While it is certainly advantageous for delegates to write position papers, they are not required for WYOMUN. You can submit your position paper under the "Position Paper Submission" tab. The only formatting requirements for position papers are that they must not be more than one page and must have a heading with the committee title, position being represented, and school. For example:
The Northern Frontier: Arctic Politics
Russian Federation
Wyoming High School
What is a position paper?
In essence, a position paper is a private summary of your position’s stance on the issue being debated in committee, including the direction you want the committee to progress in solving the problem. Writing is a position paper is an excellent way to channel the research you’ve done and prepare an action-plan for when the first committee session begins. Given the page restriction, a position paper is not a comprehensive report of all your research, but rather a refined presentation of your position’s perspective towards the issue at hand. There is no one uniform formula for arranging a position paper, but they typically adopt the following general layout:
Please submit position papers by Thursday, October 24th at midnight in order to ensure that they will be read by your chair.
All position papers should be emailed to the email listed in the chair letter of your background guide, if there is not an email listed, they may also be sent to the main WYOMUN email ([email protected]).
We get a lot of papers so you may not get written confirmation that we have received yours, but don't worry, the chairs will still read all of them!
The Northern Frontier: Arctic Politics
Russian Federation
Wyoming High School
What is a position paper?
In essence, a position paper is a private summary of your position’s stance on the issue being debated in committee, including the direction you want the committee to progress in solving the problem. Writing is a position paper is an excellent way to channel the research you’ve done and prepare an action-plan for when the first committee session begins. Given the page restriction, a position paper is not a comprehensive report of all your research, but rather a refined presentation of your position’s perspective towards the issue at hand. There is no one uniform formula for arranging a position paper, but they typically adopt the following general layout:
- Background Information- While the background guide provides a basic overview of the topic at large, the beginning of your position paper is an opportunity to briefly touch on the foundational components of the issue as they relate to the position that you are representing. It is important to make sure to be looking at the topic through the lens of your position: How does your position view the problem? How do your positions constituents view the problem? Why is that how they view the issue?
- Previous Efforts to Address the Issue- Beyond the background information, it’s especially important to include references to historical precedents and/or active operations currently working to resolve the issue that your committee is debating. There are many patterns in history, so solutions that were adopted for a similar incident in the past may shed light on possible solutions for today. Review: What steps have already been taken or programs instituted towards improving the situation at hand? How have previous programs been effective/ineffective?
- Solutions- Developing a solution to the topic being debated will consume the majority of the time in committee, so it is prudent to use the information you presented in the beginning sections of the paper to build an argument supporting a particular action plan that would address the situation. Again, given the page restriction, a lengthy dissertation is not appropriate here, but it is good to outline the key principles and points of a solution that your position would support. Consider: What other positions will have similar views? What is needed to make the solution viable? What compromises may need to be made in order to gain consensus in the committee?
Please submit position papers by Thursday, October 24th at midnight in order to ensure that they will be read by your chair.
All position papers should be emailed to the email listed in the chair letter of your background guide, if there is not an email listed, they may also be sent to the main WYOMUN email ([email protected]).
We get a lot of papers so you may not get written confirmation that we have received yours, but don't worry, the chairs will still read all of them!
| Position Paper Guidelines |