POLICY

DEBATE

THE DEBATE
CLASS PRESENTATION
1
 I CAN
• I know what Resolution, Affirmative and Negative is in
a Policy Debate.

• I know the roles and structure of the Policy Debate.

• I know how to use prep time during the debate.

• I can act as a judge in a round taking detailed notes and

giving reasons for decisions.

2
 Let’s revise
what we know about
Policy Debate.

3
What is a Resolution?

4
 What is a Resolution?

A “Resolution” is the topic

for the Policy Debate.

5
Who are the Affirmative’s and
the Negative’s?

6
Who are the Affirmative’s and
the Negative’s?

Two opposing teams in

the Policy Debate.
7
What is the Affirmative’s and
the Negative’s job?

8
 What is the Affirmative’s job?
To AFFIRM the resolution:
to agree with the resolution’s “should” statement.

What is the Negative’s job?

To NEGATE the resolution:
to disagree with the resolution’s “should” statement
OR
to disagree with the affirmative’s plan on how to go about it.

9
 1
Debate Round Format

10
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
Roles & Expectations
Traditionally, there are four roles​
in a Policy Debate:
1A​- 1st Affirmative Speaker
2A ​- 2nd Affirmative Speaker
1N​- 1st Negative Speaker
2N ​- 2nd Negative Speaker
11
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
Roles & Expectations
Each speaker delivers Constructive and Rebuttal speeches
and performs Cross Examination of the opposite team.
● 1A​- 1st Affirmative Speaker ● 1N​- 1st Negative Speaker
○ 1st Affirmative Constructive ○ 1st Negative Constructive
○ Cross Examination of 1st Negative Constructive ○ Cross Examination of 2nd Affirmative
○ 1st Affirmative Rebuttal Constructive
○ 1st Negative Rebuttal
● 2A ​- 2nd Affirmative Speaker
○ 2nd Affirmative Constructive ● 2N ​- 2nd Negative Speaker
○ Cross Examination of 2nd Negative Constructive ○ 2nd Negative Constructive
○ 2nd Affirmative Rebuttal ○ Cross Examination of 1st Affirmative Constructive
○ 2nd Negative Rebuttal

12
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
There are 4 Constructive Speeches
each followed by
Cross Examinations
by the opposite team.

13
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
Policy Debate Structure:
1. First Affirmative Constructive ( 1AC ) - 4 minutes

 Cross-examination ( CX ) of First Affirmative by Second Negative - 2 minutes

2. First Negative Constructive ( 1NC ) - 4 minutes

 Cross-examination ( CX ) of First Negative by First Affirmative - 2 minutes

3. Second Affirmative Constructive ( 2AC ) - 4 minutes

 Cross-examination ( CX ) of Second Affirmative by First Negative - 2 minutes

4. Second Negative Constructive ( 2NC ) - 4 minutes

 Cross-examination ( CX ) of Second Negative by Second Affirmative - 2 min.

14
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT

There are 4 Rebuttal Speeches.

The Negative team begins rebuttal speeches.

This ensures that
the Affirmative team
(with the greater burden) is given
the advantage of the first and last speech.
15
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
Policy Debate Structure:

5. First Negative Rebuttal ( 1NR ) - 2 minutes

6. First Affirmative Rebuttal ( 1AR ) - 2 minutes

7. Second Negative Rebuttal ( 2NR ) - 2 minutes

8. Second Affirmative Rebuttal ( 2AR ) - 2 min

Suggested Prep Time: 3 minutes per team

16
 DEBATE ROUND FORMAT
Debate Round Breakdown

Policy Debate Structure

1. First Affirmative Constructive​(1AC​) - 4 minutes

Cross-examination​(CX​) of First Affirmative by Second Negative - 2 minutes
2. First Negative Constructive​(1NC​) - 4 minutes
 Cross-examination ​(CX​) of First Negative by First Affirmative - 2 minutes
3. Second Affirmative Constructive ​(2AC​) - 4 minutes
 Cross-examination (CX​) of Second Affirmative by First Negative - 2 minutes
4. Second Negative Constructive​(2NC​) - 4 minutes
 Cross-examination ​(CX​) of Second Negative by Second Affirmative - 2 minutes
5. First Negative Rebuttal ​(1NR​) - 2 minutes**
6. First Affirmative Rebuttal​(1AR​) - 2 minutes
7. Second Negative Rebuttal ​(2NR​) - 2 minutes
8. Second Affirmative Rebuttal​(2AR​) - 2 minutes

Suggested Prep Time​: 3 minutes per team

38 minutes total using suggested times above.

17
2
Prep Time

18
 PREP TIME

You will be provided a “Prep Time”

during the debate to plan further
actions as a team.

19
 PREP TIME
The Traditional Prep is 3-5 minutes
for each team
for the entire round
that can be used at any time during
the debate round,
except
in the middle of a speech
of cross-examination. 20
 PREP TIME
The Traditional Prep is 3-5 minutes for each team for the entire
round that can be used at any time during the debate round,
except in the middle of a speech of cross-examination.

You will be learning

time management skills.

21
 PREP TIME
Debate Round Breakdown

Policy Debate Structure There will be

1. First Affirmative Constructive​(1AC​) - 4 minutes
Cross-examination​(CX​) of First Affirmative by Second
Negative - 2 minutes
2. First Negative Constructive​(1NC​) - 4 minutes
1 minute of prep
 Cross-examination ​(CX​) of First Negative by First
Affirmative - 2 minutes before
3. Second Affirmative Constructive ​(2AC​) - 4 minutes
 Cross-examination (CX​) of Second Affirmative by First
Negative - 2 minutes 2nd Constructives
4. Second Negative Constructive​(2NC​) - 4 minutes
 Cross-examination ​(CX​) of Second Negative by Second
Affirmative - 2 minutes
and
5. First Negative Rebuttal ​(1NR​) - 2 minutes**
6. First Affirmative Rebuttal​(1AR​) - 2 minutes

7. Second Negative Rebuttal ​(2NR​) - 2 minutes

2nd Rebuttals.
8. Second Affirmative Rebuttal​(2AR​) - 2 minutes

Suggested Prep Time​: 3 minutes per team

38 minutes total using suggested times above.
22
PREP TIME
When one team
calls for prep,
the other team can
use that time to
prep, as well.

23
3
Judging

24
 JUDGING

Students that are not actively

debating can act as the judges in a
round.

25
 JUDGING
It is expected that the judges take clear
notes that show each part of the
Affirmative & Negative arguments,
and most importantly where teams
specifically addressed the other team’s
claims.

26
 JUDGING

Judges’ decisions should not be

considered if the Judge sheet does not
include detailed notes and a reason for
decision (based on argument and evidence,
not speaking skills).
Judging Sheet Example

1 AC 1 NC 2 AC 2 NC 1 AR 1 NR 2 AR 2 NR

27
 JUDGING
• Judges’ decisions should not be considered if the Judge sheet
does not include detailed notes and a reason for decision (based
in argument and evidence, not speaking skills).
• This is crucial to the
integrity of the debate. Even
if a student is an excellent
speaker, the judges must
base their decision on the
content of the speech, not
the way it was presented.

28
 JUDGING
Judging Sheet Example
1 AC 1 NC 2 AC 2 NC 1 AR 1 NR 2 AR 2 NR

Who won the debate? (Circle One)

Affirmative Negative

Why did this team win? (Remember to explain why the winning team’s argument is
stronger. Leave out anything about the quality of the presentation, only judge the
content of the speeches here.)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29
 WHAT DID WE LEARN TODAY?
• We revised some basic terms in Policy Debate: Resolution
and Affirmative’s and Negative’s job.
• We learned the roles and structure of the Policy Debate:
1A​- 1st Affirmative Speaker, 2A ​- 2nd Affirmative Speaker,
1N​- 1st Negative Speaker, 2N ​- 2nd Negative Speaker
• We learned how to use the Prep Time during the debate.
• We learned how to act as a judge in a round taking detailed
notes and giving reasons for decisions.

30
 THANK YOU
AND
KEEP LEARNING!

31