Structure of Policy Debate - 2AR

The Second Affirmative Rebuttal (2AR) is the second rebuttal speech given by the affirmative, and the eighth and final speech in the round.

The 2AR generally only answers the arguments made by the 2NR, going to other flows only when the affirmative believes the negative has made a strategic blunder on that piece of paper. In general, the 2AR may not make new arguments that were not in the 1AR. However, because the negative does not go for arguments that the 1AR had to answer, the 2AR is almost always bigger than the portion of the 1AR it represents. Some arguments are never new, like certain forms of extrapolation from 1AR arguments and impact calculus (although many judges prefer it earlier in the round).

The 2AR will almost never present new pieces of evidence but often will refer to pieces of evidence read earlier in the round by their citation, especially if the affirmative wants the judge to read that piece of evidence after the round.