General Principles

1. Understand the history
This is the number one principle. To understand the history, you may follow the “5W1H” rule: what, when, who, where, why, and how.

2. No future information
You should never bring future information to your committee. For example, if you are in a committee simulated in the 1800s, you shouldn’t expect to have instant communication like what we experience today (people wrote letters back then, and it could take weeks or months to deliver them; no internet, no phone call).

3. Follow and break history
This sounds confusing, but let me explain. You should “follow” the history in the sense that your solution should make sense under the historical context. If the country that is simulated had had no trace of development in manufacturing, it wouldn’t make sense to propose rapid all-round industrialization to boost the economy. You should also understand why something happened the way it did. This information would let you know what pitfalls you should avoid.

You should “break” the history so that your proposal isn’t just repeating what happened. Your Chair wants to see your thoughts, and repeating history doesn’t help you demonstrate your creativity and critical thinking.