Policy debate (also called Cross-Examination or CX) is a two-on-two format focused on policy advocacy. It is one of the oldest and most academically rigorous competitive debate formats in the US. This guide covers the complete speech order, prep time rules, and how to time a Policy round.
All 12 speeches preloaded, 8-minute prep pool per team, two-device sync. No signup.
Open Policy timer →| # | Speech | Side | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st Affirmative Constructive (1AC) | AFF | 8:00 |
| 2 | Neg Cross-Examination of 1AC | CX | 3:00 |
| 3 | 1st Negative Constructive (1NC) | NEG | 8:00 |
| 4 | Aff Cross-Examination of 1NC | CX | 3:00 |
| 5 | 2nd Affirmative Constructive (2AC) | AFF | 8:00 |
| 6 | Neg Cross-Examination of 2AC | CX | 3:00 |
| 7 | 2nd Negative Constructive (2NC) | NEG | 8:00 |
| 8 | Aff Cross-Examination of 2NC | CX | 3:00 |
| 9 | 1st Negative Rebuttal (1NR) | NEG | 5:00 |
| 10 | 1st Affirmative Rebuttal (1AR) | AFF | 5:00 |
| 11 | 2nd Negative Rebuttal (2NR) | NEG | 5:00 |
| 12 | 2nd Affirmative Rebuttal (2AR) | AFF | 3:00 |
Prep time: 8 minutes per team, shared between both partners. Either partner may use prep at any time before their team's speeches.
Policy teams share a single 8-minute prep pool. Either partner can call prep before any of their team's speeches. The pool is cumulative — time used before the 2AC comes out of the same pool as time used before the 2NR. Once the pool is exhausted the team must begin speaking immediately when called.
The 2NC and 1NR together form the "negative block" — 13 consecutive minutes of negative speaking. This is the most powerful structural advantage in Policy debate. The 1AR must answer this entire block in only 5 minutes, making it arguably the hardest single speech in competitive debate.