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A PSA

A few days ago I walked past a group of people in matching forensics shirts outside of the Capitol building and remembered that I have something to say to y’all! If any of you (I know my followers are 97% forensics nerds) are in DC or want to be, feel free to shoot me a message! 

I am an intern coordinator, I was an intern once, I have worked on the Hill for over a year, and I’m always looking for former/current forensics folks to support. So if anyone has questions about getting experience here, internships, or is just looking for someone to talk to, I’m still here! And if anyone is in DC for the summer, I’m always around to say hello (and I bring my dog to work with me, so added bonus).

#the hill is basically a giant tournament #matching outfits #speeches #kids who have way too much on their shoulders #lapel pins #I want to see more of you here #Also #sorry for a year of radio silence #I feel a little weird about changing directions on here #but also I feel like it has been 27 years since I was in Forensics sometimes #politics does that to you #I age a year every 3 weeks #anyway #I miss y'all

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Life update:

I'm withdrawing from my school tomorrow, moving to D.C. this weekend and starting next week I work full time for a congressman.

#This is real life? #what is happening #how #Me

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Sketchy sources:

#throwback to my first year on here when posts either got 5 reblogs or 100 and there was no in between #Also to when this was the daily show #i'm not crying you're crying #why am I awake #help me in trapped in a flesh prison that is not interested in sleep #forensics #debate

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hi! can you convincingly apply theory to pf? if so, how? thanks :)

I think you can, but you have to be careful. I’m a serious political theory nerd and I know I had at least one case that depended on it pretty heavily. The things to keep in mind are that it has to be simple and it has to be very relevant. If you cannot explain it in 20 seconds or less, probably don’t use it. If you use it, make sure to really clearly explain where it falls in the resolution, how it will help the judge figure out who won, and what it means for both your case and your opponent’s. You just need to make sure that stays part of the discussion. 

Really, you can. But you need to treat it as you would any other part of a traditional PF case. Identify, explain, maintain. 

Hopefully that answered your question!

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Hello! First off, thank you for being so helpful. Second, when you were explaining how to deal with different types of judges in PF, what do you mean by covering everything? In summary, it's really hard to extend each desirable point made in the round in time, so how would you advise going through a summary, especially when voter issues are most essential? Also, for parent judges, big numbers can easily sound convincing, so how would you advise rebutting fallacious but impressive statistics? ty

Alright, let’s think back to December 2014 when I said that.. Okay here we go.

The cover everything point is essentially saying that when you have a judge unaccustomed to (traditional) PF, or someone judging just from the flow, you want to make sure that you have addressed all of your opponent’s contentions (and sub-points). In your rebuttal, try to rebut each of them specifically and directly. And in the summary speech do it again. Mention the contentions specifically and in a way that the judge has to recognize that you have addressed all of them. (For more on that, see my summary speech structure here.) You don’t have to go into much detail, and usually you can do this by emphasizing clash, which also builds your case. (i.e. Their second contention that cheese is the only food we need is in direct conflict with our first, which explains how dairy can be damaging to the left leg.) You have already explained your argument in detail, as have they, so some shorthand is not unreasonable. Assume your judge remembers the basics of what just happened.

I tend to think of it like this:

First speech: Take the time to really explain your case clearly, letting it be at its best, uncorrupted by the debate about to ensue.

Second speech: Cover it all at least a little. The rest of the debate is when you clean up this speech. Just make sure you say the rebuttals that need said.

Third speech: Boil down the debate. This is your time to frame what will be the voting issues and create that shorthand you will use.

Fourth Speech: Voters. Focus on voters. Just voters.

In terms of rebutting evidence, just do your best. You won’t always be able to win the fight, but if they’re saying something incorrect or in a misleading context, tell the judge plainly why that is the case. Provide the context and hope the judge buys it. When your opponent continues to use the evidence, continue to mention that it doesn’t work. You don’t need a deep explanation each time, just once is fine. You might not convince your judge, but you will make sure they remember both the statistic and that it might not be accurate. 

I hope that answered your questions, but as always, if you have more let me know. Thanks!

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Hello! So I'm an FX, VPF, and VCX kid.. but my partner can no longer participate. I'm being moved into NLD and I only have a week to learn it and prepare the case. (Also, morality is a huge part in this and I stared in CX so with morality I'm like ???? Cannot be measured so it doesn't exist?? Why is this a thing??) I need tips please!

I will freely admit that I... have never done LD or really taught it. I’ve basically always had someone else deal with it because while I understand the basics, I feel unqualified to really help with it. There are lots of people on here though that I’d refer you to, and your parenthetical actually reminds me a lot of this post from @hungoverjudge, who would also be one of the aforementioned blogs to check out for LD. 

I wish I could be of more help to you here, but I wish you the best of luck!  

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Ask update

So, Tumblr I guess doesn’t give me notifications for asks now? Anyway, I’m on this. Give me a few minutes and I’m sorry to those of you who have been waiting especially because I have no idea how long ago y’all sent these.

(Really this is to say if you have sent me an ask, I’m sorry I haven’t responded. Also if you are planning on it, I might accidentally miss it for a while?)

#in unrelated news #my mom met John Lewis today and he said I should come by his office some time and I fell on the floor

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See also: tournaments.

#happy New year folks I promise I'll post like normal again before the end of break #need to write a cover letter #maybe overhaul my whole life #Also two more states two flights and a train left in this vacation #speech #debate #forensics #I feel you Dr Bartlet

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I'm having a HORRIBLE time finding an HI for this year? I've been looking for months and I can't find anything that I would wanna do. Any suggestions?

It should be noted that most pieces I did involved really long frustrating chunks of time where I just read everything and got really annoyed. I don’t have any specific ideas for you but will direct you to this answer from not too long ago which offers about all I can by way of guidance on picking an HI. It also links to my most in dept answer to this question. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but hopefully it gives you some ideas!

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hey there!! grape again. i have some really good news!! i finally found a parliamentary partner who's actually amazing! what are some tips for parli debate, if you have any?

Congratulations! That’s really exciting.

While most of my tips for debate apply pretty broadly, I have two main pieces of advice for this. (But as always, if you have more questions you know where to find me!)

The first is to communicate. In any partnered event this is vital, but in parli it is especially so because you have to really trust each other with almost no time to discuss your plans. It can be helpful to make plans about how to use your prep time, to discuss ahead what things each of you have special knowledge of, and to figure out how you want to communicate in round. Every topic and round will be different, but it can be useful to have a base framework to relieve some of the pressure. The more conversations you can have before rounds, the less of your prep time you need to use for it.

The other thing is pretty obvious, but just keep learning. Prep a little bit every day. Put NPR on as you get ready in the morning. Listen to interesting podcasts. Read. Get lost in Wikipedia holes and learn everything there is to know about the paneling at Independence Hall. You never know what is going to come in handy. Don’t disregard the things you learn in other contexts, or in classes. When I was doing BP in one round knowing a lot about homeschooling through my best friend turned out to be incredibly useful and in the next I needed the information I’d just read for class. Get interested in things and develop areas of comfortable expertise. 

I wish you the best of luck in Parli! 

#Sorry it took so long to respond to this #Crazy week #But it's almost a long weekend #and I'm leaving for DC #grape #debate #forensics

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In an effort spearheaded by Rochester faculty, more than 300 political scientists from across the United States have signed a statement voicing their collective concern about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

The signers comprise professors from the nation’s top institutions and political science departments, including Berkeley, UCLA, University of Chicago, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, MIT, University of Michigan, NYU, Princeton, University of Rochester, Stanford, Yale, and others.

These are people who study politics and government for a living—and they’re very concerned.

#My advisor is one of the people that wrote this #And all of my current/past professors in my major signed #not forensics #But worthwhile

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The what to wear post helped a lot- thanks!

I’m glad it helped, best of luck to you!

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Any tips for PF?

Yes! I’ve written about this a lot, so I’m going to link you to my previous posts, but if you have any other questions let me know!

How To: PF First Speaker and more summary speeches

How To: PF Second Speaker and more rebuttal advice

How To: Crossfire and more crossfire

Working with judges

Some of the other posts in my resources can also help with PF, but aren’t directly about it.

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Happy birthday!!! 🎂🎂

Thank you! (I went into a little paper deadline induced internet black hole for a few days. Sorry about that.)

#and now I'm answering things because I cannot sleep #It's been a week of this! #why

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update from the novice: my school closed out HI and I, again, got 3rd!! honestly i come for you so much for advice i might as well name myself. how about grape?

Yes, I love this. Also, congratulations! That’s seriously awesome. Looking forward to all your future successes!

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This may seem really superficial, but I'm wondering, what should I wear to a debate tournament? It's my first one ever (MSPDP) and I'm trying to maximize my odds of winning.

This is a really normal question. I have made many a presentation/handout about this very issue. (I could also make those into a post if people are actually interested?)

The main thing is that you look neat and clean. Everything beyond that is extra. But standards for debate (unless you’re doing college debate which is a horrifying void of customs) are business/business casual dress. This varies from area to area, and on the formality of the tournament you are at (A weeknight local congress will probably have more leeway than Nationals for example.)

In terms of my area, most younger men wore slacks, dress shoes, a button up shirt tucked in, and a tie. Most of them adopt the suit jacket within their first year. 

Most women wore some combination of nice (typically black) skirt/pants + blouse + blazer/cardigan or professional looking dress +blazer/cardigan +solid colored heels or flats. 

I bought this black blazer after my first month or two, and basically wore it for four years with a bunch of different shirts and a few different black skirts and pants, plus these incredibly comfortable heels. (Fun fact: I probably wear either this blazer or the other two colors I have it in on a bi-weekly basis and the heels in the 3 colors I have nearly every day. So helpful during my internship too.)

Ultimately, pick something you feel confident in, and that gives the impression that what you are doing is important to you, and you’re making an effort. There is a lot of room for flexibility and personality, just try to stay professional and you’ll be fine. 

If you are looking for more specifics or have questions, feel free to reach out! I hope this helped.

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happy birthday!

Thank you! (Honestly an anonymous birthday message really makes me feel like I’ve finally made it as a person who talks too much on the internet.)