Monthly Archives: October 2008

Topic Brief: Six Days to Go: A Countdown to the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election

Background There is no doubt that any extemper worth their mettle will be watching the election returns on November 4th and already begin thinking of the many questions they will receive about the next presidential administration, the fallout from the … Continue reading

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Extemp Questions for the Week of October 28th-November 3rd, 2008

1. Has Pennsylvania become the most pivotal battleground state in the presidential election? 2. Why was Livni unable to form a government? 3. Would Congress be more bipartisan with substantial Democratic majorities? 4. Who should Zambia choose as its next … Continue reading

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Extemp Questions for the Week of October 21st-27th, 2008

1. Why is Obama’s lead in the polls shrinking? 2. Will California voters pass Proposition 8? 3. Would a new stimulus package help the U.S. economy? 4. Has the oil bubble burst? 5. What does the Powell endorsement mean for … Continue reading

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Topic Brief: 2008 Canadian Elections

Background With most extempers worried about how the U.S. elections are going to turn out , many might have missed the news about the Canadian elections that happened last Tuesday.  The Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, the leader of the … Continue reading

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Extemp Question Central National Points Race (September)

by Logan Scisco In our last issue, we broke down the structure of this year’s Extemp Question Central National Points Race.  Points are awarded to competitors based on their performance in three tiers of tournaments.  The first tier is composed … Continue reading

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Topic Brief: Syria and Iran as Agents of Change in the Middle East

By Omar Qureshi The Middle East has long been an area of major misunderstanding for the west. Whether it is the volatile nature of popular will in Iran or the legacy politics in Syria there doesn’t seem to be a … Continue reading

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Topic Brief: South African Politics

By Logan Scisco Background Over the last several weeks, international extempers have most likely read about the recent political developments in South Africa, arguably the strongest power on the African continent.  For those extempers that have not had a chance … Continue reading

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Extempers Corner: Akshar Rambachan

Interview by Logan Scisco Competing for Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minnesota for Todd Hering, Akshar Rambachan achieved a high level of success in the 2007-2008 extemporaneous speaking season.  By the end of the season, Akshar had won the … Continue reading

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Impacting – It’s THAT Important

by Sebastian Pyrek The typical extemper probably has multiple areas in which he/she needs to improve in to reach ultimate perfection, be it delivery, knowledge base, or anything out of the myriad of qualities that makes the ‘good’ extemper good. … Continue reading

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St. Marks – From Sleep to Prep (All in a Day’s Work)

By Sarah Anand[1] The St. Marks tournament in Dallas, Texas was unlike a lot of national tournaments I have been to.  For starters, it was in the hotel I was staying at, making it truly a bizarre and great experience … Continue reading

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