2NR

The 2NR, or Second Negative Rebuttal, is the seventh speech in a Team Policy debate round and the last Negative speech. As with the other rebuttal speeches, it lasts five minutes. There is no cross-examination following the 2NR.

The 2NR is often regarded as one of the harder speeches in the round, because not only it is the final impression that the Negative team gives (if the speech goes wrong, the Negative has no way to recover), but the Second Negative speaker must crystallize and explain clearly the reasons for why the Negative team should win the hour and 1/2 debate in five minutes or less.

Contents and coverage
A typical 2NR includes responses to a few points in the 1AR, depending on how much time is available, and crystallizes the issues in the round down into voting issues, summing up the round and showing why the Negative team should win.

If the 1AR dropped an argument, the 2NR may warn the judge to ignore any responses the Affirmative gives in the 2AR. The 2NR may also warn the judge to ignore any new arguments raised in the 2AR, as the Negative will not have an opportunity to respond to them.