Writing the

Position Paper
Steps in Writing a Position Paper
Outline of a Position Paper
Steps in Writing a Position Paper

 According to Fleming (2017), in writing a

position paper, your charge is to choose a
side on a particular controversial topic and
build up a case for your opinion or position.
Once you state your position, you will use
facts, opinion, statistics and other forms of
evidence to convince your reader that your
position is the best one.
 Steps in Writing a Position Paper
1. Select a topic for your paper. Your position
paper is going to center around a personal
belief that is supported by research, so you
have an opportunity to tap into your own
strong feelings in this assignment.
2. Conduct preliminary research. Preliminary
research is necessary to determine whether
evidence is available to back up your stance.
 Steps in Writing a Position Paper
3. Challenge your own topic. You must know
the opposite view as well to determine all
the possible challenges that you might face as
you support your view.
4. Continue to collect supporting evidence.
Once you’ve determined that your position is
supportable and the opposite position is
weaker than your own, you are ready to
branch out with your research.
 Steps in Writing a Position Paper
5. Create an outline.
6. Summarize your argument and restate your
position. Get attitude. When you write a
position paper, you should write with
confidence. In this paper you want to state
your opinion with authority.
 Outline of a Position paper
1. Introduce your topic with a little background
information. Build up to your thesis sentence,
which asserts your position.
Sample Points:
There is now a call for government to require
warning labels to be placed on certain products
that pose a threat to the public.
Fast food restaurants are bad for your health.
Fast food packages should contain warning labels.
 Outline of a Position paper
2. List possible objections to your position.
Sample Points:
Such labels would affect profits of major
corporations.
Many people would see this as overreaching
government control.
The program would be costly.
 Outline of a Position paper
3. Support and acknowledge opposing points.
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 onto the shoulders of
taxpayers.
 Outline of a Position paper
4. Explain that your position is still the best
one, despite the strength of counter
arguments.
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