Evidence Cutting & Research — Glossary

A prepared summary of arguments and evidence used by debaters to organize and reference cases during rounds.

A compilation of organized evidence and arguments used by policy debaters to prepare and quickly access information during rounds.

The obligation of a party to present evidence sufficient to convince the arbitral tribunal of the truth of its claims or defenses.

A piece of evidence consisting of a quotation, citation, and explanation used to support an argument in debate rounds.

A concise reference to the source of evidence read aloud during a debate, including author, publication, and date.

The structured format of a piece of evidence including the tag, citation, and body in debate speeches.

Credibility evaluates the trustworthiness and reliability of a source or piece of evidence.

A cutting card is a quoted excerpt from a source used as evidence to support a debater's argument.

Selecting and extracting concise, relevant excerpts from evidence sources to use effectively during speeches or cross-examination.

Presenting a large amount of evidence rapidly to overwhelm opponents and judges, often sacrificing clarity.

Recency refers to how current or up-to-date a piece of evidence or source is.

The clarity and openness about the origin and context of evidence used in a debate round to establish reliability.

A person called to provide testimony or evidence during a mock trial or moot court proceeding.

In mock trial, the statements and answers given by a witness during direct or cross-examination.