Unit 7: Prep Cycle & the Docket

1. 1. What is the main purpose of a fast first pass across an entire docket?

   To determine the tournament's final round orderTo triage bills into strong/weak/skip piles before committing deep prep timeTo write full speeches for every billTo memorize every bill word-for-word

2. 2. True or False?

   "Bills toward the bottom of a docket should be completely ignored during the first pass."

   TrueFalse

3. 3. What are the five zones of a strong one-page prep sheet?

   Bill summary, mechanism check, top aff arguments, top neg arguments, evidence boxIntroduction, body, conclusion, sources, notesTitle, author, date, side, verdictFunding, timeline, agency, penalty, signature

4. 4. Why should you write neg blocks even for a bill you personally support?

   Because judges only grade neg speechesBecause it's an NSDA requirementBecause you may be assigned to argue negative regardless of your personal viewBecause neg blocks are always shorter to write

5. 5. True or False?

   "Pre-written blocks should be full standalone speeches rather than modular chunks."

   TrueFalse

6. 6. Why keep a personal speaking log during a session?

   It has no strategic valueTo prove attendance to the tab roomTo gauge your real odds of being recognized again and redirect prep time accordinglyTo track other competitors' scores

7. 7. A common prep-time failure mode is:

   Reading the docket too quickly on the first passWriting too many neg blocksSpending too little time on any one billSpending the vast majority of prep time perfecting one favorite bill you may never be recognized on

Describe your prep plan for an upcoming docket of 20 bills with 4 hours of total prep time. Include how you'll triage, how many bills you'll build full prep sheets for, and how you'll decide which get pre-written aff/neg blocks.