We are particularly excited about this textbook because no other resource like this exists. It is possible to find many policy debate textbooks available online. However, those textbooks are written for complete novices to policy debate. Our textbook is written by authors who started in Lincoln-Douglas debate before transitioning on competitive debate careers in policy debate. Our authors experienced great success competing in Lincoln- Douglas, coach Lincoln-Douglas debate during the year, and teach Lincoln-Douglas at camp, so they understand what Lincoln-Douglas debate is and the unique aspects of it.

But they have also achieved competitive success at the upper echelons of policy debate. This puts them in a unique position to provide a resource that combines policy debate expertise with an understanding of the background of Lincoln-Douglas debate. Our authors have taken special care to note the particular differences between policy and Lincoln-Douglas debate, explain concepts in terms that should be familiar to Lincoln-Douglas debaters, and explain how policy concepts translate to Lincoln-Douglas debate.

This textbook covers all of the core concepts of policy debate. While this textbook cannot replace the invaluable instruction of a coach, it can greatly enhance any Lincoln-Douglas debate curriculum for those with established debate programs and serve as a comprehensive introduction to policy debate concepts in Lincoln-Douglas debate for those without established debate programs. It is packed with great information from cover to cover, so you’ll be picking up new insights the second and third times you read it. In addition to conveying the conceptual basis for different skill and knowledge sets, our goal is to give you practical, implementation-oriented steps to help them improve right away. With that in mind, we encourage you to not only read the book but also to take advantage of the drills and other exercises suggested by the authors. It is one thing to know about a concept; it’s another to be able to execute it. Ge􀄴ing the most out of this book will require you to put time and effort into practicing these skills and concepts before they use them in competition. There is no replacement for practice, especially when you’re just starting out!