The Lincoln-Douglas format, start to finish
Lincoln-Douglas is one-on-one debate about values. Instead of arguing over a plan, you argue over what matters most: justice, morality, the common good. Here is how a round actually runs.
The basic idea
Every LD round starts from a resolution, a statement like "Resolved: a just society ought to value liberty over security." One debater affirms it, the other negates. There is no team and no plan to defend. The whole round is about which side's way of judging the resolution is more convincing.
Each side builds a case around two pieces: a value (the thing that matters most) and a criterion (the standard the judge should use to decide who upheld it better). Most of the round is spent attacking and defending those.
Speech order and times
| Speech | Length |
|---|---|
| Constructive (AC) | 6:00 |
| Constructive (NC) | 7:00 |
| Rebuttal (1AR) | 4:00 |
| Rebuttal (NR) | 6:00 |
| Rebuttal (2AR) | 3:00 |
| Cross-Examination | 3:00 |
Prep time: 4:00. Usually 4 minutes per debater.
The affirmative speaks first and last. The negative gets the single longest block of the round: the seven-minute constructive, where the negative case and the first attacks on the affirmative case both have to land.
What the judge is listening for
LD judges usually decide the round in two steps. First, which side won the framework: whose value and criterion should be used to judge the round. Second, under that standard, whose arguments hold up better. You can win every factual dispute and still lose if the other side convinced the judge to weigh the round differently.
That is why the rebuttals matter so much. The 1AR is four minutes to answer everything the negative just said, and the 2AR is three minutes to tell the judge exactly why you won. Clear, calm summarizing beats speed here.
If you stutter
LD is one of the friendlier formats for a debater who stutters. It is one-on-one, the speeches are short, and judges reward clarity over speed. The techniques on this site, especially easy onsets and pausing, fit LD's slower, more deliberate style well. Time your speeches in practice so you know exactly how much you can say comfortably inside each limit.
Practice the round
The timer has every LD speech preset, and the practice page drills cross-examination questions like the ones you will actually face.