Group 1

1. Select a Topic for your Paper

Your position paper centers around a topic that is supported by

research. Your topic and position have to hold up when
challenged, so it's helpful to research a few topics and pick the
one you can best argue, even if it may not reflect your personal
beliefs. In many cases, the subject matter and your topic are not
as important as your ability to make a strong case. Your topic can
be simple or complex, but your argument must be sound and
logical.
 2. Conduct preliminary Research
Preliminary research is necessary to determine whether sufficient
evidence is available to back up your stance. You don’t want to
get too attached to a topic that falls apart under a challenge.

Search a few reputable sites, like education (.edu) sites and

government (.gov) sites, to find professional studies and statistics.
If you come up with nothing after an hour of searching, or if you
find that your position doesn’t stand up to the findings on
reputable sites, choose another topic. This could save you from a
lot of frustration later.
 3. Challenge your own Topic
You must know the opposite view as well as you know your own stance
when you take a position. Take the time to determine all the possible
challenges that you might face as you support your view. Your position
paper must address the opposing view and chip away at it with counter-
evidence. Consider having friends, colleagues, or family debate the topic
with you to get alternative points of view that you might not have readily
considered yourself. When you find arguments for the other side of your
position, you can address them in a fair manner, and then state why they
are not sound.

Another helpful exercise is to draw a line down the middle of a plain

sheet of paper and list your points on one side and list opposing points on
the other side. Which argument is really better? If it looks like your
opposition might outnumber you with valid points, you should reconsider
your topic or your stance on the topic.
 4. Continue to Collect Supporting Evidence
Once you’ve determined that your position is supportable and the opposite
position is (in your opinion) weaker than your own, you are ready to branch
out with your research. Go to a library and conduct a search, or ask the
reference librarian to help you find more sources. You can, of course,
conduct online research as well, but it's important to know how to properly
vet the validity of the sources you use. Ensure that your articles are written
by reputable sources, and be wary of singular sources that differ from the
norm, as these are often subjective rather than factual in nature.

Try to collect a variety of sources, and include both an expert’s opinion

(doctor, lawyer, or professor, for example) and personal experience (from a
friend or family member) that can add an emotional appeal to your topic.
These statements should support your own position but should read
differently than your own words. The point of these is to add depth to your
argument or provide anecdotal support.
 5. Create an Outline
A position paper can be arranged in the following format:

1. Introduce your topic with some basic background information. Build up to your thesis
sentence, which asserts your position. Sample points:

For decades, the FDA has required that warning labels should be placed on certain
products that pose a threat to public health.
Fast food restaurants are bad for our health.
Fast food packages should contain warning labels.

2. Introduce possible objections to your position. Sample points:

Such labels would affect the profits of major corporations.

Many people would see this as overreaching government control.
Whose job is it to determine which restaurants are bad? Who draws the line?
 5. Create an Outline
3. Support and acknowledge the opposing points. Just be sure you aren't discrediting your own views. Sample points:

It would be difficult and expensive for any entity to determine which restaurants should adhere to the policy.
Nobody wants to see the government overstepping its boundaries.
Funding would fall on the shoulders of taxpayers.

4. Explain that your position is still the best one, despite the strength of counter-arguments. This is where you can work
to discredit some of the counter-arguments and support your own. Sample points:

The cost would be countered by the improvement of public health.

Restaurants might improve the standards of food if warning labels were put into place.
One role of the government is to keep citizens safe.
The government already does this with drugs and cigarettes.

5. Summarize your argument and restate your position. End your paper focusing on your argument and avoid the
counter-arguments. You want your audience to walk away with your view on the topic being one that resonates with
them.

When you write a position paper, write with confidence and state your opinion with authority. After all, your goal is to
demonstrate that your position is the correct one.
You also need a strong informative body
The body is the main
section, where all the ideas
for your essay are
explained. In your body
paragraphs, you should start
each one with a topic
sentence. The topic
sentence should reflect the
idea to be described in the
section. You should include
appropriate sources to back
up your opinions.
Body
The body of the paper is for unpacking
and expanding the topic and your
position. Providing further background
information to that given in the
introduction should come first. Use facts,
statistics and quotations to frame the
issue and its significance to the reader.
Then re-state your position, and this time
use evidence and source materials to
back up your assertions. When it comes
to evidence, you do not have to produce
your own through experiments, although
instances could easily arise if you were,
say, a company involved in the
production of medicines.
Issues are very rarely clear cut into
black and white. Even if the
opposition side is deplorable, your
desire to eviscerate alternative and
opposing perspectives must be
expressed by refuting the central
and underlying points of the
arguments. However, emotion and
affect are tools which are more
welcome in a position paper than a
peer-reviewed article or
government white-paper. There is
scope and time here to write in a
way which appeals to emotion.
A short position paper may only contain 2 body
paragraphs - one for the counter-argument and
one for the supportive points. However, most
position papers will have 3 or 4 body
paragraphs, with 2 dedicated to supportive
evidence.
FIRST PARAGRAPH SECOND PARAGRAPH THIRD PARAGRAPH
Includes an argument with Has a second Another argument to
at least two facts of argument with support your position
evidence to support. supporting evidence. with supporting
evidence.