POSITION PAPER

 Isdevoted to a discussion of one

side of an issue.
 position paper tackles one

significant issue of a community

on which the author takes a stand.

 Position
papers are published in
academia, in politics, in law, and
other domains.
 Aims of position paper
-to convince readers to take the author’s
stand/position.
- to defend, explain and document the
reasoning behind that point of view/position.

 What makes the position paper

challenging?
-present credible evidences
Specific & Essential Parts of
Position Paper
 Issue
 Argumentative thesis
 Claim
 Evidence
Issue
animportant topic or problem
for debate or discussion

Has supporters for both

negative and positive sides
and the author chooses one
for the position paper.
Topic VS Issue
Topic is broad and can
be explored from
different perspectives.
Issue compels readers to

take a stand.
 Topic
Dress Code

 Issue
Implementing a dress code in school
Topic
 Smoking
 Fast food
 Birth control
Issue
 SMOKING
 Smoking in any public place

 FASTFOOD
 Eliminating the regular consumption of fast

food

 BIRTH CONTROL
 Distribution of birth control to schools
An issue is developed
into an argumentative
thesis that states the
stand of the author on
the issue.
Argumentative thesis
 Picks and states the side/position
 Revolves around judgments, debatable

matters and your opinion

 Strengthens and Supports by claims
Example of Argumentative thesis

The establishment of condominiums near universities should be prohibited because of the risks it poses to public
safety and the environment.
Topic

CONDOMINIUMS
ISSUE

Establishment of Condominiums near

Universities
Example of Argumentative
thesis

The establishment of
condominiums near universities
should be prohibited because
of the risks it poses to public
safety and the environment.
Claims
These are statements that
support the author’s stand.
In the previous example the
author cites risks to public
safety and the environment
as points that strengthen
his/her stand.
ARGUMENTATIVE THESIS
The establishment of
condominiums near
universities should be
prohibited because of the
risks it poses to public safety
and the environment.
Claim of Fact
 Asserts that something has existed, does
exist, or will exist.
 Debates whether it is true or false.
 It can be an assertion of the past, present, or

future.
Example

 Past
◦ Republican economic policies caused the Great
Depression.
• Present
-There is one God.
• Future
-The Lakers will win the championship this year.
Smoking in any public place
 Smoking in any public place should be
banned because smoking is harmful and
leads to a higher prevalence of cancer and
heart disease.
Smoking in any public place
Smoking in any public place should be
banned because smoking is harmful and
leads to a higher prevalence of cancer and
heart disease.
Claim of Value

 It is claiming whether something is good or

bad or the other thing is better than the other
one.
Example
 The hunger games is the best movie this
year.
Eliminating the regular
consumption of fast food
 Filipinos should eliminate the regular
consumption of fast food because a fast food
diet leads to preventable and expensive
health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, and
heart diseases.
Eliminating the regular
consumption of fast food
 Filipinos should eliminate the regular
consumption of fast food because a fast food
diet leads to preventable and expensive
health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, and
heart diseases.
Claim of Policy
 Asserts that certain policies must be
instituted as solutions to a particular
problems.
Example
 To attract more non-traditional students, this
college must review and revise its course
offerings.
Distribution of birth control to
schools
 Though some argue that distributing
condoms to teens means that schools are
encouraging sexual behavior, schools should
distribute birth control to reduce teen
pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases.
Distribution of birth control to
schools
 Though some argue that distributing
condoms to teens means that schools are
encouraging sexual behavior, schools should
distribute birth control to reduce teen
pregnancies and sexually transmitted
diseases.
Evidence
 These are proofs to strengthen the author’s
claims
Where can you get Evidence?
 Evidence from surveys, library research, and
experiments
 Evidence from informant interviews (those

who have direct experience related to the

problem/issue)
 Evidence from expert interviews