Adjudicating in Debating

Role of Adjudicating
The adjudicator adopts the role of an average reasonable person, who has the average reasonable person's knowledge of the topic but who, unlike the average reasonable person, has expert knowledge of the rule of debate.

Adjudiccators must eliminate any preconseived ideas as to the merits of the issue in debate, and any expert or special knowledge of the subject matter. The average reasonable person is assumed to be intellegent and capable of assessing flaws in argumnets, the adjudicator is invented with these qualities.

The assumption of this artificial role is one of the most difficult aspects of adjudication, and imposes a heavy burden on adjudicators. Nonetheless, it is central to the whole notion of adjudication. The alternative of permitting adjudicators to assess a debate from their on personal viewpoint and to make into account their own expert kowledge, prejudices and preconceptions, would strike at the heart of debating as an exercise in the skills of persuation.

Function of the adjudicator
The adjudicator has three functions:
1. to decide which team has won the debate
2. to provide an explanation of the reasons for the decision
3. to provide constructive feedback to the debaters.