Module 2.

5: Writing a Position Paper

Writing a Position Paper

Writing a position paper can be quite easy if you focus on one step at a time.

Step 1: Choosing an issue for a Topic

Issues surround us: we see them in the problems that we have in society and perhaps even
in our own experiences. So in order to make good use of your observations and experiences,
consider the following questions:
 Is there a particular problem in your community that you feel strongly about? If, for
example, you’ve always felt great concern towards child beggars, this can be a possible
issue for your position paper.
 Are you a member of a cause-oriented group? Such groups can also lead you to a possible
issue as usually they are oriented towards a significant concern in society.

Aside from using observations and personal experiences, we can also get issues by
paying attention to the news and other media sources and school events such as campus debates,
fora, conferences, or lectures.

Step 2: Collect Information on the Issue

Once you’ve chosen an issue to work on, the next step is to gather information on the issue.
This can help you decide on your position or claim, if you don’t have one yet, or if you already
do, this step can help you strengthen your position.
What is important is that you get information on both sides of the issue. Gather information
that will give you a strong understanding of the issue, such as answers to basic reporter questions
(who, what, when, where, why).

Major Types of Appeals

1. Logical Appeals – this is the use of facts in order to support a position; it persuades the
audience by targeting their thinking. Arguments explain why a claim is correct and believable.
They are usually generalizations that are made on the basis of supporting evidence, such as facts,
comparisons, examples, and the writer’s experiences. There are different types of arguments
according to reasoning based on evidence.

a. Argument from Transitivity – this involves three terms associated through the process of
classification. In this type of argument, two classification of statements serve as premises which
then serve as the basis for the argument, presented in the form of a conclusion as in A is B; B is
C; thus, A is C.

Example: As an antioxidant, coffee is an anticancer substance.

What are the three terms involved in this statement? What are the premises? What is the
conclusion?

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The three terms, of course, are “antioxidant,” “anticancer substance,” and coffee. They are linked
together through the following statements that serve as premises:
1. Antioxidants are anticancer substances.
2. Coffee is an antioxidant.
3. And the conclusion: Therefore, coffee is an anticancer substance.

In order to check the soundness of our argument, we have to consider the following:
 Are there only three terms? If there are more, the association of terms becomes muddled.
 Is the middle term consistently used? The middle term is the term that serves as B- the link
between A and C, which in this case is the term “antioxidant.” This term must have the
same meaning in the two premises for the argument to be valid.
 Are all premises correct? If one of them proves false, then the whole argument becomes
invalid.

b. Argument from Incompatibility – this type of argument presents two contradictory choices,
such that the choice of one means the exclusion of the other. Thus, if something is A it cannot be
B; if it is B, it cannot be A, for A and B cannot be combined – they are incompatible.

Example: President X cannot be pro-education as he claims to be.

He reduced the education budget by half.

The example above is based on two ideas: (a) being pro-education and (b) cutting the education
budget. The argument works by saying that a is incompatible with b; thus a person who claims to
be pro-education cannot reduce the education budget, as it goes against the idea of being pro-
education.

In order to check the soundness of our argument, consider whether the two choices or ideas are
really incompatible. If they can be combined – for example, if it is logical for a person to claim to
be pro-education and yet reduce the education budget – then the incompatibility argument is false.

c. Argument from Reciprocity – this argument says that individuals and situations can be put
together under the same category should be treated in the same way.

For example, a person who is born in the Philippines and who has Filipino parents is classified as
a citizen of the Philippines. As a citizen, such as a person who enjoys certain privileges reserved
only for a country’s citizens, such as the right to vote and own property in the Philippines. Now
suppose a foreigner goes through certain legal processes and becomes classified as a Filipino
citizen. The reciprocity argument says this foreigner will now have the same privileges given to
any other Filipino citizen.

How do we know if our argument from reciprocity is sound? We have to consider whether the
individuals or situations under consideration can be truly and fully classified under the same
category and that there is nothing to hinder them from being so.

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 d. Argument from Comparison – This argues that two situations will have the same outcome
because of the similarities between these situations.

A B A B

C D C ?

Entity X Entity Y

Therefore, entity Y will have D as well.

Example: The RH Law will lead to the legalization of abortion in the Philippines.
This was the case in Vietnam which enacted a similar law many years ago.

In the example above, two situations are being compared: that of the Philippines and that of
Vietnam. The argument says that since the two countries both have something similar – the
presence of a similar reproductive health law-then what happened in one will also happen in the
other.

How do we check the soundness of our argument? We must ask the following questions:
 Do the two entities belong to the same category? In case of our example, we can say that
both the Philippines and Vietnam are countries.
 Are the two entities sufficiently similar to justify the conclusion? We might say that both
the Philippines and Vietnam share similarities in terms of economic development, as they
are both developing countries, which may have an effect on the population of both
countries.
 Is there any significant dissimilarity to undermine the conclusion? If there is such as
significant dissimilarity, then our argument may become invalid. For instance, consider
both countries’ religions. Do they have the same set of beliefs about human life? If they
have different values then such a dissimilarity will be significant enough to invalidate the
argument.

e. Argument from Generalization – In argument from generalization, we use one member of

a population to make conclusions about the entire population. We encounter this argument all the
time. For example, you might have said that “All people of [a place] are [good, bad, honest,
dishonest, etc.]” because of an experience that you had with a person from that place.

Example: Manny Pacquiao is proof at the Philippines in a nation of good boxers.

To check the validity of arguments from generalization, we have to consider: Is the member
representative of the entire population? Does he or she embody all the qualities of the entire

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population? In other words, is he or she a typical member of the population? If not, then the
argument fails.

f. Argument from Examples – is similar to argument from generalization in that conclusions

are made about an entire population. The difference is that, instead of using only one member as
basis, in argument from examples you use a group of examples – a sample – from that population
to serve as your basis.

We see this type of argument whenever we encounter survey results. In surveys, a group of people
are asked of their opinions or preferences, like their preferred candidate for a particular election.
If done correctly, then the survey results may be a good indicator of how many Filipinos feel about
a particular issue.

Here’s another example of this argument:

Cartoons expose children to excessive violence. Shows like Tim and Jerry, Boo-hoo Bunny,
and The Mighty Girls show an average of seventeen violent acts (e.g. punching, kicking, hitting
with an instrument) per episode.

To test arguments from examples, we must ask the following questions:

 Is there a sufficient number of examples to justify the conclusion? We need to consider
how large the sample group is compared to the population that it represents. In the case of
our cartoon example above, we might reason that only three cartoons have been used as
basis and this number is not sufficient if for instance there are 150 cartoons being aired in
various networks.
 Are there any counter-examples? Counter-examples are examples that show the opposite
of what is being concluded. They are very effective in weakening arguments from
examples. So if you think of cartoons that do not show violence, then those are counter-
examples to the argument above.

g. Argument from Cause – An argument from cause posits that A is caused by B, which
means that the presence of A (cause) will mean the presence of B (effect). There are two types of
causes:
 Strong cause or sufficient cause – The occurrence of the cause guarantees the existence
of the effect to occur. For instance, if virus X is a strong cause for disease X, then having
the virus guarantees developing the disease.
 Weak cause or necessary cause – The occurrence of the cause is necessary for the effect
to occur. If virus X is a weak cause for disease X, then virus X is like an important
component of having disease X. However, the virus alone does not lead to having disease
X. Perhaps other factors, for example, a weak immune system and certain environmental
conditions, are also needed for disease X to appear.

We check the soundness of our causal arguments by considering the following:

 Is the relationship between A and B really causal? Perhaps it is just coincidental – B just
happened after A, but there is really no relationship between them. Or perhaps the

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 relationship is correlational, as when the amount of B increases when the amount of A
increases. In this case, there might be a third factor which simply causes both A and B to
increase at the same time.
 Is the cause a sufficient or necessary cause? Of course, the strong cause makes for a
stronger case. We must carefully examine our evidence and that of the opposing side to
determine whether the cause guarantees the effect or is simply one of the factors that might
lead to the effect.

h. Argument from Sign – This argument uses a sign or an indicator X to argue for the
existence of condition Y. For example, the president may argue that the Philippine economy is
thriving because of increased GDP and foreign investments (which are economic indicators). Or
we may say that we have fever because our body temperature reads 40oC.

In testing this argument, we consider the following:

 Is the relationship between the sign and condition consistent? We may say, for instance,
that economic development and increased GDP figures always go together; thus, the
argument is valid.
 Are there other indicators that show the opposite of what is concluded? On the other hand,
if other economic indicators show that the economy is NOT thriving, then our argument is
weakened.

2. Emotional Appeals
a. Bandwagon or “join-the-crowd appeal – In this type of appeal, the writer uses people’s
tendency to conform with the majority, pointing out that his or her position enjoys support from
many people. The idea here is to convince people to “go with the flow” – everybody else is doing
it, so you should follow, too. Keep in mind, however, that just because a lot of people do
something, that doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do.

b. Appeal to common folk – In appeal to common folk, the persuasion is done by pointing
out that a person is no different from ordinary people, or, that a product or idea is something that
ordinary people would purchase or support. We see this a lot in elections, as when a candidate
states that like the masses, he came from a poor family and experienced struggles in life.

c. False authority – A type of false reasoning in which a person speaks as expert on

something on which he/she has no expertise, as when an actor claims that he/she proved the
efficacy of a brand of medicine through laboratory tests (as if he or she were a pharmacist or
chemist).

d. Name calling or “ad hominem” – Name calling uses the labels with negative meanings to
cast one’s opponent in a bad light, as when a politician calls her opponents idiots.

e. Association – This is done by creating a link between one thing or idea and another one
that people have a positive or negative feelings for. For example, certain food products may be
associated with Filipino values such as strong family ties.

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 The right way to use emotional appeals is to use them only in addition to logical appeals
so as to ensure a balanced approach- one that targets both the mind and the heart of our readers. If
we rely solely on emotional appeals, then our paper commits a very serious error in reasoning:
argumentum ad misericordiam (argument to pity).
In addition, one should also have proper ethical boundaries in using emotional appeals.
Consider, for example, whether it is ever acceptable to engage in name calling to discredit the
opposing side.

Step 3: Organize the Content

Introduction
 Introduce the issue being debated by answering basic reporter questions – who, what,
when, where, and why – about your chosen issue. Your goal is to provide the reader with a
background of the issue under discussion.

An excellent introduction is one that is thorough, clear, and accurate. This means:
 All the basic reporter questions have been covered.
 All the concepts, definitions, narratives, and other explanations regarding the issue
are stated clearly; there are no unclear or confusing ideas.
 And that all the details relevant to the topic – for example, the names of persons,
places, and dates – are correct.

 State your claim on the issue. A good statement or claim or thesis should clearly indicate
the writer’s stand and it should do so right at the onset.

Body
 Present the opposing viewpoint. You need to accurately represent what the opposing side
is saying about the issue. In the interest of fairness, it is only right for you to allow the other
side to “speak.”

The goal, however, of presenting opposing arguments is so that you can overcome or refute
them by pointing out their flaws and weaknesses. You can do this by doing the following:
 Showing error in the opposing side’s reasoning,
 Pointing out negative consequences of the opposing position,
 Showing inadequacies of its evidence, and
 Arguing that the values espoused by the opposing side do not agree with the values
upheld by the readers.
Thus, an excellent presentation of the opposing viewpoints should be able to do the
following:
 Thoroughly cover all the arguments raised by the other side,
 Adequately explain the support for those arguments, and
 Convincingly show that the opposing sides should not be believed.

 Present your arguments and make them convincing by providing adequate support. To
come up with an excellent presentation of your viewpoint, do the following:
 Clearly state the reasons for your claim.

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  Adequately support your reasons. Use both logical and emotional appeals. Employ
a variety of supports to make your case both convincing and interesting.
 Do not forget to cite sources and properly document them, as this adds to the
credibility of your paper.
Alternatively, you may also present the body arguments in the order below:
 Present your position.
 Summarize the opposing viewpoint.
 Point out the weaknesses of the opposing viewpoint.
 Conclude by summarizing your arguments and reiterating your position.

A very helpful organizational tool is the writing outline. Outline the contents of your
position paper before you actually sit down and draft it. This ensures that you cover all the
points that you want to include and that you do so using the proper order.

Parts of a Position Paper

Introduction

 Start with an introduction which presents the issue while grabbing the attention of
readers.
 Define the issue and discuss its background.
 Provide a general statement of your position via your thesis statement.

Body

 State your main arguments.

 Provide sufficient evidence for each argument such as statistical data, interviews
with experts, and testimonies.
 Provide counterarguments against the possible weaknesses of your arguments.

Conclusion

 Restate your position and main argument.

 Suggest a course of action.
 State what makes your position superior and more acceptable.
 End with a powerful closing statement such as a quotation, a challenge or a
question.

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Guidelines in Writing a Position Paper

 The issue should be debatable.

 The issue should be current and relevant
 The issue should be written in a question form and answerable by yes or no.
 The issue should be narrow and manageable.
 Begin the writing process by conducting an in-depth research on the issue.
 Make sure to define unfamiliar terms when you first mention them.
 Be aware of the various positions about the issue and explain and analyze them objectively.
 Reflect on your position and identify its weaknesses.
 Cite valid and reliable sources to establish the credibility of your arguments.
 View the issue in a different perspective so you can present a unique approach.
 Limit your position paper to two pages.
 Analyze your target readers and align your arguments to their beliefs, needs, interests and
motivations.
 Summarize the other side’s counterarguments and use various evidence and data to refute
them.
 Use an active voice as much as possible to achieve a dynamic and firm tone.
 Arrange your evidence logically using an inductive or deductive approach.
 Check your argument for fallacies and eliminate them.
 Use ethical, logical and emotional appeal.

Format

1. Paper size: 8.5” x 11” (letter size)

2. Spacing: Double-spaced
3. Font: Times New Roman
4. Font size: 12 points
5. Margins: 1 inch on all sides
6. Footer: Page number (Page ___ of ___ )
7. Header: School logo (left side), your name (Right side)

Cover Page

The cover page should contain the title of your paper, your name, the name of your teacher,
the date you have submitted the paper, your section/year, and the name of your school.

Example:
Medical Marijuana

By An Reyes

Ms. April Rose M. Toring

October 21, 2020
General Academic Strand 12-A
Misamis University

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