Writing the Position Paper

(Lesson 2)

EAPP_Quarter 2
What are the different
issues in your school,
community and
country? And what is
your stand about it?
 The table below shows example of issues
and its possible claims/stand or position.

ISSUES CLAIM/ STAND/ POSITION

SOCIAL MEDIA
LEGALIZATION OF DIVORCE
- Social media gives negative effect on
students’ academic performance.
- Social media is helpful to students.
- Divorce should not be legalized in the
Philippines
- Divorce will help unhappy couples to
give themselves chance to love again.
 ISSUES CLAIM/ STAND/ POSITION
- Bullying affect students’ behavior in
school.
BULLYING - Bullying will not affect students’
behavior in school.
- Smoking should be banned in
public places
- Smoking is a choice and people should
SMOKING have freedom to do whatever makes
them happy.

- Homework should be mandatory to

students.
HOMEWORK - Homework gives students less time for
recreation and family time.
To be able to defend your own stand on an issue,
you have to take note of the following:

✓ Clearly identify the issue that you believe is

affecting you and your community. You can have 2
or more issues.
✓ From the issues that you identified, take on a side
that you can defend.
✓ Given the issues that you chose, identify other
concepts or ideas that you can associate with the
issues.
✓ Formulate statements that will express your stand towards the
issues. These statements may convey the message that the issues are
having negative effects on people and the community.
✓ Gather factual evidences to support your arguments regarding the
issue. This evidence may be taken from official statement of the
government agencies, political leaders and academic authorities.
✓ Make sure that your statements are strong enough to convince or
persuade your readers into action to address the issue.
Guidelines in Writing a Position Paper

1. Choose an issue. When choosing one, keep the

following guidelines in mind.
• The issue should be debatable—you won't be able to
take a stand if the topic is not 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.
2. Begin the writing process by conducting an in-depth research on the
issue.
3. Make sure to define unfamiliar terms when you first mention them.
4. Be aware of the various positions about the issue and explain and
analyze them objectively.
5. Reflect on your position and identify its weaknesses.
6. Cite valid and reliable sources to establish the credibility of your
arguments.
7. View the issue in a different perspective so you can present a unique
approach.
8. Limit your position paper to two pages.
9. Analyze your target readers and align your arguments to their
beliefs, needs, interests, and motivations.
10. Summarize the other side's counterarguments and use various
evidence and data to refute them.
11. Use an active voice as much as possible to achieve a dynamic and
firm tone.
12. Arrange your evidence logically using an inductive or deductive
approach.
• In an inductive approach, you discuss specific information first,
and then look for patterns to create a general conclusion. In
essence, an inductive approach entails a flow from specific to
general ideas.
• In a deductive approach, you take something general and then
branch out and think of specific things that could apply to it.
Basically, this is a type of reasoning where the flow of discussion
starts with a general theory and moves to a specific hypothesis.
13. Check your argument for fallacies and eliminate them. Fallacies,
or errors in reasoning, weaken your argument.
14. Use ethical, logical, and emotional appeal. An ethical appeal
relates to your credibility and competence as a writer; a logical appeal
refers to a rational approach in developing an argument; while an
emotional appeal uses arguments in a way that evokes feelings.
 Read “Should
Homework be
Mandatory?” and
answer the questions after
the selection. Use
separate sheet of paper.
 Defend your stand by
writing a position paper
with the intention of
convincing your reader to
support your stand. Write
your position paper on
the issue of your choice.

HAVE FUN