*There are two relatively unique characteristics of
Lincoln Douglas Debate. The first is that, unlike Cross-Examination Debate, LD is not a team event but instead involves competition between two individuals, one-on-one. The other characteristic of LD debate relates to the nature of subjects considered by participants. Unlike CX debate, which deals with policy issues, LD draws attention to the discussion of values. In other words, Cross Examination debaters will typically spend more time addressing questions related to “what” while Lincoln Douglas debaters will focus more time on questions related to “why”?