By Parker Kelly, George Washington University, ’20 I went to high school in Houston, Texas and did 1 year of PF and 2 years of LD on the local and national circuits. I was in a few bid rounds and competed relatively consistently (especially senior year) but didn’t qualify for the TOC. I debate for […]
By Eric Tannenbaum, The College of New Jersey ’18 Note: APDA has several motions tournaments throughout the year, but due to their relative infrequency compared to case tournaments it can difficult to know what to do when it comes to preparation for motions. The following are some tips to help you get better at debate, however […]
By Miriam Pierson, Swarthmore College ’18 Note: If you want to get a general sense of what a countercase can look like, here’s a link to a video where the opposition team countercases. Read this article and then watch the video for further clarification. In debate rounds, the government team generally proposes a change and the […]
By Anika Matin, The George Washington University ’18 Starting out on APDA, you will come to the realization that you will be the government team about half the time, and you will need cases to run. Writing a case will take time, so here are some tips: Start off simple. This means taking the time […]
By Nik Venkatasubramanian, George Washington University ’18 Debating Economics and Finance I: Trade and Specialization Introduction Debate about Economics sounds scary. You scroll through the news every morning and you see scary graphs and big words on the Wall Street Journal. The sharp parts of those graphs look like tiny cliffs that seem dangerous and […]
By Andrew Bowles, George Washington University ‘17 I. Introduction In the real world, debates about international relations are often prohibitively difficult to engage in. They require extensive specific knowledge, much of which is in reality highly classified, and expect participants to understand a variety of complex frameworks and issues just to engage. This frequently translates into […]
By Matt Rohn, Franklin & Marshall ’16 The constructive speeches (the first four) are primarily about two things, making arguments and responding to the other team’s arguments. Once the LOC goes oncase almost everything until rebuttals will be responses to arguments that have already been made in the round. Those responses are then arguments in […]
By Danny Jaffe, Brandeis University ’17 Author’s Note: This is a more advanced article on tight calls. Strategies for Tight Calls APDA debaters have devised several strategies regarding tight calls that are important to be aware of as a new debater. First, there is the “tight block”. A tight block is essentially a list of pre-written […]
By Harry Zhang, Johns Hopkins ’17 Theory of Debate: Understanding Win Conditions In debate, sound strategy is just as important to success as making effective arguments or writing powerful cases. Debating strategically and intelligently is a hallmark of all successful debaters and one of the easiest ways you can gain an advantage over your opponents. […]
By Mars He, Harvard University ’18 I’ve heard many times, after being in or seeing a debate about art, that art rounds are undebatable, unfair, or pointless because “art is subjective.” And while I never spent time on the American high school debate circuit, my understanding of it is that most formats also steered away […]
