Glossary

Learn to speak debate.

Every term you'll hear in a round, defined in plain English. Hover any dotted word to see the definition.

B

Bid

A qualification credit toward the Tournament of Champions, earned by deep elim runs.

Breaking

Advancing from preliminary rounds to elimination rounds.

C

Card

A piece of cut evidence: a tagline, a citation, and the quoted text that proves the claim.

Claim

The statement an argument says is true: the "what" without the "why."

Collapse

Strategically narrowing to your best arguments in the back half of the round.

Concede

To explicitly agree an opponent’s argument is true, often by dropping it.

Constructive

The first speech for each team: four minutes presenting your prepared case.

Contention

A major independent argument in a case, usually numbered.

Crossfire

The question-and-answer periods in PF where debaters question each other directly.

D

Defense

Responses that weaken an opponent’s argument without helping your side.

Delink

Breaking the causal chain between the resolution and a claimed impact.

Drop

Failing to answer an argument, which usually concedes it.

E

Evidence Exchange

The in-round process of requesting and providing the full text of cited evidence.

Extension

Carrying an argument forward through later speeches with its warrant and evidence.

F

Final Focus

The last speech of the round: two minutes to tell the judge why your team wins.

Flow

The structured notes debaters take during a round. Also the verb for taking them.

Framework

The lens the judge should use to evaluate the round: what matters and how to compare it.

Frontline

Pre-written responses defending your case against common rebuttal attacks.

I

Impact

The consequence at the end of an argument, and the reason anyone should care.

Impact Calculus

The set of comparisons (magnitude, probability, timeframe, reversibility) used to weigh impacts.

K

Kick

Deliberately dropping one of your own arguments to focus elsewhere.

L

Lay Judge

A judge without technical debate background, often a parent or community member.

Link

The causal connection between the resolution and your impact.

M

Mitigation

Reducing the size or probability of an impact without eliminating it.

N

Non-Unique

A response arguing the claimed impact happens with or without the resolution.

O

Observation

A definitional or framing note presented before contentions in a constructive.

Off-Time Roadmap

A brief pre-speech statement of the order you will cover arguments.

Offense

Arguments that give the judge a reason to vote for you, not just against them.

OpenCaselist

A shared repository where teams upload cases and briefs for other debaters to read.

Overview

Framing given at the top of a speech before the line-by-line.

P

Paraphrasing

Presenting evidence in your own words instead of reading the quoted text directly.

Prep Time

The bank of preparation minutes each team may use between speeches.

R

Rebuttal

The second speech for each team, focused on attacking the opposing case.

Resolution

The statement the round is about. Pro agrees with it, Con disagrees, and it changes every month or two.

S

Second Rebuttal

The second team’s rebuttal, which by convention both attacks and defends.

Signposting

Saying out loud where you are on the flow so the judge can follow.

Speaker Points

Scores each debater gets from the judge alongside the win, usually on a 26-30 scale.

Summary

The third PF speech: collapse the debate to the winning issues and start weighing.

T

Tabroom

The website where most debate tournaments are posted, registered and tabulated.

Tagline

The one-sentence claim at the top of a card, written by the debater.

Tech Judge

A judge who evaluates the round on the flow and credits technical execution.

Terminal Impact

The end of the causal chain: the human consequence a judge can care about.

Topicality

A debate over whether the resolution was interpreted fairly; rare but decisive in PF.