Author: Tyler Thur, Michigan State University
Editor's note: Tyler Thur was a semi-finalist at the 70th NDT (2016) for Michigan State University. Tyler works for Michigan State University's Office of K-12 Outreach as their Assistant Director of Data and Evaluation. He has coached debate at Michigan State University, Homestead High School (WI), and Glenbrook South High School (IL). This guest post is also a breakout feature: it addresses an advanced topic that is also a national circuit trend. Breakout features like these are designed to make sure that you know how to beat any debater, anywhere. For our breakout features, we especially encourage asking questions about the content in the comments. As a debate competitor, judge, and coach, I went for, voted for, and encouraged students to introduce a litany of process counterplans. Along the way, I was fascinated by the disdain for these arguments. Whenever I told students about a new process strategy, I received looks as if I was openly backing cheating and saying something like “I love the New England Patriots; they would never spy on their opponents and deflate footballs to get a competitive advantage.” Similarly, if I expressed excitement about process debates to others, peers would look at me like I had no appreciation for what debate offered to participants and had just said something like “the Beatles are cool, but have you all ever heard of Nickelback?” I am sympathetic to some of these reactions. That said, I think that too often students adopt this communal disgust for process counterplans without ever delving into the strategy behind them, thinking about why these debates often result in teams going for theoretical objections or permutations, and considering how to insulate their affirmatives on a substantive level. Consequently, they are left unprepared when negative teams inevitably unleash these strategies at year-end tournaments and in the face of topic expansion. I hope that by talking through the strategic utility of process counterplans and how to answer them substantively (i.e. not with permutations and theory arguments), students can better engage and defeat these strategies – even if they are near and dear to my debate heart.
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Is there a topic you want us to address? A particular skill you want help improving? We’ll ship a free UWyo shirt to whoever suggests the topic we choose for our next post. So, let us know what you want us to write about in the comments! Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Cross-x is one of my parts of debate, so I have a lot to say about it. This cross-x skills post is broken up into three posts. The first post provided an overview of the purpose of cross-x and types of questions. The second post broke down my most important big picture tips for cross-x. This final post is about more specific do’s and don’ts.. This post bats clean-up in our cross-x series, with a couple of important observations about frequent mistakes in CX that can be easily fixed. Here are 8 more tips for upping your CX game: Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Our series on cross-x will return shortly, but we’re taking a quick break to give you a timely PF topic analysis. The February PF topic is: Resolved: The United States should replace means-tested welfare programs with a universal basic income. Universal Basic Income (UBI) is an enormous topic with a huge literature base. It’s such a good topic I’d be sad to only have a month on it. It’s such a big topic that we wrote way too much on it (sorry not sorry). I was originally upset the topic was tied to an elimination of means-tested welfare, but after some initial research I’m not as worried about it. UBI is an old idea but one that has recently returned to prominence in mainstream politics. In the US, that’s been largely driven by Democratic candidate for President Andrew Yang, who made a UBI the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. Fear of automation taking jobs, the rise of “the Gig economy” and precarious labor, flatlining wages, and intensifying inequality all mean that people are increasingly willing to hear out UBI advocates. However, this resolution is not Andrew Yang’s UBI. Yang proposes a variety of mechanisms to pay for a UBI, the most significant of which would be a new VAT tax. The crux of this resolution is a trade: UBI in exchange for eliminating means-tested welfare (MTW). That both (1) sets the terms of the debate and (2) will sometimes shift it from UBI good/bad to MTW good/bad. That’s important to remember as you prepare for February. I’ve got 5 thoughts about UBI and MTW below the fold. Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Cross-x is one of my favorite and one of the most important parts of debate, so I have a lot to say about it. This cross-x skills post is broken up into three posts. The first part provided an overview of the purpose of cross-x and types of questions. The theory of cross-x provided there is useful to understand this post, which will break down specific tips for upping your cross-x game. This post will focus on the 5 most important big picture lessons for cross-x. The final post in this series will deal with more specific and particular tips. If you read just one post in this series, I would make it this one. Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Cross-x is one of my favorite and one of the most important parts of debate, so I have a lot to say about it. This cross-x skills post will be broken up into three posts. The first part will provide an overview of the purpose of cross-x and types of questions, setting up the second and third parts. The theory of cross-x provided here will be useful to understand both the second and third post, which will break down specific tips for upping your cross-x game. WDR doesn't endorse buying briefs. You'll be the most successful at debate if you produce your own evidence and write your own blocks! But this free topic analysis by Wake Forest alumni Adam Tomasi is a solid intro to the LD disarm topic. If you're looking for more starter analysis on the topic, you can check it out here:
https://www.championbriefs.com/blog/janfeb2020ld_VTA Go Pokes! Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
The January PF topic is: Resolved: The United States should end its economic sanctions against Venezuela. Venezuela is in an economic tailspin. Hyperinflation is sinking the economy, there’s a refugee crisis that looks like it will soon overtake Syria as the largest in the world, food and medicine shortages are widespread, famine might be just around the corner, and electricity shortages are routinely plunging the country into darkness. The core controversy of this resolution is can sanctions fix the real problem (ousting Maduro) or are they merely exacerbating the economic crises and killing 40,000 Venezuelans a year? I’ve got five observations about debating this topic: The 2020-21 policy topic has been informally announced:
Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing. Stay focused on this year until this year is over! Go Pokes! Author: Matt Liu, University of Wyoming Director of Debate
Taiwan and Saudi Arabia seem to be the most popular policy affs. Today I want to talk about strategic negative arguments that exploit weaknesses inherent to the Taiwan aff. The Taiwan aff is one of the best and most popular affs on the topic, so let’s take it down a peg. |
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