Judging philosophy

Judging philosophy is a term used to describe how a judge evaluates a debate round and produces a reason for decision. Judging philosophies may include the judge's preferences regarding counterplans or kritiks, how the judge evaluates dropped arguments, etc.

Often, after introducing themselves to the judge and timer, one of the debaters will ask the judge for his or her judging philosophy. Many debaters prefer to phrase the question as something like "what would you like to see in this round?", rather than "what is your judging philosophy?", to make the language more accessible to community judges. Judges often request things like clarity, strong refutation, and logical analysis.

Asking for a judging philosophy lets the debaters tailor their arguments to the judge's preferences and avoid tactics the judge dislikes.