Debate, is understood to be the most demanding type of persuasive speech. A debate can be an informal discussion over disagreeing opinions or a formal contest between two or more teams. Hooke & Philips (1994) stated that the very basis of debate is the ability to communicate orally. They went on to explain that in debate, in order to be an effective speaker, one will be trained to vary his / her tone, speed, volume, fluency and body language as well as possessing relevant data. Freely (1986) stated that a debate consists of arguments for and against a given proposition. The UPD form adheres to all of these characters with additional explicit rules and regulations that however, may vary slightly in interpretation. UPD has specific contexts that need to be followed religiously, especially in competitive UPD set ups such as the World Debating Championship, Australasian Debating Championship and Worlds Universities Peace Invitational Debate.
The debate associations govern these competitions through holding debate seminars and training, aiding in competition organization and management, and also through their close alumni network with other debate associations which clearly resembles the features of a CoP. Messages and information on competitions and other activities would be posted on associations’ websites or through the world debate yahoo messenger group. Opinions on dates of competition, motions, venues and critical issues like the nomination of Chief Adjudicator and their deputies would be posted and discussed here and the opinions received are very influential towards the actual decision. Thus it can be said that debate as in University Parliamentary Debate is a shared activity of discourse that is govern by members of the society in terms of rules, roles and convention. Well, sometimes even the menu for dinners are controlled or at least influenced by the members of the UPD community.
