Paradigm

Richard Burns
Buchholz High School

In Public Forum, focus on pragmatic arguments with solid warrants and real-world impacts. I am NOT a fan of theory in PF, especially those theories that attempt to invent new rules and then accuse the opponent of not following them.

Debate the resolution!


In Lincoln-Douglas: Remember the ethical aspect of this form of debate. Give me a core value and argue some philosophy. Kritiks and theory are okay IF they tie into the resolution. I'm not interested in any kritiks or theories that could be applied to literally any debate on any topic. I am NOT a tech judge. You can't win just because your opponent dropped a single argument. Win with LOGIC and EVIDENCE. Make compelling arguments, not just a LOT of arguments.


For ALL debate: SPEED KILLS. Debate should be communicative. I am not at all interested in torrents of One Way Hash arguments (look it up) or Gish Gallops (look that up, too). QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY. If you speak much faster than a typical pace, I am likely to stop flowing you.

Please COMMUNICATE. Also, be civil to your opponents. Decorum matters.