Ian Lu, Under-Secretary General for Business
The position paper. There are those who love writing it, and there are some who don’t particularly enjoy it. The question really is: how to write a good position paper to start your conference off on a high note?
In my experience, the first and foremost key to a good position paper is a good structure. In Model UN, submitting the position paper incentivises delegates to conduct country-specific research, and can help delegates out by condensing the most relevant information into a short piece of writing. To that end, a good position paper should have at least three main things in its structure.
First, it should have a portion of writing dedicated to summarising the status quo of the topic, usually in its first paragraph. While giving a summary of the current situation, it may also be helpful to highlight several key issues that are central to the issue, which can both show to the chair your critical understanding of the topic but also help you remember the most important aspects of the debate as a delegate.
Secondly, a good position paper should ideally have a paragraph dedicated to describing delegation-specific situations within the topic. This could include information such as past efforts of the delegation, stance of the delegation, current situation, recent changes, to list a few. Research for this part of the position paper goes a long way to helping localise a very large topic to the delegation you represent.
Thirdly, a good position paper could also have a portion dedicated to your own thoughts as a delegate, such as possible solutions you may propose. For example, if you have a framework that you wish to emphasise during conference, it may be helpful to mention some components of it in this section to increase the chair’s impression of it.
At the same time, it is important to not forget about the basics! Any good position paper needs citations for the sources that you use, which can be done by having a separate footnotes page in the document. Make sure to write in a concise manner (one-pagers are great!), and refrain from turning in a stapled research booklet to your chair. Use trustable sources, and most importantly, be sure write a position paper for each topic.
Have fun writing!