Outline of Strategies Affirmative Negative Preemptive Construction Preparing an Offense & Defense Strategic Preparation

Affirmative: The Affirmative has two primary advantages over the negative, (1) they know exactly what they will debate before the round begins and (2) the have the right to define the Affirmative and Negative ground.

Return to top
Return to main directory

Negative: The Negative possesses three clear advantages over the affirmative, (1) the affirmative has the burden of proof, (2) if the problem could be solved easily, it would have, and (3) the affirmative must defend all stock issues.

Research and Preparation: Since the Affirmative possesses the burden of proof, a team cannot afford to be caught off guard by evidence that disproves or weakens their case. Affirmatives must not only find evidence that supports its case, they must also find counter-evidence for any negative evidence that might hurt their position.

Return to top
Return to main directory

Preemptive Construction: Because there is only 8 minutes in a construction, the 1AC must be vague and will lack sufficient detail to avert Negative attack. However, the 1AC can preempt several attacks by paying attention to the following: Defining the key terms with field context and legal definitions, Establishing clear significant harms using reliable evidence, Demonstrating a potent inherent barrier, Providing administrative, enforcement, and precedent plank provisions, and Discussing how the advantages will be achieved. On the other hand, the vagueness of the 1NC allows the negative to challenge the credibility of the Affirmative by portraying their responses as too little, too late and asserting that the Affirmative is changing their plan only as a response to 1NC.

Return to top
Return to main directory

Preparing an Offense And Defense: Both Negative and Affirmatives should prepare responses for the following areas:

• Topicality Challenges: Explanations of the standards used.
• Test of Evidence: Explanations of test standards.
• Significance: Additional pieces of evidence to support claims.
• Inherency: Additional pieces of evidence to support your claims, and also answers explaining why the status quo is failing to correct the problem.
• Inherent Barrier: Explanations of inherent barrier and explanations and support how your plan will eliminate the barrier.
• Solvency - Workability: Answers to questions and evidence concerning administrative deficiencies, enforcement, and precedents - extensions on your planks to cover these areas.
• Solvency - PMN/PMA: be prepared to respond to charges of violation of:
  .....1. Alternate Causality - The plan addresses the real cause of the problem.
• .....2. Future Impact - Will the plan solve the problem permanently?
  .....3. Circumvention - Does the plan must not allow loopholes around the proposed solution?
  .....4. PMN Disadvantages - Will the plan exacerbate the problem? Disadvantages: Responses for uniqueness, links, impacts, and turnarounds.

Return to top
Return to main directory

Strategic Preparation: Negative and Affirmative Strategies include: Shotgun blasts in the 1NC and continuation in the 2NC, Squirrel attacks that have no relevance but consume time, Counterplans and bogus counterplans, Grouping strategies, and Fiat and should/would.

Return to top
Return to main directory