ate, and are not preparing for
a series of class or local contests that can all be controlled by the
same instructor or critic. With beginners in oral argumentation this
method will usually make the better showing, and may therefore be
considered permissible in the case of those teams which, because of
unfamiliarity with their opponents' methods, can take no chances. This
plan of preparation is in no way harmful or dishonest, but lacks some
of the more permanent advantages of the second method.

The second method of developing the brief into the forensic is by
_oral composition_. This method demands that the debater shall _speak
extemporaneously_ from his _memorized brief_. This in no way means
that careful preparation, deliberate thought, and precise organization
are omitted. On the contrary, the formation of a brief from which a
winning forensic can be expanded requires the most studious
preparation, the keenest thought, and the most careful organization.
Neither does it mean that, as soon as the brief is formed, the
forensic can be presented. Before that step is taken, the debater who
will be successful will spend much time, not in _written_, but in
_oral_ composition.

He will study his brief until he sees that it is not merely a
succession of formal statements connected with "for's," but a series
of ideas arranged in that form because they will, if presented in that
order, bring conviction to his hearers. "Learning the brief," then,
becomes not a case of memory, but a matter of seeing--seeing what
comes next because that is the only thing that logically could come
next. When the brief is in mind, the speaker will expand it into a
forensic to an imaginary audience until he finds that he is expressing
the ideas clearly, smoothly, and readily. Pay no attention to the fact
that in the course of repeated deliveries the words will vary. Words
make little difference if the framework of ideas is the same.

This method of composing the forensic trains the mind of the student
to see the logical relationship of ideas, to acquire a command of
language, and to vary the order of ideas if necessary. In doing these
things, there are developed those qualities that are essential to all
effective speaking.

A debater's success in giving unity and coherence to his argument
depends chiefly on his method of introducing new ideas in supporting
his issues. These changes from one idea to another, or transitions, as
they are called, sh