Theory

Overview

Theory debate is a type of debate where debaters attempt to prove that their opponents are damaging the debate round itself, usually through arguments like fairness and education. Strategically, theory can usually take the highest layer of the round as debaters will claim that it is a prior question of being able to continue the round e.g. “if the debate round was so unfair/uneducational we cannot debate in the first place.” Theory can also be run as a time suck since it can be condensed into a short paragraph and multiple short shells can be run at a time, causing it to be extremely advantageous since each theory shell can impact out to dropping the other team.

Structure of a Shell

Theory (also called “theory shells” or just “shells”) are composed of four parts: the interpretation (called the “interp”), the violation, the standards, and the voters.

Interpretation/Violation

The interpretation (also known as “interp”) is the norm that debate should have, and the violation is why they fail to meet that norm.

An example of an interpretation is “Interp: Debaters must not run conditional advocacies” which criticizes the use of conditional advocacies in the round.

Interps for non-paragraph theory should be constructed with an actor (typically “Debaters” and should contain words like “must” instead of “should” or “ought.”

Violations are reasons why your opponent fails to meet your interp.

An example of a violation to the earlier shell is “Violation: Their [x] advocacy is a conditional advocacy.”

Violations can run from being just “Vio: They do” to screenshots and more detailed explanations. A good way to check violations if you’re unsure of them being legitimate is to check in cross-ex.

Standards

Standards are reasons why your model of debate (the interpretation) is good and why their model (the violation) is bad, typically justified by fairness and/or education.

Voters

Voters explain how the theory shell should be evaluated. Some arguments for the voters include drop the debater (meaning that your opponent loses for failing to meet the interpretation), competing interps, and impact calculus (e.g. why fairness and education should be valued by the judge).

Initiating Theory

[Explanations on why you might initiate theory in various speeches, with links to 1AC Theory, 1NC Theory, 1AR Theory, and 2NR theory pages.]

Common Shells

[Explain why certain theory shells gain popularity and remain common, with a link to Common Theory Shells which provides a brief description of all of the most common theory shells.]

Note: Disclosure theory should go in here.

Topicality

[Explanation of what T shells are, with a link to the Topicality page.]

Combo Shells

[Explain what a combo shell is, with a link to Combo Shells to provide a more detailed explanation.]

Recommended Drills

[Explain how getting good at theory requires practice, with a link to further Recommended Theory Drills.]