Lesson 1: Defining and Analyzing the 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
 Its goal is to convince the reader of the acceptability of the writer’s position and it does by:
1. presenting rational support to a writer’s position, through the use of evidence;
2. presenting counter-evidence to or flaws in the arguments of the opposing position; and
3. using emotional appeals
Uses of a Position Paper
A position paper does more than expressing a group’s or a person’s sentiments on an issue; it also helps others to
become more aware of certain problems in society and possibly become more involved in finding solution to it.
PARTS OF A POSITION PAPER
1. Issue
An issue is an idea or question over which people are divided. It is also called a controversy
*Some ideas are not debatable –people have the same view about it.
For example, that exercise is good for the health and smoking is bad are noncontroversial ideas.
* In contrast, the question of whether to legalize medically assisted suicide (i.e. allowing a suffering or
terminal patient to decide when and how to end his or her life) is an issue.
2. Thesis
Also called the claim, is a statement that expresses your stand or position on an issue. This expresses how you
feel about an issue: are you in favor of or against it? Is your position somewhere in between?
3. Reasons
A position paper seeks to persuade readers to have the same position on an issue as the writer does. Thus, it’s
important for the writer to state the reasons in order to explain to the reader why his or her position is logical,
and believable. Another term for reasons is arguments.
4. Support
Support refers to the evidence or ideas to substantiate the reasons.
Support may be classified into the following types:
a. Facts - figures and the writer’s own observations or reports from scholarly studies
b. Comparisons – similarities or differentiation between two ideas, concepts, or situations
c. Examples – real-life demonstration of an idea
d. Opinions - the author’s feelings or generalizations
5. Opposing viewpoints or counterarguments
Also known as counterarguments, give the arguments opposing your stand. Your goal in presenting these is to
refute or discredit them, so that any opposition in the reader’s mind is dealt with. You refute by showing
weaknesses in the counterargument.

Lesson 2: Writing a Position Paper

STEPS IN WRITING A POSITION PAPER
STEP 1: CHOOSING AN ISSUE FOR A TOPIC
Issues around us: we see them in the problems that we have in society and perhaps even in our own experiences.
Questions to consider:
 Is there a particular problem in your community that you feel strongly about?
 Are you a member of a cause-oriented group?
STEP 2: COLLECT INFORMATION ON THE ISSUE
Gathering of information can help you decide on your position or claim and this step can help strengthen your
position.
What is important is that you get information on both sides of the issue. Gather information that will give you a
strong understanding of the issue such as answers to basic reporter question (who, what, when, where, why)
Your position may be supported through two major types of appeals:
 Logical Appeals – This is the use of facts in order to support a position; it persuades the audience by targeting
their thinking
 Emotional Appeals – This is the use of the audience’s feelings for the subject of the paper –such as anger, pity,
and aversion –in order to persuade. It may also refer to values that the reader may identify with, such as the
importance of family ties, hospitality, and the bayanihan spirit.
LOGICAL APPEALS: THE USE OF EVIDENCE AND LOGICAL REASONING
Arguments explain why a claim is correct and believable. They are usually generalizations that are made on the
basis of supporting evidence such as facts, comparisons, examples, and the writer’s experiences, as earlier mentioned.
TYPES OF ARGUMENTS ACCORDING TO REASONING BASED ON EVIDENCE
1. Argument from transitivity
Involves three terms associated through the process of classification. In this type of argument, two classification
statements serve as premises which then serve as the basis for the argument, presented in the form of a conclusion as in
A is B, B is C, thus, A is C.
In order to check the soundness of our argument, we have to consider the following:
 Are there only three terms? If there are more, the association of terms becomes muddled.
 Is the middle term consistently used? The middle term is the term that serves as B –the link between A and C,
which in this case is the term “antioxidant”. This term must have the same meaning in the two premises for the
argument to be valid.
 Are all premises correct? If one of them proves false, then the whole argument becomes valid.
2. Argument from incompatibility
Presents two contradictory choices, such that the choice of one means the exclusion of the other.
Thus, if something is A it cannot be, B; if it is B, it cannot be A, for A and B cannot be combined –they are incompatible.
3. Argument from reciprocity
This argument says that individuals and situations that can be put together under the same category should be
treated in the same way.
4. Argument from comparison
This argues that two situations will have the same outcome because of the similarities between these situations.
In order to check the soundness of our argument, we have to consider the following:
 Do the entities belong to the same category? In the example, we can say that both Philippines and Vietnam are
countries.
 Are the two entities sufficiently similar to justify the conclusion? We might say that both countries share
similarities in terms of economic development, as they are both developing countries, which may have an effect
on the population of both countries.
 Is there any significant dissimilarity to undermine the conclusion? If there is such, the our argument may
become invalid. For instance, consider both countries’ religions. Do they have the same set of beliefs about
human life? If they have different values then such a dissimilarity will be significant enough to invalidate the
argument.
5. Argument from generalization
This argument use one number of a population to make conclusions about the entire population.
6. Argument from examples
Argument from examples is similar from generalization in that conclusions are made about an entire population.
The difference is that instead of using only one member as basis, in argument from examples you use a group of
examples –a sample –from that population to serve as your basis.
To test argument from examples, we must ask the following questions:
 Is there a sufficient number of examples to justify the conclusion? We need to consider how large the sample
group is compared to the population that it represents.
 Are there any counter-example? Counter examples are examples that show the opposite of what is being
concluded. They are very effective in weakening arguments from examples.
7. Argument from cause
An argument from cause posits that A is caused by B, which means that the presence of A (cause) will mean the
presence of B (effect).
There are two types of causes:
1. Strong cause or sufficient cause
The occurrence of the cause guarantees the existence of the effect.
2. Weak cause or necessary cause
The occurrence of the cause is necessary for the effect to occur.
8. Argument from sign
This argument uses a sign or indicator X to argue for the existence of condition Y.
EMOTIONAL APPEALS: THE USE OF EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS TO MOVE PEOPLE
Types of Emotional Appeals according to McWhorter (2001)
 Bandwagon or “join-the-crowd” appeal
The writer uses people’s tendency to conform with the majority, pointing out his or her position enjoys
from many people.
 Appeal to common folk
The persuasion is done by pointing out that a person is no different from ordinary people , or, that a
product or idea is something that ordinary people would purchase or support.
 False authority
A type of false reasoning in which a person speaks as expert on something on which he/she has no
 expertise, as when an actor claims that he/she proved the efficacy of a brand of medicine through laboratory
tests (as if he/ she were a pharmacist or chemist).
 Naming calling or “ad-hominem”
Name calling uses labels with negative meanings to cast one’s opponent in a bad light, as when a
politician calls her opponents idiots.
 Association
This is done by creating a link between one thing or idea and another one that people have a positive or
negative feelings for.

Step 3: ORGANIZE THE CONTENT

Introduction
Basic REPORTER Question: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY
Goal: To provide the reader with a background of the issue under discussion.
An excellent introduction is one that is thorough, clear, and accurate. This mean:
 All the basic reporter questions have been covered.
 All the concepts, definitions, narratives, and other explanation regarding the issue are stated clearly; there are
no unclear or confusing ideas.
 And that all the details relevant to the topic—for example, the names of persons, places, and dates—are
correct.
Key words to summarize the content of the body:
While corporal punishment may be immediately effective, it has a negative impact on children’s self-esteem and social
skills in the long term.
Present the opposing viewpoint.
The goal, however, of presenting opposing arguments is so that you can overcome or refute them by pointing out their
flaws and weaknesses. You can do this by doing the following:
1. showing errors in the opposing side’s reasoning,
2. pointing out negative consequences of the opposing position,
3. showing inadequacies of its evidence, and
4. arguing that the value espoused by the opposing side do not agree with the value upheld by the readers.
Thus, an excellent presentation of the opposing viewpoint should be able to do the ff:
 thoroughly cover all the arguments raised by the other side,
 Adequately explain the support for those arguments, and
 Convincingly show that the opposing sides should not be believed
Present your Arguments
 Clearly state the reasons for your claim
 Adequately support your reasons. Use both logical and emotional appeal. Employed a variety of supports to
make your case both convincing and interesting.
 Do not forget to cite sources and properly document them, as this adds to the credibility of your paper.
Present the Body Arguments
 Present your position.
 Summarize the opposing viewpoint.
 Point out the weaknesses of the opposing viewpoint.
 Conclude by summarizing your arguments and reiterating your position.