Policy debate

Policy debate is an American form of debate competition in which teams of two usually advocate for or against a resolution that advocates a certain policy action by the United States federal government. It is also referred to as cross-examination debate (sometimes shortened to Cross-X or CX) because of the three-minute questions-and-answers period following each constructive speech. Evidence presentation is a crucial part of policy debate. The main argument being debated during a round is to change or not change the status quo. When a team explains why their solvency is greater than the opposition's, they compare advantages. One team’s job is to argue that the resolution—the statement that a specific change to a national or international problem should be made—is a good idea. The affirmative team generally presents a plan as a hypothetical policy proposal which falls under the resolution, while the negative team presents arguments against the implementation of the affirmative team's plan.

A policy debate round will typically take approximately one hour and 30 minutes and comprises a total of eight speeches and four cross-examination periods. Each individual in the debate round gives one “constructive” speech and one “rebuttal” speech. Additionally, each individual will cross-examine their opponent and be cross-examined by their opponent once. The first four speeches in a round are constructive speeches, while the final four speeches are rebuttal speeches. Cross-examination occurs directly following each constructive speech. During constructive speeches, debaters articulate and develop their main points or arguments for or against the hypothetical government action that the affirmative presents in the first speech of the round. During rebuttal speeches, debaters try to rebut (or refute) the arguments made by the other team, while using their own arguments to try to persuade the judge to vote for their team. Usually, the Affirmative has to persuade the judge to vote for their plan in what is called the "burden of proof", while the Negative has to persuade the judge that the affirmative plan is undesirable through the "burden of rejoinder".

High school policy debate is sponsored by various organizations including the National Speech and Debate Association, National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, Catholic Forensic League, Stoa USA, and the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, as well as many other regional debate and speech organizations. Collegiate policy debates are generally governed by the guidelines of National Debate Tournament (NDT) and the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), which have been joined at the collegiate level. A one-person policy format is sanctioned by the National Forensic Association (NFA)) on the collegiate level as well.