This article describes a language simulation involving six distinct phases: an in-class quick response, a card game, individual research, a classroom debate, a debriefing session, and an argumentative essay. An analysis of student artifacts—quick-response writings and final essays, respectively, both addressing the definition of liberty in a liberty-granting society—indicates a considerable betterment of the quality of the evidence supporting the writer's stance and/or the clarity of expression of that stance. Based on those findings, the article argues that language simulation is beneficial to students, in that it enhances their skills as critical thinkers and writers.
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