Extending Cleanly
A 'clean' extension restates an argument with enough substance to remind the judge why it wins, not just a one-word label. You will be able to write a clean extension versus a weak, label-only one.
What Counts as a Clean Extension
A clean extension briefly restates the claim, notes that the opponent's specific attack failed and why, and restates the impact — all in a few sentences. A weak extension just says 'extend our economic contention' with no substance, which gives the judge nothing new to actually credit on the ballot.
Answering the Attack Within the Extension
Because Summary follows the opponent's Rebuttal, a clean extension must account for whatever attack was made against it — simply repeating the original argument without addressing the attack ignores half the story the judge is tracking on their flow.
Con attacked Pro's economic contention in Rebuttal by questioning the source's methodology.
Weak extension: 'Extend our economic contention.' Clean extension: 'Extend our economic contention — Con questioned our source's methodology, but that source is a peer-reviewed study with a sample of 50,000 households, which Con never disputed with a competing number. The impact still stands: millions of families see real income gains.' The clean version restates claim, answers the attack, and restates impact.
1. A 'clean' extension includes:
2. True or False?
"Simply saying 'extend our contention' with no further explanation is generally sufficient in Summary."
Answer all 2 to check.
Never just say 'extend' — restate the claim, answer the attack, and reinforce the impact each time.