This study investigates the verbal interactions of university students duringdebate preparation via epistemic network analysis (ENA). A total of 96 studentsparticipated in two structured discussion sessions, and they were 10 subcategories within cognitive, metacognitive, andemotional domains. The ENA results show that the high-achieving groups activelyemployed metacognitive strategies, By contrast, the low-achieving group showed frequent emotionalexchanges and relational talk, with limited use of higher-order reasoning. The heterogeneousgroup, which was dominated by high-achieving members, demonstrated powerimbalances and uneven participation. These findings suggest the necessity forexplicit guidance and scaffolding during debate preparation to promotebalanced, reflective interactions.