WRITING A

POSITION
PAPER
English for Academic and Professional
Purposes
Second Quarter-Lesson 6
 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

• Objectives • Lesson Proper • Activity

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you
should be able to:
1. Identify the parts of a position
paper
2. Write his/her own position
paper
Lesson Proper
 WRITING A POSITION
PAPER
◈The goal of a position paper is to convince the
audience that your opinion is valid and
defensible.

.
 ◈It is very important to ensure that you are
addressing all sides of the issue and presenting
it in a manner that is easy for your audience to
understand.
◈Your job is to take one side of the argument
and persuade your audience that you have
well-founded knowledge of the topic being
presented.
◈It is important to support your argument with
evidence to ensure the validity of your claims,
as well as to refute the counterclaims to show
that you are well informed about both sides.
THREE PARTS
OF A POSITION
PAPER
 INTRODUCTION
The introductory part can make the reader or audience
either dismissive or interested to know more. Begin
with a few opening sentences that capture their
attention. You also want to use suspense so that your
reader is hooked. Most importantly, however, the
introduction paragraph should inform your reader about
the issue you have chosen
 BODY
The body of a position paper has three parts:
background information, evidence to support your
opinion, and a discussion of both sides of the matter.
You need to conduct thorough research and have
enough facts to back up your claims. However, don’t
forget to address both sides of the argument.
 CONCLUSION
A good conclusion provides a summary of your key
points and lets the audience in a conference know
where you stand. You can restate your thesis at the
beginning of the conclusion, then go on to summarise
the key points. Your stand must always come out
clearly before you wrap up. What’s more, you must
suggest the way forward at the end.
 PICKING THE TOPIC
If the topic is not
A good position paper is given, ensure that you
◈centeredabout a go for something that
has enough points so
subject matter that has you can build a case
enough findings to and reach to as many
support it people as possible in
the conference.
◈a bit of controversy to
create an argument.
 PICKING THE TOPIC
Is the issue real, and does it
have a genuine uncertainty in
the country?
- Are there at least two
distinctive sides that you can
take?
- Can you advocate for either
of those positions?
- Can you manage the scope
of the issue, or is it too big?
.If you are a student writing
an assignment, you might
want to ignore your personal
beliefs on the matter and
focus on what can get you the
best grade. Your abilities to
give a sound and logical
argument outweigh the
subject matter, which can
range from simple to
 ISSUE CRITERIA
01 Is it a real issue, with genuine controversy and
uncertainty?
02 Can you identify at least two distinctive positions?
03 Are you personally interested in advocating one of
these positions?
04 Is the scope of the issue narrow enough to be
manageable?
 The Effects
of
Technology
Example on Youth
Taylor Orton
Any questions?
Let's work together
www.reallygreatsite.com