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The Ultimate Lincoln-Douglas Debate HandbookThird Edition

(Last Updated: July 31, 2003)

By Marko Djuranovic

The Ultimate Lincoln-Douglas Debate Handbook

Page 2

Table of Contents

Introduction - Why I wrote this book (and why you should read it)

Chapter One

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L-D Debate: History and Overview

Basic Structure

Policy vs. Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Chapter Two

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Research: Topic Analysis

Four Types of Resolutions, Definitions, The Underlying Puzzle

Chapter Three

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Research: Gathering Information

Your Opinion, Keyword List, Background News Stories, Books, Articles in Scholarly Journals, The World Wide Web

Chapter Four

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Research: The Argument Sheet File

Reading Tips, Creating the Argument Sheet File, Adding to the Argument Sheet File

Chapter Five

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Before the Round: Writing your Cases

Introduction to the Value Premise and Criterion,Finding a Value Premise, Finding a Value Criterion, Building Your Contentions, Opening Quote, Definitions,Observations, Putting Your Case Together

Chapter Six

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Before the Round: Preparing for the Tournament

Rebuttal Preparation, Practice Rounds, Speaking, Flowing

Chapter Seven

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During the Round: Debating

Affirmative Constructive, Cross Examination, Preparation Time, Negative Constructive, 1

Affirmative Rebuttal, Negative Rebuttal,2

Affirmative Rebuttal

Chapter Eight

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During the Round: Specific Strategies

Philosophy in L-D Debate, Evidence in L-D Debate, Delivery Speed and Word Economy, Balanced Negatives,

Team Cases

Judge Adaptation

Conclusion

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After the Tournament

Appendix – Past Resolutions Organized by Structure Type

The Ultimate Lincoln-Douglas Debate Handbook

Page 3

Introduction

_________________________________________________

WHYIWROTETHISHANDBOOK(ANDWHYYOUSHOULDREADIT)

Lincoln-Douglas debate is a high school activity like no other.The skills it can teach you will be useful in any path of life you choose to take. Communication,presentation ability, research experience and the knack for analyzing an argument are characteristicsfound in great doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers, engineers, writers and scores of otherprofessions. The reason why debate probably looks better on a college transcript than any other activityis that it aims to teach you skills that have undisputable value in the modern society. Greatcommunicators with a keen analytical capability are always of use.But there is a flip side to this coin. Lincoln-Douglas debate is a tough form of debate to master.Learning all these skills isn’t easy and can often be overwhelming. To truly excel in debate requires atime commitment equivalent to lettering in a varsity sport. If you expect to gain the aforementionedskills from being a debater you should be prepared to invest some time and energy into the activity.You’ll have to do research on your own, spar with your classmates in practice rounds and re-examineyour ideas on a regular basis. As much as this is a cliché, it is true – debate is an activity that rewardsyou based upon how much you put into it.Deep inside, you probably know this already. You would not expect to become a standoutquarterback by skipping practice and only playing on Friday nights. It’s the same with debate – if youwant to be able to demonstrate to your teachers, friends, parents, and college admission committees thatyou actually learned something while participating in high school debate, you’ll have to put someserious work into becoming a good debater. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun. If anything,debate tournaments are more fun when you see yourself winning and learning at the same time. Andthat’s why I wrote this handbook – to show you how to maximize the overall value of your debateexperience and help you become not just a formidable Lincoln-Douglas debater but a keener observerand better researcher. I focus heavily on teaching you the underlying fundamentals of successfulargumentation: preparation through research. This handbook will first teach you how to properlyconduct research and then show you how to apply the information you find to Lincoln-Douglas debate.In the process, you will pick up skills that will be useful to you far beyond the weekend tournaments.Coaches should know that I wrote this book to aid debaters of all levels, from novices to TOCqualifiers. If you are a beginner this book shows you how to start off on the right foot. If you are a