In policy debate, a constructive speech is one of the first four speeches of a debate round. Constructive speeches are followed by a 3-minute cross-examination period.
In high school, constructive speeches are 8 minutes long; in college, they are 9 minutes.
In general, new arguments are only allowed during constructive speeches, and many judges will disregard new arguments made in rebuttal speeches, especially if they are flagged by the opposing team.
Currently, the "first affirmative constructive" (1AC) is used to present the "plan", although historically it was often presented in the "second affirmative constructive" (2AC). Accordingly, many believe that negative "off-case arguments" must be presented in the "first negative constructive" (1NC). Many believe that negative "on-case arguments" must also be presented in the 1NC, but this is followed less uniformly.
Because of the phenomenon of "splitting the negative block", some have come to view the "first negative rebuttal" (1NR) (and to a lesser degree, the "first affirmative rebuttal" (1AR) as constructive speeches as well.
Famous quotes containing the words constructive and/or speech:
“Friendship among nations, as among individuals, calls for constructive efforts to muster the forces of humanity in order that an atmosphere of close understanding and cooperation may be cultivated.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Three words that still have meaning, that I think we can apply to all professional writing, are discovery, originality, invention. The professional writer discovers some aspect of the world and invents out of the speech of his time some particularly apt and original way of putting it down on paper.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)