How to Write a Good Position Paper
Writing a position paper is what every delegate should do before attending a conference. Some conferences require delegates to turn in their papers beforehand, HSMUN does not require you to do so. Therefore, although we think it is good practice for you to write a position paper, it not necessary for you to turn it in, nor is it mandatory. It is useful to exchange your position paper with other delegates when you first meet them at the conference so they will know your country’s stance. Below, I will provide you with some guidelines to get you started.
A position needs to include:
• A brief introduction to your country and its history concerning the topic and committee
• How the issue affects your country
• Your country’s policies with respect to the issue and your country’s justification for these policies
• Quotes from your country’s leaders about the issue
• Statistics to back up your country’s position on the issue
• Actions taken by your government with regard to the issue
• Conventions and resolutions that your country has signed or ratified
• UN actions that your country supported or opposed
• What your country believes should be done to address the issue
• What your country would like to accomplish in the committee’s resolution
• How the positions of other countries affect your country’s position
Some other tips include:
• Keep it simple. To communicate strongly and effectively, avoid flowery wording and stick to uncomplicated language and sentence structure.
• Get organized. Give each separate idea or proposal its own paragraph. Make sure each paragraph starts with a topic sentence.
• Cite your sources. Use footnotes or endnotes to show where you found your facts and statistics. If you are unfamiliar with bibliographic form, look up the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines at your school’s library.
• Speech! Speech! Do you plan to make an opening statement at your conference? A good position paper makes a great introductory speech. During debate, a good position paper will also help you to stick to your country’s policies.
• Let the bullets fly. Try not to let your proposals become lost in a sea of information. For speechmaking, create a bulleted list of your proposals along with your most important facts and statistics so that you will not lose time looking for them during debate.
Writing a position paper is what every delegate should do before attending a conference. Some conferences require delegates to turn in their papers beforehand, HSMUN does not require you to do so. Therefore, although we think it is good practice for you to write a position paper, it not necessary for you to turn it in, nor is it mandatory. It is useful to exchange your position paper with other delegates when you first meet them at the conference so they will know your country’s stance. Below, I will provide you with some guidelines to get you started.
A position needs to include:
• A brief introduction to your country and its history concerning the topic and committee
• How the issue affects your country
• Your country’s policies with respect to the issue and your country’s justification for these policies
• Quotes from your country’s leaders about the issue
• Statistics to back up your country’s position on the issue
• Actions taken by your government with regard to the issue
• Conventions and resolutions that your country has signed or ratified
• UN actions that your country supported or opposed
• What your country believes should be done to address the issue
• What your country would like to accomplish in the committee’s resolution
• How the positions of other countries affect your country’s position
Some other tips include:
• Keep it simple. To communicate strongly and effectively, avoid flowery wording and stick to uncomplicated language and sentence structure.
• Get organized. Give each separate idea or proposal its own paragraph. Make sure each paragraph starts with a topic sentence.
• Cite your sources. Use footnotes or endnotes to show where you found your facts and statistics. If you are unfamiliar with bibliographic form, look up the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines at your school’s library.
• Speech! Speech! Do you plan to make an opening statement at your conference? A good position paper makes a great introductory speech. During debate, a good position paper will also help you to stick to your country’s policies.
• Let the bullets fly. Try not to let your proposals become lost in a sea of information. For speechmaking, create a bulleted list of your proposals along with your most important facts and statistics so that you will not lose time looking for them during debate.
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