Competitive Debate: The Official Guide [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard E. Edwards Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1592576931 | ISBN-13: 978-1592576937 | Publication Date: June 3, 2008

The bible for debaters and their coaches.

Nearly every high school and college in America has a debate club and/or a debate team. There are hundreds of competitions at the county and state level, culminating in heated national competitions. Yet, at many high schools and colleges, coaches are drawn from the history or English departments with little or no experience in the highly structured procedures of this popular discipline. And while competitive debate has been growing each year as a prime academic activity, there have been no popular handbooks to help students and coaches prepare for contests effectively and efficiently. Practical and authoritative, this guide includes not only tips and guidelines for effective preparation and delivery, but full-length, actual transcripts of successful competitions in each format. Endorsed by the two national governing bodies for competitive debate—the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Forensic League—and priced for the budget-conscious student and high school teacher alike, Competitive Debate: The Official Guide is set to become the instructional “bible” for tens of thousands of present and future debaters and their coaches. Inside, Dr. Richard Edwards—award winning debate coach, professor, former competitive debate judge, and author—leads readers through the three popular formats of competitive debate:

* Policy Debate
* Lincoln-Douglas Debate
* Public Forum Debate

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592576931
• ISBN-13: 978-1592576937
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #401,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource Book for Students, September 8, 2010

By 

Paula Usrey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Competitive Debate: The Official Guide (Mass Market Paperback)

I advise the student-led debate club at our community college. Though I believe the guide was written primarily for high school debate coaches, I bought copies for the officers of our debate club after first reading it myself. The guide is straight-forward and has a lot of clear explanations and examples that can be applied immediately. Though I have to buy copies of this guide out of my own pocket since we don't have a budget for them in my department, I will be purchasing them again this year for my students - I think it is a good investment.

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Helpful, November 15, 2011

By 

ACMCHAZE - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Competitive Debate: The Official Guide (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a new coach and this book was extremely helpful in both explaining and giving advice on each competitive debate event. Very pleased with the purchase.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bleh, May 29, 2011

By 

BookLoverofTheWorld "The Book" (New England) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Competitive Debate: The Official Guide (Kindle Edition)

As a tournament winning debater in parliamentary extemporaneous debate, I expected more. This book provides a tiny bit of insight into how to make strong arguments but is mostly filler words. It focuses more on using Netscape than on refutation. Poor choice for one to read.