1. Do Words have Power- Do words have power?
Donald Trump response to the question of did he admit to sexual assault.
“Locker Room Banter”
Does that excuse his behavior?

2. ISIS- Call them what they are:
Trump says problems is the Administration does not recognize Radical Muslim Terrorist
Clinton’s response
What is Donald’s plan to fight terrorism?
What is Hilary’s plan to fight terrorism?

3. Obama’s Response to why he doesn’t use “Radical Islamic Terrorist”
What is his main reason for not?

4. Communication forms your Perception-
Perception- sensory input of information and then using that info to determine how you view others and opinions of them
Opinions you form guides your communication and behavior towards a person.

5. Important to Remember-
Words have both connotative and denotative meaning.
Denotative- Dictionary definitions
Ex. Home- place we where people live
Connotative- values, attitudes, and emotions that people associate with words creates their definition. Depending on our experiences, certain words have a positive, negative, or neutral connotation.
Ex. Needed in the Office

6. Choosing Words- Words need to be: Accurate Specific as possible
Use facts that are truthful
Specific as possible
Some stuff- BAD!
Concrete
Message doesn’t change or conflict
Aware of audience
Aware of appropriateness.

7. Topicality

8. What does it mean to you?
Football

9. Definitions dictate everything-
How we interpret a word matters.
Awesome-
Engagement-
Fun-
Substantial-
Diplomatic-

10. What it is-
Neg argument that says Aff plan does not fall within the resolution.
Preserves fairness of a debate
Run in the 1NC
FIRST argument
If ran in 2NC it loses credibility (It’s ABUSIVE!)
Ex. Aff is NOT engaging WITH China

11. T- (word you are arguing)
Framework
T- (word you are arguing)
Definition- (must have source and date)
Violation
-Aff does x which is not…
Standards
Voters

12. Parts- “Definition”
Definition of a word in the resolution that you believe Aff is not upholding by doing plan.
It should be VERY narrow definition when on Neg.
Ex. Substantial means more than 50%
Ex. Engagement-is not economic pressure
Ex. With-In the company of; accompanying

13. Parts- “Violation” Explains why the Aff plan is not topical
Must use wording of plan and your definition. NOT the word
1 sentence long
DO NOT SAY: The aff’s plan is not substantially increasing economic engagement w/China
Ex. The Affs plan is forcing China cooperate with sanctioning NK this is economic pressure.
Ex. Engagement is not pressure

14. Parts- “Standards” Most important part of T
Judge uses standards to decide who has the better definition. It is a weighing mechanism
How do you determine who has better pizza?
Your standard explains why your definition is the best and why they should use your definition.
Must have 2 Standards

15. How to run Standards Argument
Common Person- our definition is the best because it comes from a common source. Random House Dictionary has been around since my parents have been born and almost every person in this room has one. While it maybe used a paper weight and dust collector we still have access to it As a debater, my mom got it for my birthday present. It is easy to access allowing everyone to use this definition does not unfairly discriminate against the Aff team

16. Voters-
Tells the judge why to vote for Topicality above all else.

17. Types of Standards Common Person Framers Intent Legal Definition
Term of Art
Bright Line
Expert
Field Contextual
Ground
Education

18. Common Person Dictionaries
Because everyone has access to it. No surprise.

19. Framer’s Intent What the framers of the resolution had in mind.
Ex. Must be directly with China’s Government
Ex. Launch 1 weather satellite (Really)

20. Legal Definition
Comes from a legal source- or anything having to do with law.
We are dealing with public policy best to use a legal def.

21. Term of Art
Grammatical context- using the phrase and not individual words.
Ex. “Economic Engagement”
NOT “Economic” “Engagement”

22. Limits
You have a huge topic but your definition limits the debate down so you can have a fair debate and not research everything in the world. Neg team has the right to set the limits on the Aff. This increases education.

23. Bright Line
Says there is a clear distinction between your definition and their violation. This allows for now interpretation and offers clarity. It is like comparing black and white.
Ex. It is either viewed as a positive by both countries- or it is not.
Substantial means 25%. It is either 25% or it isn’t

24. Expert Expert in the area of surveillance defines it.
They are best b/c they deal with surveillance.
Who better to trust than an expert?
Explain why experts rock!

25. Field Context
Comes from an article dealing with economic engagement within the text
Congressman in a hearing is a common example

26. Ground
Ground is a measure of the quantity and quality of arguments available. If the case is tiny or obscured (think whale farming) it is unfair to the Neg.
This tips the debate in favor of the Aff putting the Neg at a disadvantage.
Aff team unfairly takes away negative positions. Hence taking away your ground.
Think of a football field. Instead of starting at the 50 they are on your 20.

27. Parts “Voters”
Reasons why the judge should vote on topicality. Need to tell the judge WHY T matters

28. Voters
The rationale for voting on T. These can be the same for EVERY T you write.
It is a statement as to why the argument of topicality should be considered in the round.

29. A priori
Look here first. If the Aff isn’t topical, then the judge shouldn’t even look at the case.
“Similar to the rules which govern the time limits and the number of speeches for a debate, the
rule that topicality is a voting issue remains nondebatable. For equity reasons, the participants of all competitive games arrive
at some consensual agreement on the rules prior to the start of the contest.”

30. Rules of the Game
“Similar to the rules which govern the time limits and the number of speeches for a debate, the rule that topicality is a voting issue remains nondebatable. For equity reasons, the participants of all competitive games arrive at some consensual agreement on the rules prior to the start of the contest.”

31. Education
Debate’s purpose is to increase our education and understanding of the topic. If Aff is not topical, they take away the educational value of the debate

32. Jurisdiction
The judge only has the jurisdiction to pass a topical case. If it’s not topical, it’s outside the judge’s jurisdiction and they can not vote on it.

33. Procedural
T is a procedural argument, must prove they adhere to the resolution each round

34. Fairness
T creates fairness in a debate w/o it Aff can do what ever they want, putting the Neg at a disadvantage

35. Extra Topicality
Extra-topicality is the argument that the affirmative shouldn’t be allowed to advocate a plan with multiple components, some of which fall within the resolution, and others that definitively do not. In this case, “extra” is used to mean “in addition to having topical components”, not to mean “too topical”.
Ex- Claiming to create a new program in the US

36. Effects T
Violation- Aff’s plan does ____ Which is effects topical. The plan is not topical.
Effects topical rather than interpreting a specific word in the resolution, you interpret the direct relationship of the plan to the topic. You argue that instead of proving the resolution true, the affirmative team proves something else true, which by an effect of the that being true, proves the resolution true.
Removing THAAD does not directly involve China!

37. Basics to Remember Run first!!!!! ALWAYS RUN T!
Can run two T arguments but standards must be the same or you lose all credibility!
Ex- “substantial” and “Increase”
If neg team runs two T’s and standards different
argue why that is abusive- creates unfair standards. Which one are we to use?

38. Framework T- Space Definition- (must have source and date) Violation
-Aff’s plan does x which is not…
Standards
Voters

39. When writing standards- Follow these three steps.
1. Define the standard (use notes) AND the reading!
2. Why is your definition that standard?
3. Why does this make your definition the best?