Glossary of Forensics Terms |

A Quick Guide for Coaches, Competitors, and Judges: These terms cover speech and debate generally and are the most commonly used at tournaments. For more detailed or specialized terminology, please consult a textbook focused on specific areas of forensics.

Debate Terms

AC – Affirmative Case. Normally the first speech in a debate.
Aff – Affirmative, or the side of the debate that supports the resolution.
AR – Affirmative Rebuttal. One of the types of speeches in a debate. Often combined with a number such as in, “See the 1AR”, which would designate the first affirmative rebuttal.
DA – Disadvantage. A fundamental piece of many negative strategies in debate on a policy topic. Argues that the affirmative’s plan will lead to some sort of unwanted outcome.
D-Rule – Decision Rule. Used in some forms of debate to allow the judge to decide who won the round.
Flow – Short for flowsheet, which is the note-taking device used by judges and competitors in many formats of debate.
K – Kritik. A kind of argument used in multiple forms of debate. Argues that some larger issue than what has been presented already in the debate is a better focus of the debate.
Neg – Negative, or the side of the debate that does not support the resolution.
NC – Negative Constructive. One of the types of speeches in a debate. Often combined with a number such as in, “See the 1NC”, which would designate the first negative constructive.
NR – Negative Rebuttal. One of the types of speeches in a debate. Often combined with a number such as in, “See the 1NR”, which would designate the first negative rebuttal.
RFD – Reason for Decision. An explanation by a judge (either verbally or on a ballot) as to why they made the decision they did in the round.

Debate Formats & Speaker Roles

Lincoln-Douglas Debate (LD)

LD – Short for Lincoln-Douglas debate. Unlike the high school context, LD normally refers in college to the specific event also called “NFA L/D” which is a one-on-one policy debate on a yearlong topic. NFA L/D is governed by the National Forensics Association.

Parliamentary Debate (Parli)

Parli – A shortened term for parliamentary debate, one of the formats of collegiate debate.
PM – Prime Minister. One of the speaker roles in parliamentary debate.
PMC – Prime Minister Constructive. One of the speeches in a parliamentary debate.
PMR – Prime Minister Rebuttal. One of the speeches in a parliamentary debate.
LO – Leader of Opposition. One of the speaker roles in parliamentary debate.
LOC – Leader of Opposition Constructive. One of the speeches in a parliamentary debate.
LOR – Leader of Opposition Rebuttal. One of the speeches in a parliamentary debate.
POI – In a debate context, Point of Information. This occurs when one debater asks another debater from the other team a question during a speech.

IPDA (International Public Debate Association)

IPDA – International Public Debate Association, which is an organization for a specific form of evidence-less debate which calls for conversational delivery in front of a lay judge. Also can refer to the national tournament which is run by IPDA.

Organizations & Tournaments

AFA – American Forensics Association. An organization, and is also used as a short-form for “AFA NIET”, which is the National Individual Event Tournament run by AFA every year.
CEDA – Cross-Examination Debate Association. An organization, and also a short form for the CEDA National Championship tournament, which uses team evidence debate on a yearlong topic.
NDT – National Debate Tournament. An organization, and also a short form for that organization’s national tournament, which uses team evidence debate on a yearlong topic.
NFA – National Forensics Association. An organization, and is also used as a short form for that organization’s national tournament, which includes speech and debate events.
NPDA – National Parliamentary Debate Association. An organization. Also used as a synonym for parliamentary debate, and as a short form for the NPDA National Tournament, which includes parliamentary debate.
NPTE – National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence. A tournament for the top parliamentary debate teams in the country.
PKD – Pi Kappa Delta. A national forensics honor society, and a short form for the PKD National Tournament and Conference, or National Comprehensive Tournament, which includes nearly all forms of forensics competition.

Individual Events (IEs)

IE – Short for Individual Events, which is a synonym for speech events, and does not include debate events. Ironically, Duo Interpretation is usually thought of as an IE, even though two people take part in it, and Lincoln/Douglas Debate is usually not thought of as an IE even though one student represents each team.
Interp – Short for interpretation event, one genre of individual events.
Intro – A short portion of an interpretation event that introduces the principal themes and title of the piece being performed, or the larger section of a platform or limited prep speech that gains the audience’s attention, explains the central idea of the speech, and previews the main points.
Teaser – The first section of an interpretation event, meant to engage interest in the performance. Often followed by an introduction, and then the rest of the performance.
Drama – Short for dramatic interpretation. Unlike high school forensics contexts, this normally means any interp that is derived from literature in script format. Does not (in the collegiate context) mean an interp that is sad or tragic.
POI – In forensics generally, Programmed Oral Interpretation, an event that mixes literature from poetry, prose, and drama sources into one thematic program.
STE – Speech to Entertain, a platform event. Also known as After Dinner Speaking.
ADS – After-Dinner Speech, a platform speech that is also known as Speech-to-Entertain (STE).
Extemp – Short for Extemporaneous Speaking, one of the limited preparation events that allows for 30 minutes preparation for a 7-minute speech.
Lit – Short for literature, used by judges to discuss the relative merits of the literature chosen by a performer in interpretation events.
Black Book – A specific style of 5.5 inch, by 8.5 inch, by 1 inch black binder used often by performers in interpretation events.
VA – Visual Aid, used in platform events especially, used by speakers to explain concepts that would be difficult to follow verbally, or to enhance their speech in some way.

Tournament Terms

Break – To qualify for an elimination round. The best scores in preliminary rounds are normally used to determine who “breaks” to final rounds.
Finals – The last rounds of any event, for which qualification of some sort in preliminary rounds is normally required. All or some of the competitors in finals receive awards at the closing ceremony of many tournaments.
Cume – Short for cumulative. A common phrase at award ceremonies might be something like, “It took a cume of 6 to break in impromptu.” That means that when all rankings in impromptu were summed, those students whose totals were six or less were scheduled into final rounds.
Prelim – Short for preliminary round. The rankings in the preliminary rounds generally serve to qualify students for final rounds.
Postings – The physical (on paper) or virtual (on a website) listing of rounds, including the location, competitors’ names, and speaking order. Also serves as a generally central location for all tournament activities.
Tab Room – Short for Tabulation Room, which is where all ballots from the tournament are either physically delivered for computer entry, or the location of the tournament administration who is monitoring the online entry of ballots.
Warm Room – A section of some debate tournaments where team records are displayed, and judges can be asked for their feedback on rounds. If teams do not want to know their record, the warm room is generally separate from postings, and the rest of the tournament.

Copy of Rules and Procedures

Copy of Rules and Procedures of September 2024

Back to top

💬 Help Us Improve

Am I missing something a new coach or competitor should know?
Let me know at Nesheiwatabraham@gmail.com