Topic Areas for Extemp, Parli, and SPAR

Topic Areas for Extemp

Topic Areas will alternate between International and National Topics. If a Semifinals Round is not warranted, we will skip that Topic Area.

Round 1 - U.S. Politics/Government

Round 2 - Asia

Round 3 - U.S. Foreign Policy

Round 4 - Global and National Economics

Semifinals (if necessary) - Social Issues and Controversies

Finals - Africa and the Middle East

Topic Areas for Parliamentary Debate

Topic Areas for Preliminary Rounds will include (in no particular order):

California Issues

US Politics and Elections

Environmental Policy

Criminal Justice Reform

Science and Technology

International Relations

Elimination Round Topics will not be released. Students should be prepared to debate on any issue or topic area.

Topic Areas for Spontaneous Argumentation (SPAR)

For SPAR, we will rotate between three types of topics areas: Contemporary/Moral Issues, Funny Comparisons, Political Issues. Students will be given three topics. The student assigned to the Negative side will strike one topic. The student assigned to the Affirmative side will choose from the remaining two options which one they will debate.

Examples of Contemporary/Moral Issues Topics:

Teenagers should not be allowed to drive.

Violent video games should be banned.

Examples of Funny Comparisons:

Soup is better than salad.

Fruits are better than vegetables.

Examples of Political Issues:

Congress should have term limits.

No one older than 65 should be elected President of the United States.