In addition, students learn to effectively support their arguments. This event requires the least amount of preparation. After students are given the topic, they have up to four minutes in which they decide what the topic really means and determine how they will back up their determination. Students then deliver a well constructed speech arguing the validity or invalidity of the topic. The speech will not include personal support, but concrete support.
Students learn to think quickly and speak well with very little preparation time.
Prose For this event, students find a published selection of prose material considered to be of literary merit. The selection will be cut to 8-10 minutes in length for competition and will include an original introduction. In addition, students must use a script. Prose helps students develop a sense of empathy and learn to discern quality literature. This event requires that the student find either one poem or a selection of poems that have a common theme.