EAPP

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

WEEK 6
LESSON 3
 “I
believe…”
INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Two volunteers for each issue are needed

(one for affirmative side and one for negative
side) to elaborate the given topic.
2. You will have a somewhat “Q and A” activity
wherein the contestants need to deliver their
answers for not more than 1 minute. They
will also be allotted with 1 minute thinking
time.
3. You will be asked to give
judgment/assessment regarding the
answer of your classmates—thumbs
up if the answer is good and if it needs
improvement just type TO (That’s
Okay!).
4. The student who will answer should
start with the phrase, “I BELIEVE…”
1. What did they do to strongly
defend their answers?
2. Why one needs to take a
stand on any issue?
...it is doctrine that moves the world. He who
takes no position will not sway the human
intellect.

William Thayer Shedd

1820-I894
American theologian
 OBJECTIVES:
a) define what a position paper is;
b) identify the parts of a position
paper; and
c) determine situations in which a
position paper may be effectively
used in our present society
Position

Paper
 Debate: Got our point!
Nature of a Position Paper
Position Paper
-also called an argumentative paper or a
manifesto
- an essay that presents a person’s or
group’s position or stand on a particular issue
 Debate: Got our point!
Nature of a Position Paper
Position Paper
-it is a tool used to clarify a position, provide
ideas for negotiation, examine all sides of the
issue and practice written diplomacy
-a detailed report that recommends a course
of action
 Debate: Got our point!
Nature of a Position Paper
-its goal is to convince the reader of
the acceptability of the writer’s
position through:
a. presenting rational support to a
writer’s position using evidences
 Debate: Got our point!
Nature of a Position Paper
b. presenting counter-evidence to
or flaws in the arguments of the
opposing position; and
c. using emotional appeals
 Debate: Got our point!
Uses of a Position Paper
*Use in any kind of situation in which there is significant
issue that needs to be addressed.
 requirements in schools
 international relations
 Politics
 Expressing advocacies
 Government presenting a position paper to show their
stand on a certain issue
 Debate: Got our point!
Uses of a Position Paper
* It helps others to become aware
of certain problems in society and
possibly become more involved in
finding solution to them.
 Debate: Got our point!
Nature of a Position Paper
Examples of Various Position papers

Portugal’s Position Paper on Preventing Acquisition of Weapons of

Mass Destruction (WMDs) by Terrorist
Organisations
POSITION PAPER of
THE CONFEDERATION OF PHILIPPINE EXPORTERS FOUNDATION (CEBU)
INC. (PHILEXPORT CEBU)
on the Petition for Wage Increase by Labor Groups in Region VII
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
?
?
?
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
McWhorter (2001) explicated that a position paper contains the ff elements:
an issue, a claim on the issue, reasons to explain this claim, support for the
reasons, and opposing viewpoints.

1.ISSUE
- an idea or question over which people are divided
- also called a controversy in which people have different points of view
on the matter
-must be debatable
Ex. To legalize medically assisted suicide (i. e. allowing a suffering or
terminal patient to decide when and how to end his or her life)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
DEBATABLE
ISSUE √
UNDEBATABLE
x
Banning of plastic cellophanes in
Koronadal √
Bullying is bad. x
Extending the academic year √

Banning of GMOs (Genetically √

Modified Organisms)
Garbage’s smell affects our health. x
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
2. THESIS
- also called the claim
- statement that expresses your stand or
position on an issue (how do you feel about an
issue: are you in favour or against? Is your
position somewhere in between?
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
THESIS: Issue: Using RFID Card in KNCHS-SHS
I strongly believe that RFID is good for the
students…
√ X
In favor/Affirmative/ Against/Negative/
Opposition Side
Government Side
(I don’t believe that it will do good
(I agree… because…
It is really beneficial to…) I am against it because…)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
3. REASONS
- also called argument
-intended to explain to the reader why his or
her position is logical, acceptable and believable
(this is to persuade readers to have the same
position on an issue as the writer does)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
REASONS
Issue: Using RFID Card in KNCHS-SHS
THESIS: In favor/Affirmative/Government Side

because it will easily monitor

I am in favor with this one
students’ tardiness and absences and will be instantly
relayed to the parents.
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
4. SUPPORT
- refers to evidences or ideas to substantiate
the reasons
- it is classified into the ff types:
a. Facts – figures and writer’s own observations or
reports from scholarly studies (ex. Based on survey…)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
b. Comparisons – similarities or differences
between two ideas, concepts, or situations (ex. Our
law like in Thailand and Singapore ensures…; could
be likened to, unlike, opposite to)
c. Examples – real-life demonstration of an idea
(testimonials) (Ex. Story of an event that happened
to one’s life)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
d. Opinions – the author’s feelings or
generalizations ;personal views and
emotions (ex. I want everyone to have a
whiter skin…)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
SUPPORT
THESIS: In favor/Affirmative/Government Side

I am in favor with this one because it will easily monitor students’ tardiness and
absences and will be instantly relayed to the parents.

Based on the Survey conducted to the KNCHS-SHS advisers regarding to what extent they
could relay students’ tardiness and absences instantly to the parents, most of them or 90% of
them responded that only “seldom” they could communicate to the parents (only every
quarter).
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
5. OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS OR
COUNTERAGUMENTS
- give the arguments opposing your stand
first, then refute or discredit them, so that any
opposition in reader’s mind is dealt with (you
refute by showing weaknesses in the counterargument)
 Debate: Got our point!
Parts of a Position Paper
COUNTERARGUMEN
TS The usual printed ID is definitely cheap. It could be easily replaced
when you lose it. Also, RFID may ask for payment wherein not all could
afford it. But, all of these are just signs of being passive or
indifferent. RFID is an answer to our problem to the students who are
at risk of dropping out and could be immediately saved. Parents need to
know instantly the status of their children to know if they are really going
to school or not. We are now in the technologically-advanced world.
thus, we need to capitalize on this– for a faster and more effective
communication.
Debate: Got our point!
REFERENC
ES:
Rubrics for group activity (2018). Retrieved September 25,
2018 from
http://www.mdc.edu/sailearn/documents/4.1%20Rubric
%20Workshop%20Handout-Mary%20Allen.pdf
.
Methods of Research by Jose F Calderon, EdD,
Position paper (2018). Retrieved Septmebr 25, 2018 from
uhwo.hawaii.edu/writing/position.htm.
Webster’s Universal English Dictionary, Geddes &
Grosset, David Dale House, New Lanark, Scotland, 2006
Thank You!