LD flowing

LD Flowing Methods

 * There are two main styles of flowing LD rounds. One popular style of flowing is to flow the entire round on one sheet of flow paper. Another style of flowing LD rounds requires the use of two pages of flow paper. There benefits and disadvantages are discussed below.


 * There are a couple benefits to flowing an LD round with one page. The primary benefit this style of flowing provides is that the debater (or judge) can write down all of the arguments and responses on one page without having to flip back and forth between pages. Another benefit is that the cross-application of value or other arguments between cases is easier. The main disadvantage that this flowing method presents is that any round of normal caliber or better will result in, at minimum, an extremely crowded flow sheet. This means that arguments can be lost on the flow and require time and focus to be shifted from the content of the debater's speech to the context of the flow sheet.


 * There are also several benefits to flowing an LD round with two pages. Most importantly the use of two pages to flow an LD round allows for a visual and physical delineation between the case presented by the affirmative and the case presented by the negative. This means that there is plenty of space for all of the refutation made by both teams to be represented on the flow without having to write smaller. As a result, finding arguments on the flow is much easier since they are clearly written down. The main disadvantage to this flowing method is that it may require debaters and judges to switch back and forth between flow sheets.