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Mastering Competitive Debate
The leading debate text for competitive formats
A Companion Website offers many debate resources—research sites, open-source videos, and quizzes.
A comprehensive resource for all forms of competitive debate—public forum, Lincoln-Douglas debate, world schools, mock trial, and congressional and parliamentary debate—written and reviewed by a team of accomplished debate teachers, nationally-known debate directors and judges, and award-winning debate coaches.
A Debate Across the Curriculum chapter links debate and communication skills to project-based learning and provides tips and resources for adding debate to a variety of classes and disciplines and a Watch It feature points students to an open educational resource video on the chapter topic and builds both background and contextual knowledge.
Titles in This Program
Program Features & Resources
Learning by Doing Activities
- Build the vocabulary and critical thinking skills necessary for debate success through inquiry-based exercises.
- Novice debaters will understand debate history, theory, and ethics and gain skills in argumentation, rebuttals, defense, flowing, and research methods.
- Experienced debaters will refine research skills and develop new approaches to unique case construction, polish cross-examination skills, practice writing well-defined blocks, and improve vocabulary.
- An On File feature stimulates critical thinking and encourages textual analysis through projects requiring close reading and online research.
Lesson Planning & Instructional Support
- A Teacher Guide includes objectives and extension activities for each chapter, reproducible chapter exercises and chapter quizzes, an answer key, coaching tips and checklists, tournament templates, and grading suggestions.
- A digital ELL Resource provides differentiated instruction and support through text frames, lesson plans, graphic organizers, purposeful grouping, and cooperative learning activities.
- A Companion Website offers an ample supply of debate resources—research sites, open-source videos, and quizzes.
- Robust appendices provide competition tips, debate topics, sample ballots, and transcripts from the 2018 national tournament.
- Comprehensive, reproducible templates scaffold case construction for each type of debate and offer step-by-step guidance for developing speeches and arguments.