Summary and Final Focus
Collapse, extend, and weigh, then write the ballot for your judge.
The back half of the round is about choices. Collapse to the one or two arguments you are winning. Extend them properly, with the warrant and impact and not only the tagline. Then weigh: explain why your impact outweighs theirs on magnitude, probability or timeframe.
Two speeches, two different jobs
- Summary
Choose the one or two arguments you are going for and let the rest go.
Final focusDefend only what summary chose. Introducing anything new here is a drop waiting to happen.
- Summary
Extend with the warrant and impact attached, not just the tagline.
Final focusAssume the extension landed and spend the time on comparison instead.
- Summary
Open the weighing: name the lens and start the comparison.
Final focusFinish the weighing: say why your lens controls and what follows from it.
- Summary
Answer the strongest thing they extended in their rebuttal.
Final focusGive the judge one sentence they could copy onto the ballot.
Final focus should sound like the judge’s reason for decision read aloud. If your judge could copy your last thirty seconds onto the ballot, you have done it right. Finish the unit with the fundamentals quiz below.
Resolved: Ranked-choice voting should be adopted for all U.S. federal elections.
Round summary: Pro extended "RCV reduces spoiler effects and elects candidates with broader support." Con extended "RCV confuses voters, reduces turnout, and delays results." You are Pro in final focus. Write a 30-second voter paragraph (about 100 words) that the judge could copy onto the ballot.
Assignment
Final Focus Voter: Ranked-Choice Voting
~10 min
Read before you write
- The future of the instant runoff election reform
Brookings Institution · Brookings
Evidence on spoiler effects and what voting is like in places that use RCV.
Practice what you learned
One-Minute Rebuttals
Your partner reads a random argument; you have 60 seconds to deliver a structured four-part response.
20 min, partnerExtension Chains
Practice carrying one argument through all four speeches: the constructive version, a rebuttal frontline, a summary extension, and a final focus version.
15 min, soloCheck your understanding
Question 1 of 4