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Topicality

Topicality. Casey Parsons. Let’s Review. Topicality is: A stock issue for the aff A question of whether or not the plan text satisfies the resolution One of the easiest wins on the neg The aff does not address T in the 1AC – there’s no functional need

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Topicality

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  1. Topicality Casey Parsons

  2. Let’s Review • Topicality is: • A stock issue for the aff • A question of whether or not the plan text satisfies the resolution • One of the easiest wins on the neg • The aff does not address T in the 1AC – there’s no functional need • The neg can choose whether or not to read T • Read: You should have a T shell in every 1NC

  3. How do I read T? • Topicality has four parts: • Interpretation – how you interpret a word in the resolution • Violation – Why the plan does not satisfy your interpretation? • Standards – why your interpretation should be preferred • Voters – why your standards matter • Evaluate topicality like you would a disadvantage: • Standards are the internal links • Voters are the impacts • There are two important things to remember about T: • There is no such thing as a topical aff • There is no such thing as an untopicalaff • In other words, topicality is an argument you can win every round on the neg or the aff. There’s no whitelist of “topical” affs

  4. Interpretation • This is how you think the resolution should be defined • Contextual interpretations are better than dictionary definitions • For example, a definition of “non-military” in the context of someone defining oceans would be more useful than a definition from a dictionary • Interpretations are how you leverage the offense you gain from the standard/voter debate

  5. Violation • This is why the plan violates your interpretation • Most people don’t think much about this, but it’s the most important part of the T debate • Saying “violation: they don’t meet our interp” isn’t enough • Be specific

  6. Standards • Standards are like internal links on disadvantages – they’re reasons we should prefer your interpretation • Common standards include: • Limits – Allowing this aff to be topical creates a disproportionately large topic • Ground – This aff prevents us from access predictable ground • Grammar – Our interpretation is more grammatically correct • You should be specific about which standards you are winning and how those connect to your voters

  7. Voters • Voters are the impacts on the T flow • They’re why T debate is important • There are only three real voters: • Education – The aff prevents substantive education from happening in the round • For example, on the limits standard: If the topic becomes too big, it becomes impossible for the neg to research for the round and prevents clash • Fairness – The aff has done something unfair to the negative team • For example, on the ground standard: The aff has taken away a core component of negstrat like the politics DA • Competitive Equity – This is similar to the fairness standard, but more abstract • For example, on the ground standard: By taking away a core component of negstrat, the aff has skewed the round towards them

  8. Voters • Not all education, fairness, or competitive equity is created equal • You need to be explicit in making comparative voter claims as to why the kind of education you access is better • For example, arguing that your education gives you access to the politics disad which is important to debaters’ understanding of the political process outweighs the education claim the aff makes • You need to talk about why it’s a big deal that this aff could be considered topical

  9. Sample T Shell • So if we’re dealing with an aff that wants to spend $1 million on ocean research… • Interpretation: Substantial is at least $50 billion • Violation – The aff only spends $1 million • Standards • Limits – There are literally millions of different affs that could only spend $1 million, forcing them to spend more keeps the debate predictable • Ground – We lose our links to our econ and politics disad if they only spend $1 million • Voters • Education • Fairness • Competitive Equity

  10. Answering Topicality • There are a few essential parts of answering T in the 2AC: • We meet – this is where you argue that you don’t violate their interp. If you win this argument then you win the whole flow • Counter-interpretation: You provide a different interpretation that your aff meets, and then you read standards and voters just like you would on the neg • This is where you should be making comparative voter and standards claims • Talk about why your interpretation has better access to certain standards or voters and why that’s significant

  11. Evaluating Topicality • There are two main camps of thought when evaluating T • Reasonability • Something had to happen in round that was abusive • This is the less popular camp nationally but it’s more popular locally • T is much easier for the aff to win under this framework • Competing Interpretations • The best definition for debate should win the T debate • More popular nationally, less popular locally • Usually preferred by the neg except in a few cases • Make comparative claims on the T flow as to why one is better than the other

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