Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Circuit Debate"

Introduction to Circuit Debate (view source)

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→‎Community Norms: evidence ethics

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 There are some exceptions to the practice worth noting. Some debaters do not disclose positions or performances that are of a personal nature to them. Other debaters do not disclose because their school forbids them to disclose. Also, novices are generally not expected to disclose. These debaters are still at risk of having disclosure theory ran at them; however, they might receive more sympathy from their opponents and judges.
+=== Evidence and Evidence Ethics ===
+Because most circuit LD rounds require a lot of evidence, it is important to make sure your evidence is accurate and cited properly. There is generally a norm in the community for what constitutes a piece of evidence that is cited "correctly." When citing evidence, debaters usually have a short summary of the evidence called the "tag" (which they write themselves); the source; and finally the card (which is the name for the body of evidence), which is highlighted and underlined in certain places in order to emphasize its important parts.
+-- put example of good evidence and point out parts
+When evidence lacks a source or is framed in a way to say something it doesn’t, it is called miscut evidence.
+Take the following example of a card that is egregiously miscut: "example."
+==== Evidence Ethics: Stakes vs Theory ====
+When you notice miscut evidence, there are two things you can do: you can stake the round or run theory on them.
+A stake (also known as a challenge), in evidence ethics, is when you completely stop the round and ask the judge to evaluate whether the evidence is legitimate or not. If you are correct and prove your opponent’s evidence to be miscut, you win the round and (usually) get 30 speaks, while your opponent loses and (usually) gets 0-20 speaks. However, if you are incorrect and their evidence is properly cut, then you will lose the round and get 0-20 speaks while your opponent will auto-win. Unlike a theory debate where both sides can dispute the validity of a norm, stakes immediately stop the round and end it.
+Running theory is the lower-risk version of staking the round. Instead of asking your judge to cease the round and examine the evidence, you run it as a theory shell. If they prove there is no violation or that their violation is not severe enough to be the reason they lose, they win the shell. Unlike a stake, that does not mean that they win the round – it means that the judge evaluates a different layer of the debate.
+For a more in-depth discussion on how to run theory on evidence ethics, see [[Common Theory Shells#Evidence Ethics|here]].
+It is important to note that '''running theory is for less severe violations''' – if your opponent links to a website that no longer works, used brackets, got the wrong date on their evidence, etc., this could be grounds to run a shell. However, if your opponent is fabricating evidence or paraphrasing in a way that masks the original intent of the author, this should be an evidence ethics challenge,
+Before challenging the round or running evidence ethics theory, '''check your judge’s paradigm'''. Different judges will have different thresholds for voting on evidence ethics violations: some are completely unwilling to vote on it while others will vote on marginal abuse. There is no point in running a challenge if the judge will not vote on it. If you are unsure of their stance on evidence, ask them!
 === Spreading ===
 Another norm in circuit LD is spreading, or, speed reading. Experienced debaters can typically read their cases upwards of 300 words per minute. Since speeches are limited in time, by spreading, debaters can fit more arguments into their speeches, making responding more difficult. Although spreading might sound incomprehensible to you at first, with enough practice, you will learn to understand spreading and even be able to spread on your own!