Adjudication Briefing
Schedule
• The role of the adjudicator• Basic rules• Administrative overview• Judging guidelines
▫ Team roles• Deliberation and delivery
▫ Ballots• Adjudication Test
▫ True and false▫ Test Result▫ Scale
Scratches
• It is the responsibility of adjudicators not debaters to list any scratches
• Any scratches other than your institution need to be communicated to the tab room▫ Judges test▫ In person
• Failure to list your scratches will adversely effect your judge ranking
• Information will be held in the strictest confidence
The Role of the Adjudicator
• Role of adjudicator• Principles of adjudication
▫ Holistic adjudication▫ Leave yourself out of debate
• Professionalism• Rankings
▫ Trainees▫ Rotation▫ Feedback
Quick Rules
• Debaters (4 x 2)• Timing
▫ 7 min (7:20 with grace period)▫ Protected time
• PoIs▫ Take 3 per team, minimum 1 per speaker, 1 from
each team▫ No heckling or badgering
• Call to Order
Quick Rules
• Challenging Definitions:▫ Highly inadvisable If definition is debatable stick with it
▫ Must be in LO: Explain why definition is wholly unreasonable Present a reasonable definition and engage
▫ Subsequent teams: May challenge if the previous team challenged
Administrative Overview
• Check-in• Panel: Chair, 1st/2nd panelist, trainees• Go to room, debates start 15 minutes after
announcement▫ Ballot should be in room – if not contact FM
• Missing team▫ Contact FM▫ Swing team/team race to the room
• Missing panelist – chair has deciding vote• Watch debate
▫ Take notes
Administrative Overview
• 15 minute deliberation▫ Before adjudication give ballot to
Runner/FM/Panelist• Oral adjudication
▫ Rounds 7-9 closed• Feedback (teams, panelists, trainees)
Judging Guidelines
• Focus on persuasiveness▫ Matter/manner
• Comparative▫ Burdens▫ Team positions
• Don’t involve yourself in the debate▫ Biases▫ Knowledge▫ Analyse using the “reasonable person” standard
Judging Guidelines• Content:
▫ Different stylesAccents Order of arguments/rebuttal Systematic/thematic rebuttal
▫ PoI evaluation• No automatic positions• Role of facts/evidence/lies
▫ Evaluate contextually (ability to respond)▫ Weight against a “reasonable person” standard of
knowledge
Team Roles – Front Half• Definition/Model:
▫ Provide common ground for the debate▫ Not necessarily a detailed plan (context)▫ Spec knowledge/truism/squirrel/time-set ▫ “Spirit” of the motion▫ Early in PM speech
• First opp: positive stance (status quo/alternative)• Deputy:
▫ Must introduce new matter▫ Do not need to introduce new arguments, but advisable
Roles – Extension Speeches
• Extension▫ “Propel the debate forward”▫ New analysis, arguments, rebuttal, examples▫ Does not need to be an entirely new argument, but
recommended▫ Make it clear what you extension is ▫ Consistency
• Engagement
Roles - Whips
• Win arguments and determine what arguments matter
• Summary• Defend/Emphasise Partner• New matter:
▫ GW: new arguments allowed but discouraged▫ OW: new analysis, rebuttal, examples NOT
arguments▫ Matter in whip is worth less than in extension
Deliberation and Delivery
• Chair facilitates and guides but does not dominate adjudication▫ Allow open discussion
• Attempt to comes to consensus▫ Otherwise vote ▫ Even panel – chair casts deciding vote
Deliberation and Delivery
• Chair delivers oral adjudication▫ Even if in the minority, preference is for the chair
to deliver the adjudication▫ Otherwise panelists decide
• Comparative• No longer than the deliberation• Silent rounds 7-9
Ballot
• Add correctly• Write in team names• Write legibly• Make sure speaker points are associated with the
correct speaker
Ballot
Adjudication test – True and False
• 1) The Opening Government team must provide a detailed policy when debating under the motion “THW legalize prostitution”
• False• 2) The OG clearly squirrels the debate, the OO complain,
but doesn’t challenge and chooses to continue the debate. The CO can challenge the definition through a PoI
• False• 3) If it helps clarify the debate, PoIs may be offered to
speakers on your own bench• False
Adjudication test – True and False
• 4) A speaker must rebut all the points of the previous speaker, and should be penalized if he hasn’t done so
• False• 5) A speaker that is more fluent gets more points for
style, and hence, will always be ranked higher than a speaker who isn’t fluent
• False• 6) Rebuttal must be done at the beginning of a
speech, and separated from constructive points• False
Adjudication test – True and False• 7) The opp whip may add new points of rebuttal and examples
• True
• 8) Principled points should always be valued as more significant than practical points
• False
• 9) An extension must include new arguments that weren’t discussed in the debate
• False
• 10) An argument should be deemed more important if it contains lots of facts and statistics
• False
Adjudication test – True and False
• 11) The highest speaker mark should always be allocated to a speaker form the winning team
• False• 12) An OO that successfully challenged the
effectiveness of the proposition will always be ranked higher than the OP
• False• 13) The member of opposition must present an
extension• True
Adjudication test – True and False
• 14) Whip speakers must only summarize the closing half of the debate if the first half of the debate was weak
• False• 15) If any government team places first, the
other government team must place 2nd • False• 16) If the DLO contradicts the LO, the OO must
place 4th• False
Test Results
Test Results-Speaker points• OG: 148-152
▫ 1: 76-78
▫ 2: 72-74
• OO: 151-155
▫ 1: 78-80
▫ 2: 73-75
• CG: 150-154
▫ 1: 75-77
▫ 2: 75-77
• CO: 156-160
▫ 1: 76-78
▫ 2: 80-82