Position Papers for Dummies
Due Date:
Tuesday, December 8th
Midnight
What is a position paper?
• A position paper is an overview of your
country’s stance on different issues
• In order to attend the HAMUN conference in
January, you need to have an approved
position paper
• You will also need to have passed all your
classes for the fall semester!!!
• This is a brief document, but is very important
for the committees.
The Purpose of the Policy Statement
• First: It allows the delegate to think about
their policy on specific issues from the
country’s point of view, before attending the
conference
• Second: It serves as a simple information
guide on your country’s policies to use at the
conference
• Third: It acts as an outline for the preliminary
draft resolution
Policy Statement Format
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Length: ¾ to 1 page long
Spacing: Single
Font: 12 pt, Times New Roman
Saved as: .doc, .pdf, .rtf
Header
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Committee
Country
Topic
School: MagnoliaHigh School
Sponsor: Katherine Cantu
Name:
To begin writing your paper…
• Pick an international issue.
– Most of you will be on committees that already
have a list of topics. If this is the case, you should
select a topic from your committee.
• You need to research that topic from your
country’s point of view
– Keep in mind elements of culture, history,
geography, natural resources, neighboring
countries, population, etc.
Position paper cont.
• You need to show that this is an international
issue, thereby warranting the attention of an
Intranational agency, like the UN
– Which regions or countries are also being affected
by this topic?
– Use specific examples and dates.
Position paper cont.
• You need to know if any international action
has already been taken to address your topic
– Use specific examples and dates
• Describe your country’s position on the topic.
– How is this issue affecting your country?
– What actions has your country taken in the past in
regards to this topic?
Position paper cont.
• Finally, propose specific UN action for the
future.
– What actions could your committee take to
address your topic?
– What actions would your country be in support
of?
– What actions would your country be against?
What your paper is not…
• This is not a report on your country.
• The paper should address the topic, written from
your country’s point of view.
• It is okay to put in a few lines about why this would
be best for your country, but other countries in your
committee will not care unless it helps them too.
• This is a persuasive paper, written to get what you
want.
• It needs to be written and researched very carefully.
Citations
• You will need to include a Works Cited Page
• The Font should be the same as your paper.
• Your sources need to be in MLA format, and in
alphabetical order according to the author’s
last name
• The library has a citation machine program
that can help you with this.
Scoring
• Each graded policy paper will be e-mailed to
me, with the rubric attached.
• The papers will be graded by your committee
chairs.
• In order to pass, all eight items on the rubric
must be present
Rubric
• Header
• Explanation and
definition of the issue
• A short summary of
recent international
action related to the
question
• A statement of the
country’s position on
the issue
• Specific suggestions for
a solution
• Reference to at least
three key documents
relating to the issue
that are NOT cited in
the policy statement
• Policy statement is
appropriate length (1
page)
• Policy paper is saved as
.doc, .pdf, or .rtf
Any more questions?
• Go to HAMUN’s website:
– http://www.houstonareamun.org/
• Click “Committees and Research”
• Then click “Position Papers”
• Click on your committee for a background guide
• Or E-mail me:
– Kcantu@magnoliaisd.org
– Remind 101: Text @556675 to 81010