How to write a Position Paper?
Position Papers are documents that shall be produced individually by each delegate prior to the conference. These serve to explain your country's position regarding your committee's topics and possible solutions your delegation would like to implement in a future resolution. Typically, position papers should be approximately a page and a half in length, excluding the bibliography (if written in Times New Roman - 12). Delegates shall write one paper per topic, and the failure to meet the deadline for position paper submission will result in ineligibility for awards.
A header should be placed on the left upper corner of the document, informing your full name, school, delegation, committee and topic. In regard to the structure and actual contents of the document, position papers should consist of three paragraphs. Unless told otherwise in the study guides' introductory section, in case of special committees, position papers should each abide by the following guidelines:
- Paragraph 1: Being the shortest of all, this paragraph should briefly outline the topic's background through your delegation's point of view, drawing attention to major past events and their repercussions. Position papers of a higher calibre will not approach this paragraph in an aloof manner, and instead, evaluate past occurrences by exploring their delegation's bias.
- Paragraph 2: This section is designated for an overview of your country's past actions and their impact on the topic. Has your delegation attempted to solve the issue previously? In what ways? Were the measures taken a failure or a success? Why?
- Paragraph 3: Being the most elaborate of all, this paragraph should address the solutions your delegation plans to implement in order to tackle the issue at hand, be it amendments on previous agreements, reinforcement of international policies or completely unique ideas you devised yourself, as long as these are aligned with your country's position.
In all, a study guide will be provided by each committee to assist delegates on their production of position papers. However, study guides should be regarded as the starting point for the delegates' research, yet further research will be essential for the documents' completion. All position papers must be submitted in PDF format via each committee's respective Google Classroom. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and a bibliography and in-text citations following MLA or Harvard style are strongly recommended.
YOUMUN has two separate deadlines for position paper submissions. The earliest deadline, June 22nd, 2022, at 23:59 UTC is optional and meant for delegates who wish to receive feedback from the chairs as well as qualify for the conference wide best position paper award. The final deadline, June 24th, 2022, at 23:59 UTC is mandatory for all participating delegates and the failure to submit will result in ineligibility for awards.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your respective committee chairs, or the Secretariat, in case of any major issues.
A header should be placed on the left upper corner of the document, informing your full name, school, delegation, committee and topic. In regard to the structure and actual contents of the document, position papers should consist of three paragraphs. Unless told otherwise in the study guides' introductory section, in case of special committees, position papers should each abide by the following guidelines:
- Paragraph 1: Being the shortest of all, this paragraph should briefly outline the topic's background through your delegation's point of view, drawing attention to major past events and their repercussions. Position papers of a higher calibre will not approach this paragraph in an aloof manner, and instead, evaluate past occurrences by exploring their delegation's bias.
- Paragraph 2: This section is designated for an overview of your country's past actions and their impact on the topic. Has your delegation attempted to solve the issue previously? In what ways? Were the measures taken a failure or a success? Why?
- Paragraph 3: Being the most elaborate of all, this paragraph should address the solutions your delegation plans to implement in order to tackle the issue at hand, be it amendments on previous agreements, reinforcement of international policies or completely unique ideas you devised yourself, as long as these are aligned with your country's position.
In all, a study guide will be provided by each committee to assist delegates on their production of position papers. However, study guides should be regarded as the starting point for the delegates' research, yet further research will be essential for the documents' completion. All position papers must be submitted in PDF format via each committee's respective Google Classroom. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and a bibliography and in-text citations following MLA or Harvard style are strongly recommended.
YOUMUN has two separate deadlines for position paper submissions. The earliest deadline, June 22nd, 2022, at 23:59 UTC is optional and meant for delegates who wish to receive feedback from the chairs as well as qualify for the conference wide best position paper award. The final deadline, June 24th, 2022, at 23:59 UTC is mandatory for all participating delegates and the failure to submit will result in ineligibility for awards.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your respective committee chairs, or the Secretariat, in case of any major issues.