Model United Nations Position Paper Guidelines
Purpose: A Position Paper helps with the opening statement each delegate SHOULD make. This allows other countries
to understand your position and to decide what is needed in order to reach a solution.
Structure: It is a ONE PAGE LONG, 3 paragraph essay. It should be in: font Times New Roman, size 12 and the margins
should not be altered.
The following are the guidelines which MUST be followed for a position paper:
Heading:
• At the top of the page, Left hand side
• Single spaced
• In the following order:
o Country: ____________________.
o Committee: ____________________.
o Topic: ______________________.
First Paragraph: (Introduction)
• This paragraph should mainly describe the issue. Basic terms should not be defined here as it is the role of each
person in the committee to have an understanding of AT LEAST the basic terminology needed to function in debate
• This paragraph illustrates the reason why the debate is taking place (human right violations, war, nuclear weapons,
etc). It should be explained WHY it is a problem and why the UN must come together to deal/solve the issue.
• It should not include a country’s position, specific issues/problems, information or anything that is specific to a given
nation. Think GLOBAL AWARENESS!
Second Paragraph: (Your Country’s Position)
• This paragraph is where your country’s position should be stated.
• By position it meant
o you are in favor/ against a given event,
o you are being affected by the situation or not,
o the situation has been/ is seen in your nation,
o Your nation has dealt with this or a similar occurrence
• It is CRUCIAL for this paragraph to have support. It has to be descriptive enough to allow other delegates to
understand the position of your nation (since they might or might not know anything about it).
• This paragraph will be very useful in the opening statement, defining your position in the debate and orienting the
committee as to the possible solutions for the issue at hand.
• No unnecessary information should be included. Facts must be explained and not merely listed. PLEASE DO NOT
COPY-PASTE (this is plagiarism and we will report you). First it usually doesn’t make sense. Second, you will
definitely not get best delegate. Third, unless you understand ADVANCED international relations terms it won’t help
you in the debate.
Last Paragraph: (The solutions)
• What is meant by a solution?
o It should make sense. Although we all wish for poverty and hunger to end, it’s not realistic to propose this as a
solution. Don’t make up silly solutions (this will only discredit your opinion in a committee)
o Think global and local. What can a group of countries do TOGETHER to solve/prevent the problem? Also, think
about your country! The solutions you propose MUST help your country in realistic ways.
o Be careful with legal violations (constitutions, treaties, or other types of agreements) which must be respected
and cannot be overlooked.
o Remember the main goal of the UN is to use dialogue. Simply declaring war, bombing a country or any other
type of violence goes against the beliefs and purpose of the UN.
• CITE YOUR SOURCES (please no Wikipedia or yahoo answers, try something a little more professional).
Created by: Gloriana Ordóñez, 2010
