Welcome to Beyond Resolved!

Hello debater, coach, or interested person – and welcome to Beyond Resolved. This site contains free material, past topic analysis, and answered questions from debaters around the country. The material reflects the content of Beyond Resolved: A Public Forum Manual for Debaters and Coaches. I’ve collected the wisdom from my years of debating and coaching Public Forum and that of my colleagues and debaters I’ve had the privilege of working with. Check out this free information and check out the full manual, available on Amazon. You’ll find the link on the righthand toolbar of this page. There’s a full description on the About page above this post.

Feel free to email me any questions about the manual at beyondresolved@gmail.com – I love to help aspiring debaters and coaches at any level.

For now I’m putting on hold further topic analysis – law school is kicking back into gear and I’ll be putting my head down for that purpose.

 

Cheers!

Ashley

Philosophy and Public Forum

While in the debate world Lincoln Douglas, Policy, Congress, Parliamentary, and Public Forum are separate entities, there is a lot of overlap. No, I am not going to promote the increased speeds being used in Public Forum. I am going to argue that learning from other debates will make you a better debater. Period.

One great way to improve your PF debating (especially in the Framework department) is to take some notes from your LD friends. In LD debaters have a working knowledge of political and social theory than underscores each topic. No surprise here, but those same theories apply to many PF topics.

A successful LD debater suggested the book, The Individual and The Political Order by Bowie and Simon, as an introduction and overview of important theories. While you may not want to spend $45 dollars on it, it is highly likely you can find it at a local library or university library. You can also sign up for a free trial of Questia research where you can access the book.

I have also uploaded a useful PDF from the NSDA titled SELECTED PHILOSOPHY TOPICS THAT ARISE FREQUENTLY IN LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE by David M. Shapiro. This would be a great place to start as you venture into LD land a pick up a few tips and tricks.

No March Topic Analysis

Hello Beyond Resolved readers!

I’m sorry to say that I will not be posting topic analysis for March. I hope to get to April, but for now Law School is soaking up all of my attention. I wish you the best on this month’s topic and keep an eye out for general Public Forum advice posts that will still be appearing this month.

Cheers!

Ashley

Quick Note: No Longer Offering Case Review

Hello Beyond Resolved Readers!

Earlier this year (spring) I posted an offer to review cases and give feedback. This was meant for the immediate month after the post, but I understand the lack of clarity because I did not post an end date to this service. While I do enjoy critiquing cases, I sadly do not have the time for this right now. First semester of law school is proving to be just as busy as people say it is. Please continue to send me questions at beyondresolved@gmail.com, but I will no longer be reviewing cases.

Cheers!

Ashley