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How to Write a Winning Position Paper

Edited by Anish Vedantham, October 2022

Most Model UN conferences require delegates to submit a position paper, an essay covering a country’s perspective on the assigned topics of a conference. Crafting a thorough position paper not only allows you to gain a better understanding of your country and the intricacies of its foreign policy but also to position you to earn awards, be it a best position paper recognition or by supplementing your knowledge to become best delegate. This video showcases the five things you should know about your country when writing a position paper:

An effective position paper can be broken into five simple parts:

The heading is hardly the most important part of a position paper, but it provides the Chair with a snapshot of what your paper will be about. Form should follow function, but it’s much easier for a Chair who’s been reading twenty position papers to judge a book by its cover.  By making sure that your heading is clear and organized – and by making sure that you have a header – you’ll help the dais process your paper better and win some brownie points. 

While each conference mandates what should be in the heading differently, the general rule is to include your country name, committee, topic, and delegate name. For example, if you were representing South Korea in a DISEC committee on the topic of nuclear disarmament, your heading might look something like this. 

Flags and seals are also acceptable, although they should be used sparingly and should be relatively small and not detract from the professionalism of the paper. Furthermore, when dealing with fonts, sticking to a clean, easy to read font like Times New Roman or Arial at a decent size (11 or 12 points) with 1.5 length spacing is the best and easiest for your chairs and for you to find information quickly. 

In all, your format is the first impression that you’ll make on the Chair, so it’s best to stand out by not standing out and ensure that your paper looks as normal as possible.

2. Introduction and Topic Background

Like all papers, your position paper needs a good introduction. Chairs will be reading many position papers, so starting off with a good hook will entice them to read further without skimming. Of course, starting off with a quote, a question an “interesting” fact are all very cliché, so the best way to hook your reader is by going into the topic background. 

While it may be tempting to rattle off everything you know about the topic: what’s happening, the history of the topic, the technical jargon used while discussing it, the related issues and more, it’s important to remember that Chairs value quality over quantity. To write a good topic background section, you’ll want to provide a little bit of information about the topic and then proceed to analyze it. To do this, you can employ a couple of strategies. 

One potential strategy is determining where the issue will go from here by looking at trends and analyzing obstacles to resolving it. This can help show the chair that you are synthesizing with the material and are prepared to handle the topic in committee, where you’re focusing on the present rather than the past. Another way to show that you’ve understood the topic is by breaking the issue down into sub issues. While some background guides may provide sub issues, looking further into the issues and noting the major roadblocks to resolving the issue will show your chair that you’ve understood the issue well.  

In a similar vein, make sure to read the background guide well. If your committee is on peacekeeping, you want to ensure that you’ve researched peacekeeping and not peacebuilding.

3. Past Actions by the UN

The past UN actions section of your position paper can either be a great way to stand out and score points with your committee or be relegated to obscurity. Many people tend to list resolutions or treaties that have been undertaken by the United Nations. The delegate may then proceed to explain the resolutions and treaties in depth; however, this only scratches the surface of past UN action. 

Your goal in this section is twofold: to look at past solutions – both action plans implemented by the UN and other international organizations and resolutions proposed by the General Assembly and Security Council and analyze those actions and where they went wrong. 

By examining specific actions, and looking at their successes and failures, you show the chair that you are engaging with different ideas, and this can help you brainstorm specific actions that you can take. Additionally, by looking at resolutions proposed (whether they passed or failed) you can look at what is currently in effect and what went wrong, and what could have been in effect, who opposed it, and what reasons they had to opposing it. By analyzing the actions, your Chair will have something more interesting to read than a list and explanation of the same treaties and will allow you to brainstorm viable solutions easier. 

4. Country Policy

It’s easy to assume country policy by looking at geographic region and your country’s allies or to write off policy altogether since you can’t find anything. But, claiming to be a neutral nation when you have some stake in the matter will case you to lose standing with the dais but also reduce your own enjoyment in the conference. 

When researching country policy, you should be looking both at international action (resolutions voted for/against, programs supported/been involved with) and domestic action (legislation and policies within the country). You should also look at trends to see what your country favors/doesn’t favor broadly and understand the general goals of your country – whether those be sovereignty, human rights, or a focus on Islamist principles. 

Country policy is the section that truly makes your position paper unique from others, and by taking a clear stance and by understanding your policy in depth, you’re able to form opinions and judgments from the perspective of your country on a whole host of issues whether you researched them in their entirety or not.

5. Proposed Solutions.

Solutions are by far the most crucial step in your position paper and should be the qualitatively densest part. Using the sub issues you addressed in the topic background section, the history of what has and hasn’t worked in the past UN action section, and your general philosophy and specific domestic actions from your country policy, you can begin to build an arsenal of solutions that will withstand scrutiny. 

To frame this, start by thinking of any programs that need to be removed or discontinued, as the UN is always looking to save resources. Then, shift your focus to amending current programs, such as changing the scope of a peacekeeping mission, or changing the roles of an existing organization. Finally, drop the bombshell and talk about any proposed new solutions that you might have – especially those that have worked in your country before – and explain how they will work. 

Finishing off your solutions paragraph, you should recap in brief the solutions that you’ve proposed and again highlight why they will work to resolve the issue.

A Couple Notes

• Remember: Quality over Quantity. Chairs are reading many position papers so an absurdly long one will make them tune out and lose focus. Be as concise as possible. 
• Avoid technical jargon. While a little bit of jargon will make you seem professional and using one or two Latin terms never hurt anyone; aim for comprehension. 
• Remember to cite your sources using either in text citations or footnotes.
• Reframe writing a position paper as a step in the research process rather than a chore. 

About Crisis

A crisis position paper is in some ways, remarkably different than a GA one. Many of the sections do not apply at all and others are difficult to replicate. It’s helpful to structure your crisis position papers as a letter – using personal pronouns – covering the background of the issue using the tips mentioned above, talking about your personal philosophy (political, economic, social, religious, etc.), and then addressing specific solutions you have with evidence that they will work. Crisis position papers are considerably easier and shorter than GA ones, so feel free to experiment and have fun. Especially with historical crises, take some dramatic liberties and use more poetic language to draw your reader in. Above all, remember that seeing as you’ll be thrown challenge after challenge, so a personal philosophy is much more applicable than a specific set of solutions. 

Position papers, despite their bad name, are an extremely useful tool for your Chairs and for you, so make the most out of them.  

Tackle your writing in these five sections to create a position paper that packs a punch!

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Tips for the First-Timers to Get Prepared for Their First MUN by Gizem Dikicioğlu

You did your application and then you were accepted to the conference. You got your study guide and your committee is specifically known. What will you do next? If you don’t know the answer, this article is for you!

If you’re a first-timer, you may not know the Harvard Procedure . As the procedure, the session starts with a roll call and then opening speech time comes. Before opening speeches, let’s learn what is roll-call.

Roll-call: When the Chairperson reads the names of all delegations in alphabetical order, to see if they are present. The reason why chair board takes roll-call is that committee needs a certain number of delegates in order to start. And this is called quorum .The quorum signifies the minimum number of delegates who need to be present in order to open as ession for the debate. Usually it is one-third and it may change from committee to another. In the roll-call, you may say either “Present” or “Present and Voting”. The difference is that if you say “Present” you can use 3 different rights as YES, NO and ABSTAIN while voting a resolution. However, if you say “Present and Voting”, you can’t stay abstain and you have to use your vote as YES or NO. Every session committee will start with a roll-call and you can change your status from “Present” to “Present and Voting” or or vice versa. A chart describing Roll-Call.

Well, this means you need to write an opening speech. But how can you write it correctly?

A) How To Write An Opening Speech

1- know what will you write about.

In opening speeches, delegates generally talk about how grateful they are to be in this committee. And then(in the second paragraph) you should explain your country’s approaches to the topic. Next, you can finish your speech. Here is an example opening speech:

Honorable chair board and fellow delegates;  As the delegate of Norway, we believe that reducing child mortality is crucial to our United Nations assembly. We think that the problem of children dying before the age of five is one that requires immediate attention because the death of future generations would be detrimental to the development of a society.   Under Article 6 in The Convention on the Rights of the Child by UNICEF, children have the right to live and governments should ensure that children survive and develop healthily, therefore this delegate believes that this United Nations assembly should work together in order to abide by this article.   Lack of basic health equipment, hygiene and resources have been the main contributors to higher child mortality rates, higher maternal mortality rates, and serious illnesses. Being a more economically developed country, Norway has contributed funds towards rectifying this problem and would invite other MEDC’s to do the same.   We hope for a fruitful and constructive debate in order to solve the issues. Thank you for your attention.

2- Keep It Short And Understandable

I suggest that you should keep your speech short and understandable. Because there will be many delegates, and each of them will make a speech. You don’t want to make them bored and confused. Because of that, your speech should be a maximum of 15 lines and you shouldn’t use unknown words.

3- Use Basic Word Patterns

Firstly you can start with the basics. “Honourable chair and fellow delegates…” you should write it at the begging of your speech. Then you need to explain yourself like “As the delegate of United Kingdom we’re so appreciated to be in this committee…” and after this, you should explain why you’re here like “we’re here for discussing and find solutions about combating the modern slavery”. When you are finishing your speech you can use this pattern ” We hope we can make wise decisions after considering every resolution .” These are the most useful patterns to write on opening speeches.

4- Give short information about the agenda item

In your second paragraph, you can explain the agenda item shortly. In this time you should explain your country’s approaches to this topic. For example, if your topic is “modern slavery” you can give short information like “These days, there are so many people given a meager salary by their boss. We call them modern slaves.” This is your information part.

5- Finish Your Speech Shortly

We came to your finishing part. You should finish your speech with hopes or thanks or both of them. For example ” We hope we’ll get great 3 useful days, thank you for your participation.”

You finished the first step. If your searching is done you’re ready to committee %50. The other fifty percent is GSLs and motions.

B) How To Write A GSL Speech

If you want to show yourself to the chair board, you need to have the floor each GSL and try to give motion.

In GSL you can talk about your Hope’s your thoughts or you can give information (generally you can talk about everything about agenda item). You don’t need a prepared speech. But if you think you can’t talk without reading on a paper in committee, you should prepare one.

You should keep your GSL short too. You don’t need to use your time till it ends(but if you can, it will make a good statement for you in the committee).

As the example for one of GSL’s parts:

” We realized that we’re going slowly we should start to prepare a working paper. We don’t want to waste our time so please when you give a motion, give a motion for unmoderated caucus or lobbying.”

On the other hand, you can briefly describe the importance of the issues to you and it needs to be taken care of. Or you can talk  about your country’s initiative of this issues(like what they have done or what they’re planning to do)

Here is another definition of GSL:

This list is controlled by chairs to enable the participants to make their speeches on the agenda during the formal debate. When a new topic is open, the chair will call for states which are willing to be on the speaker’s list. Chairs may open up the speaker’s list. Delegates are expected to make speeches according to the speaker’s list.

Sample GSL:

Unfortunately, Burkina Faso is among the poorest countries in the world. According to the data of UNICEF, 44% of the population lives under 1.9 dollars. However, our government has made significant progress in healthcare services. Even though lack of qualified health workers; we are trying to fight against inequalities in health. Globally, everyone deserves decent health care. To do so we need to build a new insurance system to help people who are in need of healthcare. Thank you for your attention.

Please keep in mind that you can receive questions if you have remaining time in GSL. To do so you need to accept receiving questions by opening yourself question when chair asks you.

C) How To Make/Give A Motion

If we get to the motions, you should make your motions understandable and specific. Because when you say your motion, at the same time chair board take note of your motion’s topic. Because of that, you should make it understandable for the chair board or other delegates to understand easily while you’re saying.

A motion needs to has a specific time for total and individual speakers.

As an example of this, we can give it like

” Total time being 10 minutes, individual speaker time being 1 minute”.

That means the motion’s topic that you give will be talked for a maximum of 10 minutes and each delegate can talk for a maximum of 1 minute.

You can start to your motion with a basic pattern like

” As the delegate of the United Kingdom, we would like to give a motion to have a moderated caucus for 10 minutes in order to discuss ways to fight against the modern slavery”

Your motion is needed to be voted. And you need to take votes of more than %50 delegates in the committee.  Here is a chart showing the voting system in MUN for the motions:

If your motion passes, the chairperson will ask you for being the first speaker as the proposer of this motion. You can accept or refuse this, it’s all up to you.

If you did these things you are ready for the committee.

Good luck with your first time 🙂

Also, you can easily reach me on Instagram (@gizemdikicioglu) every time you need 😉

The Writer of MUNTurkey.com

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How to Organize an MUN Conference by Umay GÖLLÜ

İnovasyon Kampı ile İlgili Bilmeniz Gereken Her Şey – Mete Kaan KOCA

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GSL – GENERAL SPEAKER’S LIST

What is the general speaker’s list.

After the initial roll-call has been taken, the committee goes into the General speaker’s list (GSL).

The General Speakers’ List (GSL) is a crucial part of any MUN conference, as it helps to ensure that everyone has an equal chance to partake in the debates and discussions in the conference. The GSL consists of delegates who take turns speaking on topics, ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard. As the General Speakers’ List is a key element of MUN, it is important to understand how it works and how it is used. In this blog post, we’ll explore what the General Speakers’ List is and how it is used in MUN conferences. We’ll also discuss the importance of the GSL and how it helps to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and respected.

MUN GSL speech examples

This is an example of a GSL – this may not be the best speech but could give you an idea of what a GSL speech may feel like

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How to Answer Questions in MUN

It is not enough to know how to ask good questions, you also need to know how to answer questions properly! Just as there are strategies to ask questions in MUN, there are also strategies to answer such questions. The following guide will teach how to answer the different types of Model United Nations question you can encounter quickly, strategically and effectively.

• Rules for Answering Questions
• Types of Answers

Introduction to Asking Questions in MUN

In Model United Nations, a question can come at any time. Questions can be asked as part of a speech, during General Speakers List (GSL) or moderated caucus speech. Stand-alone questions can be asked as a Point of Information or while on a panel of authors. In all of these cases, your answers, or lack thereof, could reflect poorly on you, or your entire block.

 If you are not properly prepared to answer a question when you are put on the stop this could reflect poorly on you as a delegate, or your entire block. This guide will help you come prepared so you have the tools to answer your next MUN question effectively.

When answering a question, always be sure to:

• Answer the actual question
• Answer as quickly as possible to the fullest
• Bring the focus back to yourself
• Don’t strengthen your case
• Refute the other side

4 Rules for Answering MUN Questions

1. answer the actual question.

Failing to answer a question will be noticed and remembered. Unless there is a better reason to completely avoid answering, try to at least give a partial answer. That should be enough to not be seen as someone who does not know the answer or cannot defend their policy.

2. Answer Quickly and Completely – to the best of your ability

While you are answering a question it is about the person asking, and not about yourself. To move on, take advantage of the new speakers’ time. Try to get them to finish as quickly as possible. It goes without saying that you should only do this if you finished answering their question already. Hard questions should get more time, as fully answering them will serve you better than partially answering. If possible, try to answer with a combination of facts and logic.

3. Bring the Focus Back to Yourself

Once answered, spend the rest of the time developing your case, and repeating your important points. If you are answering a Question to Support, your answer should be about your block. If it is a Question to Challenge, it is likely that your case will need strengthening. If it is a Question to Waste Time, saying the question is irrelevant, or giving a token answer is sufficient, before getting back to what is important. In all cases, the important part is making sure that your ideas are fresh in everyone’s minds by the time your answer is finished.

4. Minimally Engage with Parts That Don’t Help You

Be strategic. If the answer to the question does not strengthen your case, or refute the other side, you should give it as little time as possible. This is easier to do when a delegate asks you multiple questions in one POI. In such cases, you can choose where to focus and where to engage. Remember that the answer time is yours – so use it to your advantage.

6 Types of Answers to MUN Questions 

1 – the direct answer.

A direct and factual answer is especially good for Questions to Clarify and Questions to Support, but can be used for all types of questions when relevant. This does not mean your answer cannot be strategic, or that you must confess your motives, it simply means that actually answering the question will serve you better than an attempt at diversion. Try to use this type of answer when your opponents are challenging you, as it is the most concrete way to defend your resolution.

2 – Calling Out of Context

Especially for Questions to Waste Time, calling out the question on irrelevance can be a legitimate tactic. However, sometimes it is just as effective to pretend the question was better than it was. In such cases, it is suggested to reword it, answer it quickly, and bring the focus back to yourself.

3 – Partial Answer and Pivot

Especially when asked two or more questions, sometimes choosing the most convenient one and answering it can be the most effective. In these cases, answer enough to be considered a legitimate answer, and move on to what you want to discuss.

4 – Stalling

Sometimes the question you are asked required research or more time to put together a position. In these cases, giving an unclear answer, or answer which contains a question in it, might be the best option while collecting your thoughts. If possible, you can give a better answer later.

5 – Side Stepping

Politicians are especially associated with the trait of avoiding direct answers. When asked a difficult question that would have a negative answer, avoidance can be a useful tactic. This can be done by asking a different question within the speech and answering it yourself. Another option is to draw attention to a positive aspect of the topic. Convincing Model UNers with this method rarely works, but if the real answer is incriminating this may be the best option.

6 – Refusing to Answer

When all else fails, sometimes you may have to simply refuse to answer. This is extremely rare at a MUN conference, but sometimes the best option may be simply saying, “I am not answering”.

Answering questions effectively does not become second nature overnight. Improving your answering skills will take time, and you should accept that not every answer will be perfect. As seen in our article on asking questions in MUN, a good question will usually have a purpose behind it. While doing your best to answer a question, remember that most questions do not have completely right answers. You also might not have enough time to answer every part of the question in one speech.

Part of being a MUNer is thinking on your feet. Know what questions are coming and that those questions will need answers. Stand strong and answer those questions as best as you can (except for when you choose not to answer at all). Even an imperfect answer can go a long way towards achieving your block’s goals. Knowing how to answer questions can be really useful in the life we live outside of MUN as well!

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