Debate terminology glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms you will hear in Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas and policy debate.
Debate terms A to Z
- Aff / Neg
- The affirmative supports the resolution; the negative opposes it.
- Block
- Prepared responses to an argument, written in advance.
- Break
- Advancing from preliminary rounds to elimination rounds.
- Card
- A quoted piece of evidence with a tag and citation.
- Case
- The arguments a side prepares to read in its first speech.
- Cite
- The citation for a card: author, qualifications, year and source details.
- Constructive
- A speech where a side presents its arguments.
- Counterplan (CP)
- A negative alternative to the affirmative plan.
- Crossfire / Cross-examination
- Questioning time between speakers.
- Disadvantage (DA)
- A negative argument that the plan or resolution causes a harm.
- Elims
- Elimination rounds after the preliminary rounds.
- Extend
- Carry an argument forward into a later speech.
- Flow
- The written record of a round organized by speech.
- Framework
- A standard for how the judge should evaluate the round.
- Impact
- The consequence that makes an argument matter.
- Kritik (K)
- An argument that questions the assumptions behind the other side’s position.
- Link
- The connection between the opponent’s position and your argument.
- Paradigm
- A judge’s stated preferences and way of evaluating rounds.
- Rebuttal
- A speech focused on answering arguments and comparing them, not adding new ones.
- Speech doc
- The file a debater sends with the cards they plan to read.
- Tabroom
- The website most tournaments use for registration, pairings and results.
- Tag
- A short claim that summarizes what a card proves.
- Theory
- Arguments about what rules or norms should govern the debate.
- Topicality (T)
- An argument that the affirmative does not follow the resolution.
- Turn
- An argument that flips the opponent’s argument to your side.
- Uniqueness
- The claim that something is true now, so the impact will or will not happen.
- Weighing
- Comparing impacts to explain why yours matter most.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common debate terms?
Card, tag, cite, flow, link, impact and weighing come up in every event. Policy and LD add counterplan, disadvantage, kritik, theory and topicality. All of them are defined above.
What is a card in debate?
A card is a quoted piece of evidence with a tag and citation.
What is a kritik?
A kritik is an argument that challenges the assumptions behind a position instead of only its consequences.
What does flow mean in debate?
The flow is the notes debaters keep during a round to track each argument and response.
Related
Last updated October 1, 2026.