Position paper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A position paper is an essay that is written by participants of the Model United Nations (MUN). A position paper describes the detailed position of a certain country on a topic or issue that the writer will be debating in their committee. Some conferences require delegates to submit position papers. ^[1]

Contents 1 Format 2 Use of position papers 2.1 Opening statements 2.2 Knowledge of the delegate 3 References

[edit] Format

Many conferences have different format and styles for position papers but, the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) has established a format that has been adopted widely throughout the Model UN community. The heading is as follows:

• Committee: __________

• Topic: ______________

• Country: ____________

• Delegate: ___________

The rest of the position paper is the body which explains in detail the position of the author's country. A well written position paper would explain the issue from the point of view of their country (which may be difficult to do). Also, it would include statistics about the issue that would help their cause. The paper would also try to convince the other countries of the committee to their view of the issue. It would have ways to solve the situation. ^[2]

[edit] Use of position papers

Position papers are used for a variety of reasons.

[edit] Opening statements

In a debate, a delegate can make opening statements in the beginning. A well written and thorough position paper can serve as a opening statement.

[edit] Knowledge of the delegate

Many confrences require delegates to submit a copy of their position paper. They do this so they force the delegates to understand their topic and to construct a strong and well-informed position on the subject.

[edit] References

1. ^ UNA-USA: Position Papers[1]
2. ^ UNA-USA: How to write a position paper.[2]