-deprived teens. Some argue, however,
that most of the evidence for teenage sleep
patterns remains anecdotal, starting school
later would cut into after-school activities, and
other factors should take priority when it
comes to student achievement.”
The following should
be on your flow
1. Later Start ↑
Acad. Perf.
Bernard 07
Studies show that
melatonin levels still
high in a.m.
***author admits
anecdotal***
1.
Each Major Issue in the Debate Should Get
its Own Sheet of Paper.
Space Reasons – you would never have room to fit all the
arguments from entire debate in one column.
Organization Issues – allows you to keep issue
separate on a separate sheet of paper for analysis.
Strategic Reasons – allows you to strategically shuffle
the order that you address issues in the debate.
2. Write Small – as you need to
fit lots of information in narrow
columns, the smaller you write the
more neatly you can fit the
arguments on the flow.
3.
Use 2 Different Colors
1 color for your team
1 color for opposition
4. Abbreviate – formulate
abbreviation system which
will allow you to get more
arguments down on the
flow.
5. Write Neatly – you
need to be able to
read off your
flowsheet during
the debate!
6. Leave Space between
Arguments
 You can typically type faster than you can write
 You do not need to worry about neat handwriting
 Partners can share their flows easier. No need to
rewrite an entire speech for back flowing
 Easier to organize flows
 Easier to save flows
 More difficult to lose flows
 Easier to correct or fill in gaps in flow
 No need to waste paper
 1AC: Everyone flows this speech (Affirmative should
have speech preflow)
 1NC: Everyone should flow (Negative should have
preflow)
 2AC: Everyone flows (1A should backflow for the 2A)
 2NC: Everyone except 1NR flows this speech
 1NR: Everyone
 1AR: Everyone- You must have a complete flow of this
speech
 2NR: Everyone
 2AR: Everyone, especially 1N
 Don’t ever stop
 Be organized
 Preflow
 Backflow- Use your partner
 Label your arguments
 Always keep your flows handy
 Don’t lose your flows
 Consult with your partner
 Flow on your computer if possible