Fix This One Thing to Win Your Next Outround

“Last tournament, my partner and I went 6-0 in prelims but we lost our octafinals round.” -Clare C.

LifeJoseph AbellMarch 4, 2020nsda, ncfca, tp, ld, policy, valueComment

6 Ways to Win with Topicality in the 2020s (Part 1)

Here are a few ways to sell a Topicality press, even to an audience that doesn’t want to hear it.

StrategyJoseph AbellMarch 2, 2020topicalityComment

Practice Impromptu Topics | February 2020

Check out our vault and generator for hundreds of more practice resolutions.

SpeechDrew MagnessFebruary 28, 2020impromptuComment

5 Tips for Policy Research in a Small Club

Trish asked about competing in policy debate when opponents come from large, established clubs with evidence pools. Here are a few tips.

EvidenceJoseph AbellFebruary 26, 2020evidence, research, policy, team, club, briefs, debate, stoa, nsda, ncfca, topic, finance, monetary, banking, tpComment

Homeschoolers Hate Topicality: A Metagame Story (Part 2)

Topicality went from being a mainstream argument to a hated argument. Where does it fall now?

PolicyJoseph AbellFebruary 24, 2020topicality, homeschoolers, ace, peak, joseph, abell, ncfca, nsda, debate, stoa, practice, strategy, tiny affirmatives Comments

Practice Debate Resolutions | February 2020

Check out our vault and generator for hundreds of more practice resolutions.

ResolutionsDrew MagnessFebruary 21, 2020Resolutions, Practice topics, debate resolutionsComment

How to Win Rounds Without Evidence

This team has nothing but pen and paper, wits, and one critical piece of knowledge.

EvidenceJoseph AbellFebruary 19, 2020nsda, ncfca, stoa, tp, team, policy, debate, practice, ld, evidence, win Comment

Homeschoolers Hate Topicality: A Metagame Story (Part 1)

Almost two decades ago, topicality experienced a golden age among homeschool debaters. What happened?

StrategyJoseph AbellFebruary 17, 2020evidence, topicality, argumentation, metagame, ncfca, stoa, nsda, debateComment

Announcing Base Camp 2020.

Following last year’s camp, Base Camp students went on to win eight championships between NITOC and NCFCA Nationals.

CampsJoseph AbellFebruary 14, 2020base, camp, announcements, workshop, joseph abell, drew, magness, nationals, nitoc, preparationComment

Having Evidence Might Cost You the Round

Many debaters grossly overvalue evidence. Here’s how.

EvidenceJoseph AbellFebruary 12, 2020evidence, stoa, ncfca, ld, tp, research, rules, how to win, without Comment

How to Run Huge DAs Against Tiny Affirmatives

The argument we have so far isn’t hitting hard enough. How do we fix this disadvantage?

StrategyJoseph AbellFebruary 10, 2020strategy, ncfca, stoa, ld, private, coach, debate, parli, tp, team, policy, debate round, drill, da, disadvantage, tiny affirmativesComment

Free Case: Sun Tzu Objection

We’ve written a resolutional objection for NCFCA LDers.

Case WritingJoseph AbellFebruary 7, 2020ncfca, ld, debate, case, preventive, war, ethical, res, objection, topic, cases, strategies, art of war, neg, aff, stoa, nsdaComment

Why Small Clubs Struggle with Policy Debate

“Is there some other way to be more prepared?”

EvidenceJoseph AbellFebruary 5, 2020ncfca, stoa, research, tp, private, debate, coach, debate skills, speech, nsda, policy debate, team policy, evidenceComment

Why is it so Hard to Run Disadvantages Against Tiny Affirmatives?

When you run DAs like this, Affs will usually reply with some version of “Well, we might as well try!”

Joseph AbellFebruary 3, 2020nsda, ncfca, debate, stoa, strategy, argumentation, disadvantages, tiny affirmatives, negative, aff, neg, affirmativeComment

5 Reasons 2020 NCFCA LDers Should Love Resolutional Objections

Every debater should have objection theory in their back pocket.

StrategyJoseph AbellJanuary 29, 2020ncfca, stoa, res objection, resolutional, objection, ld, debate, neg, aff, preventive, war Comment

Team Dynamics 6: Final Decision

Here’s how you synthesize it all into a decision.

StrategyJoseph AbellJanuary 27, 2020persona, persuasion, persona diamond, debate, nsda, ncfca, stoa Comment

Reader Question: Tiny Affirmatives

“In my region, people run tiny affirmative cases that barely change anything.”

StrategyJoseph AbellJanuary 26, 2020reader, question, disadvantages, policy, case, debate, stoa, ncfca, nsda, cases, strategyComment

4 Tips for Defeating Resolutional Objections

Here’s what to do if someone runs one against you.

StrategyJoseph AbellJanuary 23, 2020stoa, debate, ncfca, resolution, objection, resolutional, neg, aff, preventive warComment

Sign up for updates