NEW YORK UNIVERSITY  |  CEDA Debate

NYU Learning Center

TOOLS OF THE TRADE


The three software applications you need to participate in debate are Dropbox, Verbatim and Microsoft Word.   Read the instructions below for how to acquire each one for FREE. 


The team uses a Dropbox system for cloud-based evidence storage. Click this website and follow the instructions to download Dropbox.  


For sorting and indexing evidence, the team uses a program called Verbatim which works with Mac and PC laptops to organize Microsoft Word files so you can view a documents contents without scrolling through hundreds of pages.  Click here to download Verbatim.   


99% of files generated in college policy debate are created in Microsoft Word.  However, Google Classroom is now the most common high school platform and underlies the NYU system so many of you may use Google docs and Adode PDFs for the majority of your documents.   


The cost of Microsoft Word may serve as a further disincentive.  GOOD NEWS! Registered members of NYUCEDA debate can visit www.office.com/teachers to receive a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 for Education. The service includes Office Online (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote), unlimited OneDrive storage, Yammer, and SharePoint sites.

These documents have been prepared by the Director to aid in your preparations for debate tournaments from tournament basics to advanced strategy.  Read them.  It will make you better.  

Video Resources

These videos represent a collection of the top 20 debate videos to provide you with the key elements for success across every aspect of the debate spectrum.  Some are as short as 8 minutes while others are close to an hour.     Ideally, if you watch them all, you will be exponentially better at debate than you were before.     Suggested Starting Points:  For Novices: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9  For JV:  5, 6, 8, 10, 11 For Open: 8, 10, 12, 18, 21

TRAINING RESOURCES

TOPIC-SPECIFIC TRAINING

​In addition to learning about the generalities,  it is important to learn about the topic of the year. Specific topic knowledge can help elevate you over more experienced debaters.  You should begin with the topic paper.  For the 2021-22 debate season, the Antitrust Topic Area paper is located here