ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES 12
4th Quarter
Week 3
LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
Division of Surigao del Sur
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Competency:
o Writes various kinds of position papers. (CS_EN11/12A-EAPPIIa-
d-5)
Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the learners must have:
o analysed the text titled “Should Homework be mandatory?”;
o wrote various kinds of position paper of a certain society issue;
and
o reflected on the importance of position paper through
answering the given questions.
Learner’s Tasks
Lesson Overview
In this lesson, you will be writing different types of position paper that will help you gain
a better perspective on an issue, and will teach you how to develop a position paper
in understanding the problems and issues of the world today. This will allow you to
share your opinions, thoughts, and arguments and to reason with factual evidence. It
aims to convince the reader believing in your argument. You will also be guided how
to assert your argument in a particular issue. Rev up your writing skills, take a stand and
assert your opinion.
WHAT IS A POSITION PAPER?
Key Points
A position paper is an essay that expresses a position on an issue. It gives arguments
that support the opinion of the writer based on the facts collected. Follow these easy
steps to develop your position paper. This outline helps you organize your paper as
easy as 123.
Introduction
You have to introduce the topic, and then provide history or background of the issue.
You may also describe the issue on-hand so do your research.
Body
You have to state the opposing argument by briefly describing them. You may also
include details that support the opposing claim. Then, after writing the counter
argument, write your argument and give your point of view. Provide evidence that
support your claim. Then, state your second argument followed by your third
argument. Make sure to provide details that support the argument given.
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Conclusion
Now, you can restate both sides of the argument, summarize the three arguments
made in your essay. Lastly, provide a call for action.
DEFENDING A STAND ON AN ISSUE AND WRITING A POSITION PAPER
Your claim is your position/stand on a particular issue, which is what you are going to
defend in your position paper. You should base your claim on what you can prove on
your evidences.
The table below shows example of issues and its possible claims/stand or position.
ISSUES CLAIM/STAND/POSITION
SOCIAL MEDIA • Social media gives negative effect on
students’ academic performance.
• Social media is helpful to students.
LEGALIZATION OF DIVORCE • Divorce should not be legalized in the
Philippines.
• Divorce will help unhappy couples to
give themselves chance to love again.
BULLYING • Bullying affect students’ behaviour in
school.
• Bullying will not affect students’
behaviour in school.
SMOKING • Smoking should be banned in public
places.
• Smoking is a choice and people should
have freedom to do whatever makes
them happy.
HOMEWORK • Homework should be mandatory to
students.
• Homework gives students less time for
recreation and family time.
To be able to defend your own stand on an issue, you have to take note of the
following:
▪ Clearly identify the issue that you believe is affecting you and your community.
You can have 2 or more issues.
▪ From the issues that you identified, take on a side that you can defend.
▪ Given the issues that you chose, identify other concepts or ideas that you can
associate with the issues.
▪ Formulate statements that will express your stand towards the issues. These
statements may convey the message that the issues are having negative
effects on people and the community.
▪ Gather factual evidences to support your arguments regarding the issue. This
evidence may be taken from official statement of the government agencies,
political leaders and academic authorities.
▪ Make sure that your statements are strong enough to convince or persuade
your readers into action to address the issue.
2
Activity 1: Analyze Me!
Directions: Read and analyze the text, then answer the questions that follows. Write
your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
Should Homework be Mandatory?
I can almost see many students nodding along with me as I ask this question.
Younger generations overloaded with home tasks and numerous assignments have
already raised this issue many times.
Yet, homework remains mandatory.
Is it fair or should it be cancelled?
I believe that homework should not be viewed as a mandatory part of
education for several reasons.
First, children spend seven hours every single work day at school. That is a huge
chunk of life, and with homework added on top of these hours, a child is left with no
time to live his life to the fullest, socialize, or grow in other areas.
Second, sitting at your desk solving problems does no good to your health. Kids
need time to get outside and have some fun, join a football league, or ride their bikes
with friends around the block. Otherwise, children will be very smart but surprisingly
weak physically.
Another argument against this position is that homework is not always the best
way to obtain knowledge quality-wise. Students tend to ask their parents or siblings for
help whenever facing difficulties. Busy parents not always willing to spend extra time
explaining school material to their little one solve the problems themselves aiming to
have more time for family, not lessons. As a result, the child will have the homework
done. But that’s really not his work. So, the whole idea of dedicating time to self-
education is lost here.
Finally, knowing that after classes you would still have to work at home makes
a kid less concentrated at school. This results in short attention spans and difficulty to
concentrate on something for too long.
All in all, homework should rather be an option. Students understanding that
they are left behind at some subjects will take their time to go over the material at
home. However, in other cases, they should have time after school for other activities.
Accessed from: (https://chiefessays.net/position-essay-examples-to-help-you-
graspthe-idea/)
1. What is the position paper all about?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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2. What is/are the claim/s of the writer?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. If you were the writer, what will be your stand? Defend your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Activity 2: My Position!
Directions: From the issues in the chart below, defend your stand by writing a position
paper with the intention of convincing your reader to support your stand. Write your
claim on the given issues. Then, choose 1 issue and write a position paper. Be guided
with the rubric. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
ISSUES STAND/CLAIM
Poverty
Legalization of Marijuana
Dating/PDA Among Students in
School
Abortion
School Uniform
5 4 3 2
Thesis Excellent Good Poor Fail
Clear thesis/position Clear thesis/position stated Clear Thesis/position is No thesis or
stated in the paper. in the introduction. thesis/position vague and could position is
stated but not in be clearer. stated in the
the introduction. paper.
Style & Excellent Good Poor Fail
Mechanics
No or minimal errors in Few errors in Grammar, Fails to use
Grammar, grammar, punctuation, & grammar, punctuation & proper
Punctuation, and spelling. punctuation & spelling errors grammar,
Spelling spelling with occur frequently punctuation
minimal distraction and distract from and spelling in
of paper's flow & the flow and paper.
main content. understanding of
the paper's
content.
4
Organization & Excellent Good Poor Fail
Structure
No or minimal errors in Few errors in Paragraph Fail to use
sentence & paragraph sentence & structure lacks proper
Proper use of structure, paragraph structure single supporting sentence &
sentence & Sentence structure is Structure aids the point, paragraph
paragraph structure strong, varied, & mature paper's Sentences are structure to
Transitions are smooth, organization convoluted & organize
Sent. & parag. flow, Sentence & wordy without paper.
advance development of paragraph structure conveying
thought. aid flow of ideas & succinct thought,
arguments, ideas Few well
are logically structured
organized. transitions.
Content & Excellent Good Poor Fail
Development
No or minimal errors in Few lapses in topic Frequent lapses in Fails to clearly
topic development, paper is development, the development state paper's
Purpose, voice & coherent & arguments are majority of paper is of topic and purpose,
topic/argument persuasive, every coherent & supporting No clear
development, level statement connects to the comprehensible, material voice/tone.
of vocabulary thesis, expands main point. Arguments are Paper is Paper's main
appropriate to topic. persuasive, most incoherent, point is
statements Lack of strong unclear &
expands main accurate, unfocused.
point. believable
examples,
Opinions are
unsupported,
Refutation Excellent Good Poor Fail
Use of counter- Clearly stated counter- Counter-arguments Refutation is No refutation
arguments. arguments which are are provided and provided but is provided.
organized and demonstrate are fairly well counter-
weaknesses/exceptions to organized and arguments are
arguments or evidence evidence is used to not organized and
discussed in paper. support them. evidence is either
Counter-arguments are not used or is
well supported. weak.
Activity 3: Let’s Get Deeper!
Directions: Answer the following questions in your paper.
1. In what ways can a position paper help address issues of a society?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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Formative Test
Directions: Carefully read the following questions and choose your answer from the
given choices. Write only the letter that corresponds to your answer on a separate
sheet of paper.
1. How can you make your position paper strong?
a. Be sure to annotate your paper
b. Give an educated and informed opinion with supporting evidences
c. Apply citations and references in the introductory part of the paper
d. Record your observations and post them in youtube.
2. The following are essential in writing the position paper, except
a. Introduce the topic
b. B. provide background on the topic to explain why it is important
c. C. assert the thesis
d. D. provide explanation but not the evidence
3. Why is a topic like 'Pollution is bad for the environment' not a good idea
for a position statement?
a. It's too controversial.
b. There is nothing to debate, everyone knows that pollution is bad for
the environment.
c. You would need a PhD to adequately gather all the information.
d. It's actually a good topic for a position statement
4. Which of the following statements is false?
a. You will need to pick a side when writing a position statement
b. You don't need to offer any alternatives when writing a position
statement.
c. You should always write a conclusion that sums up your stance on
the topic
d. Position statement essays can be about controversial topics
5. The following are questions that we can use if we require a person to
present a strong argument, which among them is not?
a. Is it a real issue, with genuine controversy and uncertainty?
b. Can you identify at least two distinctive positions
c. Is this a lengthy issue?
d. Are you personally interested in advocating one of these positions?
Answers Key
Activity 1: Answers may vary
Activity 2: Answers may vary
Activity 3: Answers may vary
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References
Learner’s Material. English for Academic and Professional Purposes. First Edition.
Department of Education - Region X Province of Cagayan de Oro.
Should homework be mandatory?. Accessed January 18, 2018.
https://chiefessays.net/position-essay-examples-to-help-you-grasp-the-idea/)
