Goal:

To demonstrate why your album is superior to your opponents using:


Quality — lyrically and sonically
Cohesiveness
Longevity
Impact
Critical response
Commercial success
Other possible criteria


Rules:

Deadlines:

(Round 1)
After the initial announcements (February 8, 2014) each user without a bye will have a week to form and submit an initial argument. These will be due by 11:59 p.m. EST Saturday, February 15. If a user has not submitted an argument by that point, he or she will be messaged by arobie1992 and have until 11:59 p.m. EST Sunday, February 16, to submit an argument before being disqualified

After the February 15 deadline, each user will have until 11:59 p.m. EST Tuesday, February 18, to submit a rebuttal to his or her opponent's initial argument. If a user has not submitted a rebuttal, he or she will be messaged by arobie1992 and have until 11:59 p.m. EST Wednesday, February 19, to submit an argument before being disqualified

Judging:

The judges will evaluate each argument and rebuttal. The criterion for judgement is which user made a better argument, not which album is superior. See here, for more specifics on what judges consider when deciding which argument is superior

Submission:

As users finish their arguments, they are to PM them to each of the judges: arobie1992, SR_thePangloss, HashSlingingSlasher, MrXercules, and afarese. One of the judges will then create a page for that argument as well as the opponent's argument and both rebuttals once the deadline for initial arguments is up. These pages will be added to the album First Rap Genius Debate Tournament

Once the page has been created, one of the judges will PM both of the users the link to the page

Any edits made to these pages aside from judges adding the second argument/rebuttals will result in immediate disqualification

Users are allowed to annotate these pages, but any annotations other than authors on their own arguments will be deleted. These annotations should be used for expanding on ideas set forth

Submission Format:

Users may submit their arguments in any format they wish: essay, outline, etc. If it takes the form of an essay, it should meet the following requirements:


While direct quotes and sources are not required, referencing and referring to outside sources is recommended
A conclusion in which the user summarizes the points of the argument and adds any last thoughts
Introductions are not required, but are also recommended. If included they should concisely state the purpose of the argument, give some background, and state the thesis
Break up individual thoughts into separate paragraphs
Have transitions between paragraphs. Do not use bullet point paragraphs. Other formats, such as outline, can be used for this
Grammar does not have to be pristine, but should be polished