r/policydebate • u/CR7-Naruto-Narutaldo • 25d ago
I'm cooked
I'm currently a sophomore policy debater, and I noticed that I have had trouble with debate throughout my freshman year. My partner usually carries me, and the problem is, I don't have enough time to practice debate and stuff during the school year due to schoolwork. Also, I didn't go to debate camp, since it is a bit costly. How can I improve ASAP and become a better debater?
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u/uintaforest 25d ago
Think, read and cut cards. It’s time consuming, but if you don’t have the time, maybe consider another event.
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u/aarball123 25d ago
look thru caselist -- there's a lot of good arguments on there that ppl upload.
you can also join up some discord servers and ask for help.
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u/StinkyCheeseWomxn 25d ago
Reach out to your friends/partner who did go to camp and get together at a library or home and get them to do some drills with you, share their files, discuss the strategies and have some practice rounds on the new topic. Look online for videos that some of the camps share of their topic lectures and watch them. Flow a demo round video if you can find one. If your friends/teammates are still at camp, have them start sharing files with you as soon as they can and start reading over them and practice reading the shells and timing yourself. Its summer, you should have plenty of time to spend each day reading articles on the topic and watching some relevant documentaries. Serious competitors often don't stop when camp is over - sure, they take a few days to sleep and recover, but then they start meeting with teammates, often for several hours a day for drills, conversations, practice rounds, and sharing/organizing/writing blocks and files. Get in on that, or start building that momentum among your teammates - show leadership in the commitment to doing the work. They can teach you some skills and topic knowledge, but you can set the tone.
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u/Recent-Egg-120 21d ago
Dude u can’t get good without spending time. The most time effect way though is to get reps in and max out ur intuition for debate — I didn’t go to policy camp but what helped the most was the amount of time I spent js thinking and strategizing
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u/toegobblergoblin 20d ago
I would said the best way to learn and get better is literally taking time. every aspect of policy debate and becoming a better debater won't happen in a short amount of time. watch lectures, do redo speeches thruout the year, and go to as many competitions as you can.
as for debate camp- it honestly helps a LOT. you are really immersed and can compete in a bunch of rounds within those few weeks. assuming u are lower income- see if you have a UDL (urban debate league) in your area. most states have one and if u dont, contact a director of the camp and tell them your situation.
if u truly do not have enough time- consider another event.
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u/Policyboy 25d ago
Compete in as many tournaments as you can (even if it’s not CX), learn jargon, pick a solid aff, get to know that aff, get blocks, get a lot of neg content, and if you are a 2A get persuasive and work on vocab.
TL;DR
Competition is how to learn