POSITION PAPER

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the students

will be able to:

Understand the nature, purpose and

usage of a Position Paper; and

Prepare a Position Paper

 POSITION PAPER

A position paper presents an arguable

opinion about an issue. The goal of a
position paper is to convince the audience
that your opinion is valid and worth
listening to.
To influence the pending
implementation of new policies, systems
and procedures
 ISSUE CRITERIA
To take a side on a subject, you should first
establish the arguebility of a topic that interests you.
Ask yourself the following questions to ensure that
you will be able to present a strong argument:

•Is it a real issue, with genuine controversy and

uncertainty?
•Can you distinctly identify two positions?
•Are you personally interested in advocating one of
these positions?
•Is the issue narrow enough to be manageable?
 Analyzing an Issue and
Developing an Argument

Listing out the pro and con sides of the topic will
help you examine your ability to support your
counterclaims, along with a list of supporting evidence
for both sides. Supporting evidence includes the
following:

• Factual Knowledge
• Statistical Inferences
• Informed Opinion
• Personal Testimony
 Who is your audience?

1. What do they believe?

2. Where do they stand on the issue?

3. How are their interests involved?

4. What evidence is likely to be effective with

them?
 In determining your viewpoint,
ask yourself the following:

1. Is your topic interesting?

2. Can you manage the material within the
specifications set by the instructor?
3. Does your topic assert something specific
and propose a plan of action?
4. Do you have enough material to support
your opinion?
 Organization

Your introduction should lead up to a thesis that

organizes the rest of your paper. There are three
advantages to leading with the thesis:
1. The audience knows where you stand.

2. The thesis is located in the two strongest

places, first and last.

3. It is the most common form of academic

argument used.
 Parts of a Position Paper

1. COVER PAGE
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. INTRODUCTION (Part I)
 Background
 The Issue/s
4. THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM (Part II)
 State the problem associated with the issue at hand
5. THE POSITION (Part III)
What is your stand
 Parts of a Position Paper

6. WHY THE NEED TO IMPLEMENT CHANGES (Part

IV)
Cite arguments / present facts to support your stand
Cite consequences of not acting on the matter
Provide Counter arguments for opposing views
7. STRATEGIES TO EFFECT CHANGES (Part V)
Cite key activities to implement changes with brief
discussion
8. AFTER EFFECT OF PROPOSAL (Part VI)
Cite perceived impact of proposal on the current
situation
 Parts of a Position Paper

9. POSSIBLE CHANGES IF PROPOSAL WILL BE

IMPLEMENTED (Part VII)
Cite additional changes “ripple effect” that will arise
out of the implementation of the proposal
10. EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSAL (Part VIII)
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the
proposal
Highlight its resulting improvement from the present
set-up
11. ANNEXES / REFS / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (Part IX)
THE DEFINITION OF THE GUIDELINES IN WRITING A
POSITION PAPER.

1. CHOOSE AN ISSUE. WHEN CHOOSING ONE, KEEP THE

FOLLOWING GUIDELINES IN MIND.
THE ISSUE SHOULD BE DEBATABLE BECAUSE YOU
WON’T BE ABLE TO MAKE A STAND IF THE TOPIC IS NOT
DEBATABLE.
THE ISSUE SHOULD BE CURRENT OR RELEVANT.
THE ISSUE SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN A QUESTION FROM
AND ANSWERABLE BY YES OR NO.
THE ISSUE SHOULD BE NARROW AND MANAGEABLE.
2. BEGIN THE WRITING PROCESS BY CONDUCTING AN
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH ON THE ISSUE.

3. MAKE SURE TO DEFINE UNFAMILIAR TERMS WHEN

YOU FIRST MENTION THEM.

4. BE AWARE OF THE VARIOUS POSITIONS ABOUT THE

ISSUE AND EXPLAIN AND ANALYZE THEM OBJECTIVELY.

5. REFLECT ON YOUR POSITION AND IDENTIFY ITS

WEAKNESSES.

6. CITE VALID AND RELIABLE SOURCES TO ESTABLISH

THE CREDIBILITY OF YOUR ARGUMENTS.
7. VIEW THE ISSUE IN A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE SO
YOU CAN PRESENT UNIQUE APPROACH.

8.LIMIT YOUR POSITION PAPER IN TWO PAGES.

9. ANALYZE YOUR TARGET READERS AND ALIGN YOUR
ARGUMENTS TO THEIR BELIEFS, NEEDS, INTERESTS,
AND MOTIVATIONS.

10. SUMMARIZE THE OTHER SIDE’S

COUNTERARGUMENTS AND USE VARIOUS EVIDENCE
AND DATA TO REFUTE THEM.

11. USE AN ACTIVE VOICE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO

ACHIEVE DYNAMIC AND FIRM ONE.
12. ARRANGE YOUR EVIDENCE LOGICALLY USING AN
INDUCTIVE OR DEDUCTIVE APPROACH.

13. CHECK YOUR ARGUMENT FOR FALLACIES AND

ELIMINATE THEM. FALLACIES, OR ERRORS IN
REASONING WEAKEN YOUR ARGUMENT.

14. USE ETHICAL, LOGICAL, AND EMOTIONAL APPEAL.

AN ETHICAL APPEAL RELATES TO YOUR CREDIBILITY
AND COMPETENCE AS A WRITER;
A LOGICAL APPEAL REFERS TO A RATIONAL
APPROACH IN DEVELOPING AN ARGUMENT;
WHILE AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL USES ARGUMENTS IN
A WAY THAT EVOKES FEELINGS.
INSTRUCTION: WRITE G IF THE PRACTICE IS GOOD ONE;
WRITE W IF NOT.
______ 1. PATRICK CONSIDERS ALL POSSIBLE VIEWS
ON THE ISSUE AT HAND.
_____ 2. ALEX SAYS THAT THE ISSUE IS CRUCIAL
COMPONENT OF A POSITION PAPER.
______ 3. BRENDON THINKS THAT AN ISSUE IS
DEBATABLE IF IT CANNOT BE ANSWERED BY YES OR
NO.
______ 4. PETER CONDUCTS AN AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
TO HELP HIM WRITE A MORE PERSUASIVE POSITION
PAPER.
______ 5. KATY BOASTS ABOUT HER CREDENTIALS TO
ESTABLISH HER CREDIBILITY AS A WRITER.
______ 6. JACK PRIMARILY USES OPINIONS IN
SUPPORTING HIS ARGUMENTS.
______ 7. NICKI USES STATISTICAL DATA IN
SUPPORTING HER ARGUMENTS.
______ 8. BRANDON BELIEVES THAT THE MAIN GOAL
OF A POSITION PAPER IS TO INFORM READERS.
______ 9. JAMIE USES EMOTIONAL APPEAL IN ALL OF
HIS POSITION PAPER BECAUSE IT IS THE BEST TYPE
OF APPEAL.
______ 10. MATT RESTATES HIS POSITION IN THE
CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH.
END