Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Quantifying Skill in Lincoln-Douglas Debate by Sachin Shah

Note: this article was written about a month prior to the 2021 Tournament of Champions. A difficult question for the LD debate community is how a debater’s skill can be measured effectively. This article will...

Jayanne Forrest

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Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Rethinking Phil Debate: How to reinvent 2011 arguments and make them strategic in 2021 by Animesh Joshi

In the last section of my two-part article, I discussed the decline of the “phil” style of debate in the LD meta. The previous article also explained some of the best parts of phil debate and why I think it’s...

Jayanne Forrest

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Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Rethinking Phil debate: why it’s declining and why you should care by Animesh Joshi

This article will analyze a recent trend in the debate meta: the decline of “phil” debate. In part 1, we’ll examine what “phil” debate roughly is and why debaters are employing it less often. To conclude the...

Jayanne Forrest

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Category - Debate Commentary

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Quantifying Skill in Lincoln-Douglas Debate by Sachin Shah

April 22, 2021

11 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Rethinking Phil Debate: How to reinvent 2011 arguments and make them strategic in 2021 by Animesh Joshi

March 18, 2021

6 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Rethinking Phil debate: why it’s declining and why you should care by Animesh Joshi

March 5, 2021

8 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

A Statistical Study of Side Bias on the 2021 January-February Lincoln-Douglas Debate Topic by Sachin Shah

Over the course of the 2019-2020 season, a pattern of negative side bias was statistically observed. More recently, online debate tournaments were found to have a negative side bias [1]. The relevant question now...

February 6, 2021

7 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

A Statistical Analysis of the Impact of the Transition to Online Tournaments in Lincoln-Douglas Debate by Sachin Shah

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way Lincoln-Douglas tournaments operate. Instead of traveling to in-person tournaments, prepping in school cafeterias, or packing into elimination rooms, students...

January 29, 2021

14 min read

Debate Commentary

Intro to Statistics — Part III by Eli Hymson

This is the part 3 of a 3-part series: Intro to Statistics and Evidence by Eli Hymson. The aim of these articles is to equip debaters with some debate-applicable knowledge from the field of statistics. The list of...

October 15, 2020

8 min read

Debate Commentary

Intro to Statistics and Evidence – Part II by Eli Hymson

Check out our newest NSD Update article, the part 2 of a 3-part series: Intro to Statistics and Evidence by Eli Hymson. The aim of these articles is to equip debaters with some debate-applicable knowledge from the field...

October 8, 2020

9 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Intro to Statistics and Evidence – Part I by Eli Hymson

The aim of this article is to equip debaters with some debate-applicable knowledge from the field of statistics. The list of subjects is nowhere near comprehensive but reflects a grab-bag of areas which have the...

September 17, 2020

4 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

Tips for a virtual debate season!

We know we are entering new territory this season. Jayanne Forrest has offered 10 tips for doing your best during this debate season. Focus on clarity of your speeches more than you normally would. If you are spreading...

September 3, 2020

4 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

A Statistical Analysis of Side-Bias on the 2020 January-February Lincoln Douglas Debate Topic by Sachin Shah

Over the course of the 2018-2019 season, a pattern of negative side-bias was statistically observed across that year’s topics. The 2020 January-February topic provides an opportunity to ascertain if the negative side...

February 13, 2020

6 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

The Death of Good Theory Debate by Stephen Scopa

While it seems many rounds I judge include “theory” in some form or another, the content of these debates seems much less stimulating and effective these days, as interpretations have become less substantive, counter...

November 30, 2019

12 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

A Statistical Analysis of Side-Bias on the 2019 November-December Lincoln Douglas Debate Topic by Sachin Shah

Over the course of last year, a pattern of negative side-bias was statistically observed across those topics [1]. The first topic of this season showed with no significant bias, a change from last year [2]. The 2019...

November 22, 2019

7 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas

In Defense of Entourage Rules by Katherine Fennell

In Defense of Entourage Rules It is a significant and obvious problem that at tournaments, many of the most preferred judges are on site to coach students but are not in the judge pool. Many of these coaches are heavily...

November 7, 2019

7 min read

Debate Commentary

A Statistical Analysis Of Side-Bias On The 2019 September-October Lincoln Douglas Debate Topic by Sachin Shah

The 2019 September-October resolution brings another topic to ascertain if the pattern of a negative side-bias observed over the course of last year continues to hold. 2019 September-October Data Set Affirmative and...

October 10, 2019

14 min read

Debate Commentary Lincoln Douglas NSD Update Staff

Answering Ks with Katherine Fennell

Looking for introductory instruction or a review on responding to the K? NSD staff member and Philadelphia Assistant Co-Director Katherine Fennell utilizes a popular Kritik from the 2017-Jan/Feb Topic to illustrate a...

April 19, 2019

12 min read