Flag country here – small
NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY HERE
Committee: XXXXXXX
Topic: XXXXXXXX
XXXXX became an independent country in XXXX. Its capital city is XXXXXX and it has a
population of XXXXXXX million people. It has XXX other major cities, such as xxxxx,
xxxxx and xxxxx. It is a LEDC/MEDC/HEDC country and has a GDP of XXXXXXX
Your Country’s position on the topic
To answer the question “how to start a Position Paper’, keep in mind that you are not
only sharing your position, but also introducing the reader to see the topic being
discussed from your eyes.
To establish your position, start with a brief history of the situation / problem the
committee will be discussing (How you see the situation / your position on the topic).
Define what you see as the challenge to the global community (or at least what some of
them face). Keep in mind that your goal is to meet this challenge by the end of the
paper.
Frame the issue to be discussed as something that does not only pertain to your
country but, ideally, also the other countries you would want to support your policy.
It helps to keep in mind that you will not get support for your clauses, or pass a
resolution, alone. It is only if other countries see the topic the same way you do, that
they will want to join you to implement your solution.
Your Country’s relation to the topic
Your presentation of the policies your country has used to deal with the issue in the
past.
You should also describe the successes or failures of those policies (Your country’s
previous relation to the topic and the precedents it set).
Note: This is also the place to write previous actions your committee has with the topic
ONLY IF it is relevant to how your country introduces itself. Otherwise, you are
repeating factual information that is not related to you introducing your position. Writing
facts that do not forward your case is a trap many fall into.
In the cases where your country has a strong link to the issue, the examples in the 2nd
paragraph should be about your country’s connection to the specific issue. If your
country has no direct relation, see if similar countries to yours, or countries with similar
positions, have a relation to the topic. You can also conduct research to find out if your
country has a relation to a similar topic, from where you can draw inspiration and a
direction to justify your policies.
Flag country here – small
NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY HERE
Extra Supporting Information
Sometimes, a Position Paper will need a 4th paragraph of extra supporting material
covering additional angles that don’t fit into the main three. This can be a case study,
some topic-specific information about your (or another) country. It can be hard data
needed to support paragraph 2 or justify paragraph 3; this 4th paragraph still comes
before the final section where you describe your desired policies.
The key is that the 4th paragraph needs to display a clear contribution to the Position
Paper, show clear thinking and, in the end, be supporting of the Call to Action/policy that
is being advocated for. Collectively, all of the sections of the Position Paper should
show how the delegates unique, country-specific research and analysis furthers the
understanding of what was originally read in the committee study guide.