1NR

The 1NR, or First Negative Rebuttal, is the fifth speech in a Team Policy debate round and the first rebuttal speech. As with the other rebuttal speeches, it lasts five minutes. There is no cross-examination following the 1NR.

The 1NR makes up the second half of the Negative block, and immediately follows another Negative speech (the 2NC) with no Affirmative speech in between.

Contents and coverage
The 1NR generally focuses on responding to the 2AC, to free up the 2NC to raise new arguments. (The 1NR itself is a rebuttal speech, so no major new lines of argument can be introduced.) The 1NR may also respond to points raised in the cross-examination of the previous speech.

If the Negative team is employing a shell-and-extend strategy, some 1NRs may include extensions to arguments raised in the 1NC. This is highly controversial, however, and many teams consider such extensions new arguments in the rebuttals.

Strategy
The 1NR often takes little or no prep time; because the 1NR is immediately preceded by another Negative speech, the first Negative speaker has the entirety of the 2NC (plus a cross-examination) to prepare. In addition, skipping prep time gives less time for the first Affirmative speaker to prepare for the 1AR. Some speakers will not even flow the 2NC to focus on preparing their own arguments, although many coaches recommend against this.