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Advanced Debate Skills
What Is an Advocacy?
Introduction
When the negative team’s offensive positions are only disadvantages, they are defending the status quo/no action as preferable to a world in which the affirmative plan is passed. The negative can advocate for their own change to the status quo which is mutually exclusive with the affirmative plan. The affirmative must prove that it is either better than or not mutually exclusive with each negative advocacy, on top of arguing against any disadvantages..
The negative can defend:
The status quo (no advocacies) using disadvantages.
A counterplan.
An alternative to a kritik.
The intermediate lessons on argument selection help debaters think strategically not just about individual arguments against a position, but about which “world” is the most useful to extend throughout the round.
Multiple Worlds
Ultimately, debaters are trying to argue that a specific “world” is the one the judge should prefer.
[AFF] The world of the plan/affirmative (one in which the plan is passed).
[NEG] The status quo (one in which the plan is not passed, nor are any counterplans or alternatives).
[NEG] The world of the counterplan (one in which the affirmative plan is not passed. and the negative counterplan is).
If there are multiple counterplans, each one represents its own world.
[NEG] The world of the alternative (one in which the affirmative plan is not passed, and the negative alternative is applied).
If there are multiple kritiks, each one represents its own world.
[AFF] The world of a permutation (one in which the affirmative plan is passed along with a counterplan or kritik).
Each unique combination of “plan + negative advocacy” constitutes its own permutation (e.g., “plan + 50 states counterplan” would be a distinct permutation from “plan + executive order counterplan”).
The negative can win by convincing the judge to favor any world in which the affirmative plan is not passed, while the affirmative can win by convincing the judge to vote for any world in which the plan is passed, even if that world also includes a negative advocacy.