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Introduction to Policy Debate

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There is only one “type” of disadvantage, so it is relatively easy to make suggestions for extending disadvantages in the block. The fact that there are many types of counterplans makes this somewhat more difficult.

When you extend a counterplan on the negative, regardless as to the type of counterplan that you run, there is one primary goal that you have to keep in mind – you have to prove that the counterplan is better than the plan or a combination of the plan and any or all of the counterplan.  Every argument you make has to be made with that idea in mind.

You should start by giving an overview of the counterplan. In your overview you should establish the following:

A)    Specifically what the counterplan does.  Often, counterplans are read very quickly in the 1NC and it is difficult for both the judge and the opposing team to make out precisely what the counterplan does.  The affirmative may have used preparation time to figure out exactly what it does, but the judge is probably still left in the dark.  Take a few seconds to explain your counterplan.
B)    Explain if and why the counterplan solves. If you are arguing that the counterplan solves some or all of the affirmative case harms, explain why the counterplan solves each of the harms that you are claiming it solves.
C)    Explain why it is net-beneficial to vote for the counterplan.  Be willing to acknowledge that the counterplan may not solve for some or all of the affirmative advantage(s), but argue that it is still net-beneficial because the counterplan avoids X or Y disadvantages that have a greater impact or chance of occurring than the harms identified in the 1AC.

After giving this overview, proceed through the line by line of the 2AC counterplan answers. 

It is very important that you keep in mind that a counterplan is just one tool in your overall strategy.  You need to win that the counterplan is net-beneficial, not that it is some inherently good idea.

To win that the counterplan is net-beneficial at the end of the debate, you’ll need to make sure you spend time covering the disadvantage that you say the counterplan avoids and make sure you devote considerable time to answering any affirmative harms that the counterplan may not be able to solve for.  You must allocate your time well to win a counterplan debate, dividing it between the counterplan flow itself, any disadvantage(s) that you wish to argue the counterplan avoids, and any defensive arguments that you’ll need to win on the case flow if your counterplan is unlikely to solve all, or some, of the affirmative case harms.

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