Chairing Your First Round: A Guide to Oral Adjudication

Summary

This video offers essential guidance for delivering an oral adjudication (RFD) at Hart House's high school tournaments. Aimed at those with limited judging experience, it covers key topics such as effective note-taking strategies, structuring an RFD by team rankings or chronologically, and providing clear justifications for team rankings. The presenter shares practical tips for summarizing contributions, organizing thoughts during deliberation, and engaging with team arguments. Additionally, viewers are reminded to manage their time efficiently during RFD delivery and to provide individual feedback to enhance learning for participants.

Takeaways

• 😀 Understanding the purpose of an RFD is crucial for effectively communicating team rankings in a debate.
• 📝 Developing a clear note-taking system enhances the ability to deliver thorough RFDs.
• 🔍 A summary sheet of each team's main contributions can simplify the adjudication process.
• 🔄 Structuring RFDs by ranking (top-down or bottom-up) helps clarify team comparisons.
• ⏳ Judges should take a moment during deliberations to jot down important points to mention in the RFD.
• 🔗 Comparing all teams, not just adjacent ones, is essential for providing clear reasoning for rankings.
• 📊 Providing a brief summary of each team's contributions helps ensure all arguments are acknowledged.
• 💬 Engagement is key; judges should evaluate both explicit refutations and implicit interactions between arguments.
• 🕒 Keeping RFDs within a 15-minute time frame helps maintain tournament schedules.
• 💡 Individual feedback is valuable for debaters and should be provided upon request for personal development.

Q & A

What is the purpose of delivering an Oral Adjudication (RFD)?

The purpose of an RFD is to provide a detailed justification explaining the rankings of each team in a debate, particularly to prepare participants for upcoming high school tournaments.

Who is the target audience for this video on delivering an RFD?

The video is mainly tailored for those with relatively less judging experience and fewer opportunities to deliver oral adjudications.

What are the three main topics covered in the video?

The video covers general tips for note-taking, the typical structure of an RFD, and the content needed to explain justifications for team rankings.

What are some key tips for note-taking before delivering an RFD?

Key tips include creating a clear system of note-taking, maintaining a summary sheet for each team's main contributions, and taking additional notes during deliberation to ensure all important points are addressed.

How should an RFD be structured according to the speaker?

An RFD can be structured by ranking order (top down or bottom up) or chronologically. The speaker prefers ranking order as it provides a clearer direction for explaining team rankings.

What is an important consideration when discussing team rankings in an RFD?

It's essential to explain not only why a team ranked above another but also to address why they lost to higher-ranked teams, providing a comprehensive understanding of the rankings.

What is the recommended approach for comparing teams in the RFD?

The speaker suggests giving a quick summary of each team's contributions before diving into the clashes, evaluating arguments' strength and engagement between the teams.

How does the speaker suggest handling feedback requests after the round?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of providing individual feedback upon request, as it is valuable for the learning process of the participants.

What time constraints should judges be aware of during tournaments?

Judges should keep both deliberations and RFDs to 15 minutes to ensure that rounds run on time.

What should judges focus on when providing justifications for team rankings?

Judges should focus on the contributions of each team, the effectiveness of their arguments, and how these arguments interacted with those of other teams to determine rankings.