Position Paper Guide

Guidelines

As the name implies, a position paper is a written piece that outlines your country’s position(s) on the topic(s) that your committee is covering. This paper should contain a complete overview of your assigned Member State or person’s perspective and provide you with an understanding of the international policy that you should be looking to create in committee. Please write a separate position for each topic that your committee is covering. Position papers representing a Member State should be written in third person; those representing an individual person should be in first person.

At the top of your position paper, please include a header that is complete with your name, your Member State or person’s name, the name of your committee, your school, and the topic it is covering. Your position paper should be loosely broken up into three main sections: historical context for your position, current steps that your Member State or person is taking in regards to your committee’s topic(s), and what your country proposes should be done in the future. Make sure to recognize relevant resolutions, declarations, and treaties as they will guide the work being done in your committee.

Position papers at FWPMUN should be 1 page in length and single-spaced with 12 point font in Times New Roman. Please cite all of your sources as footnotes in MLA format -- links are not an acceptable form of citation. Footnotes will not count towards your 1 page of research and can go over the 1 page limit. A position paper is required for you to be considered for an award, though FWPMUN does not have a position paper award. Plagiarism will not be tolerated at FWPMUN and violation of this policy will result in disqualification from awards.

A sample position paper has been provided below. Please bring a printed copy of your position paper(s) to the conference; we ask that you do not email them ahead of time. If you have any questions about position papers or otherwise, please reach out to your Head Chair(s).