Commentary Topic Areas and Rules

Topic Areas

New Words/New Meanings

Observances and Celebrations

Children’s Literature

Protest Songs

Commentary Rules (PHSSL)

The speech shall not exceed five minutes in length.

The speech must be delivered while the speaker is seated at a table. Up to 50 words of notes may be used.

Contest topics shall be kept secret until the actual contest. The topics are never to be phrased in the form of a question. The topics shall be of contemporary importance and may include issues, personalities, trends, or concerns. Each round of competition shall have a different set of topics; however, the same set of topics must be used for all of the competition sections of the same round.

The student must bring the topic, drawn for that round to the judge, or a copy of the topic written by the prep room judge. Substituting a different topic for the topic drawn will result in disqualification from the tournament. Plagiarism or fabrication of evidence is prohibited and will result in a student being disqualified from the tournament.

Once the topic has been chosen, the speaker shall prepare for thirty minutes. During this preparation period, the speaker may not consult with anyone or make use of previously prepared materials. If the speaker consults with anyone or uses previously prepared materials, the speaker will be disqualified from the tournament.