How to Write a Position Paper: Format and Example

A position paper takes one side of a debatable issue and argues for it with evidence, a fair look at the other side and a clear recommendation. In college you'll meet two very different versions: the paper an instructor assigns in a writing, policy or public health course, and the Model UN position paper a delegate submits before a conference. Both try to persuade, but they differ in length, voice and even whether you cite sources.

This guide covers both: a seven-step process, a format you can copy, an annotated example with real sources, and Model UN rules from the National Model United Nations (NMUN) guide and other conferences side by side. Each rule links to its source, so you can check it against your assignment sheet, which always wins.

What Is a Position Paper?

A position paper is a document that states where you stand on a contested question and gives the reasons a reader should agree. Stockton University's guide to position papers calls it "a type of argumentative essay" and lists three obligatory moves: take a clear stance, explain why you hold it, and argue logically. Background, sources, counterarguments and definitions are optional moves your instructor may or may not require.

You'll run into three main kinds:

Position Paper vs. Argumentative Essay

A class position paper overlaps heavily with an argumentative essay, so our guide on how to write an argumentative essay covers many of the same skills. The difference is emphasis: position papers usually center on a real policy question and end by recommending action. The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu position paper handout ends its sample outline with "provide a plan of action." Professional versions change the format too. The U.S. Army War College's position paper template presents information "in easily identified chunks for an audience with limited time," and NMUN says Model UN papers are "dissimilar in tone and presentation to academic essays."

How to Write a Position Paper in 7 Steps

To write a position paper, you pick an issue with two defensible sides, research both, commit to a specific position, outline, draft and then revise against your rubric. Here is each step in order.

Step 1: Read the Prompt and Identify the Type

Before you research anything, figure out which kind of paper you're writing and who will read it. Mark the length, citation style, required sections, audience and whether first person is allowed. Stockton's guide also suggests rereading feedback from earlier assignments, since it often shows what your instructor values.

Step 2: Choose an Issue with Two Real Sides

Pick an issue that reasonable people actually disagree about and that fits the space you have. The UH–West Oʻahu handout gives four tests: Is there genuine controversy and uncertainty? Can you identify two distinct positions? Do you want to advocate one? Is it narrow enough to manage? Most first ideas are too broad, so narrow them until you can picture both sides arguing:

Step 3: Research Both Sides Before You Commit

Read the strongest arguments on each side before you choose yours. Stockton's guide says the best position paper is one in which you challenge your preconceived notions. Make a two-column pro and con list with a source for every entry. The UH–West Oʻahu handout names four kinds of evidence to collect: factual knowledge, statistical inferences, informed opinion and personal testimony from a knowledgeable person.

When a source cuts against your side, keep it. You'll need it for your counterargument section.

Step 4: Write a Position Statement Someone Could Disagree With

Your position statement is your thesis: one or two sentences that name your stance and hint at your reasons. If no reasonable person could argue the opposite, you don't have a position yet.

• No position: "Laptops in class have pros and cons."
• Too vague: "Laptops are distracting."
• Arguable and specific: "Large lecture courses should seat laptop users in a designated section instead of banning laptops, because the clearest evidence shows harm to nearby students, not to note-taking itself."

The last version names who should act, what they should do and why, and each part can be challenged. For more practice, see our guide on how to write a thesis statement.

Step 5: Outline Your Argument

Pick two to four reasons that support your position and give each its own section, with the evidence you'll use underneath. Then decide where your counterargument goes: after your own points, or right after the introduction, as the UH–West Oʻahu outline does. The format section below shows both.

Step 6: Draft the Body, Then the Introduction and Conclusion

Write the body first, since your introduction has to preview it. Open each paragraph with a topic sentence that states one reason, give the evidence, and then explain in your own words how it supports your position. Don't let a quote end a paragraph.

For the counterargument, choose depth over coverage. The UNC Writing Center's handout on argument says "it is usually better to consider one or two serious counterarguments in some depth, rather than to give a long but superficial list." You can concede part of the objection and explain why your position still holds, or show why it's mistaken. Our guide to what a counterargument is has sentence starters for both moves.

Then write the introduction, which gives context and ends with your position, and the conclusion, which restates the position in new words and proposes a concrete next step.

Step 7: Revise Against the Rubric

Revise the argument first, then the sentences. Check that your position appears in the opening paragraph, as Stockton advises, that every body paragraph supports it, and that you stated the strongest objection fairly. If answering an objection changed your mind on a point, revise the position to match, as the UNC handout recommends. Finally, read the paper aloud and check citations and page limits.

Position Paper Format for Class Assignments

The standard position paper format for a class has four parts: an introduction that ends with your position, body sections that argue it, a counterargument section, and a conclusion that recommends action. Use this outline as a template:

1. Title: specific and, ideally, arguable on its own.
2. Introduction: a hook tied to the issue, brief background, and your position statement as the last sentence.
3. Body sections (two to four): one reason per section, each with a topic sentence, evidence and your explanation.
4. Counterargument and rebuttal: the strongest opposing view stated fairly, what you concede, and why your position still stands.
5. Conclusion: your position restated in light of the evidence, plus a recommendation or plan of action.
6. References or works cited: in the style your instructor names.

Where to Put the Counterargument

Formatting Basics

No single body sets an official academic position paper format, so your instructor's directions control. Most courses ask for APA or MLA, which settle your heading, spacing and citations; our APA style guide and MLA style guide cover the setup. If you get a wide length range, Stockton's rule works: the paper needs to be long enough to spell out your position, why you've taken it and anything else your instructor wants.

The Policy Memo Version

Some public policy, public health and military courses want a memo-style position paper instead of an essay. The Army War College template is a clear model. Under a header with the date, a FOR line naming the recipient and a SUBJECT line, it uses seven numbered sections:

1. PURPOSE: what the paper seeks to do, in one sentence.
2. POSITION: your position in one or two sentences, without justifications.
3. KEY POINTS: one sentence per bullet, in the same order as the discussion.
4. DISCUSSION: one paragraph explaining each key point with evidence.
5. ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS: opposing views presented accurately and objectively.
6. REBUTTAL: why your position is more valid, without simply restating it.
7. WAY AHEAD: the specific actions you want the reader to take.

Its reasoning applies to any audience: "a busy senior leader may only have time to read the Key Points section." If your assignment is closer to a recommendation than an argument, compare this with our policy brief example and writing guide.

Position Paper Example: An Annotated Class Paper

Below is a short position paper example in APA style for a first-year course. The studies and guidance it cites are real, so you can look each one up. The note after each part explains what it's doing. Use it to see how the moves fit together, not as text to reuse.

Laptop Zones, Not Laptop Bans: A Better Policy for Large Lectures

In a large lecture hall, open laptops are hard to miss, and some show slides while others show something else. Some instructors respond with a blanket ban, which treats every laptop as the problem. The research points somewhere narrower: the clearest harm falls on students who can see a classmate's screen, while the evidence that laptops weaken note-taking itself is mixed. Large lecture courses should therefore seat laptop users in a designated section rather than ban laptops, because a zone policy targets the documented harm, rests on stronger evidence than a ban and protects students who rely on their devices.

Note: The opening narrows the issue quickly and ends with the position. Its three reasons map onto the three body paragraphs.

Laptop use is not a purely private choice. In a simulated classroom study, Sana et al. (2013) found that students who multitasked on a laptop during a lecture scored lower on a test than those who did not, and that students in direct view of a multitasking peer also scored lower than those who were not. The second finding matters most for policy. A student who browses during class pays a cost they chose, but the classmates behind them pay a cost they did not choose. Moving laptop users to one section cuts down on how many classmates can see those screens without taking devices away from anyone.

Note: A topic sentence, one strong source, then the writer's own analysis of why the finding supports this specific policy.

A full ban, by contrast, leans on evidence that has not held up well. Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) reported that students who typed notes performed worse on conceptual questions than students who wrote by hand, and they linked the gap to verbatim transcription. If that finding were solid, it would support a ban. However, a direct replication by Urry et al. (2021) concluded that its results did not support the idea that longhand note-taking improves immediate learning. When the main argument for a ban is contested, a policy that does not depend on it is the safer choice.

Note: The writer brings in the best evidence for the other side, then uses a newer replication to show its limits. That's how you handle a source that cuts against you.

A zone policy also protects students who need their devices. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (1998) states that an instructor may not forbid a student's use of an aid if that prohibition limits the student's participation. Under a blanket ban, a student with an approved laptop accommodation becomes the only person in the room with a screen open, which can reveal the accommodation to everyone nearby. In a laptop section, that student is one of many.

Note: A primary government source, followed by a practical consequence the writer reasoned out.

Critics of zones argue that they are a half-measure, since students in the laptop section can still multitask and hurt their own learning. That is true; Sana et al. (2013) found that cost for the multitaskers themselves. But college students make many choices about how to study, and an instructor's strongest case for restricting a choice is the harm it causes others. A zone addresses that harm directly. Instructors who also want to reduce self-distraction can add short device-free activities, such as a two-minute written summary at the end of each lecture segment, without banning laptops for the whole period.

Note: The objection appears in its strongest form, the writer concedes what is true, and the rebuttal explains why the position still holds.

Laptop bans aim at a real problem with a broad tool. The evidence supports a narrower fix: separate the screens from the students they distract. Departments that teach large lectures should pilot laptop sections for one semester, explain the rationale in the syllabus and ask students at midterm whether the arrangement is working. That approach keeps the benefit of fewer distractions without the costs of a ban.

References

Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581

Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.003

Urry, H. L., Crittle, C. S., Floerke, V. A., Leonard, M. Z., Perry, C. S., III, Akdilek, N., Albert, E. R., Block, A. J., Bollinger, C. A., Bowers, E. M., Brody, R. S., Burk, K. C., Burnstein, A., Chan, A. K., Chan, P. C., Chang, L. J., Chen, E., Chiarawongse, C. P., Chin, G., . . . Zarrow, J. E. (2021). Don't ditch the laptop just yet: A direct replication of Mueller and Oppenheimer's (2014) Study 1 plus mini meta-analyses across similar studies. Psychological Science, 32(3), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620965541

U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. (1998). Auxiliary aids and services for postsecondary students with disabilities. https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/individuals-disabilities/auxiliary-aids-and-services-for-postsecondary-students-with-disabilities

Note: The conclusion restates the position in new words and ends with a plan of action instead of a summary. The Urry et al. entry follows the APA 7 rule for 21 or more authors: the first 19, an ellipsis, then the last author.

How to Write a Model UN Position Paper

A Model UN position paper explains your assigned country's policy on each committee topic and previews what it wants the committee to do. NMUN's Position Paper Guide defines it as "a document in which a Member State or Observer lays out its position on a topic," written before the conference. You aren't giving your own opinion; you're writing as the country.

What to Research First

Start with your committee's background guide, including its footnotes and further-research questions, then research your country: NMUN suggests its economy, major industries and trade, domestic policies, and allies and adversaries. UNA-USA's classic Model UN position paper guide, now archived, adds a checklist that still works. Find out:

• How the issue affects your country and what its policies are
• Actions your government has taken, plus leaders' quotes and statistics that back its position
• Conventions it has signed or ratified, and UN actions it supported or opposed
• What your country wants in the committee's resolution, and how other countries' positions affect it

The Structure Most Conferences Expect

Best Delegate's guide to writing a winning position paper breaks a General Assembly paper into five parts:

1. Heading: usually your country, committee, topic and name.
2. Introduction and topic background: brief information followed by analysis, such as sub-issues and obstacles.
3. Past actions by the UN: not a list of resolutions but an analysis of what worked, what failed and why.
4. Country policy: your country's votes and programs abroad plus its laws and policies at home.
5. Proposed solutions: which Best Delegate calls "by far the most crucial step."

NMUN papers are tighter. They have no overall introduction or conclusion, and each topic typically gets a paragraph on the situation and your delegation's priorities, one or two on the frameworks you support or oppose, and a final paragraph on the action you want.

How the NMUN Sample Paper Works

The model paper at the end of NMUN's guide, written for Côte d'Ivoire in the General Assembly Plenary, shows those paragraphs in action. On its first topic, sustainable development in the Arctic, it:

• Explains why a country far from the Arctic cares, then grounds its stance in General Assembly resolution 1803 (1962) on "permanent sovereignty over their natural resources."
• Draws on national experience, noting it has waited since 2016 for the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to confirm its own claim.
• Calls a 2013 Arctic oil pollution agreement too narrow and encourages a new binding treaty under the Arctic Council.
• Ends with calls to action, including a permanent coastal adaptation program at the UN Development Programme.

It never says "I," never uses footnotes, and moves steadily from national interest to precedent to proposal.

A Template You Can Fill In

• Header: Delegation from [Country] / Position Paper for the [Committee]
• Topic title: 1. [Topic as written in the background guide]
• Paragraph 1: [Country] considers [topic] a priority because [national stake, with one fact]. It is most concerned with [sub-issue] and [sub-issue].
• Paragraph 2: [Country] supports [framework or resolution, with year] and has [domestic action]. It believes [framework] falls short because [reason].
• Paragraph 3: [Country] calls on the committee to [proposal] and [proposal], and welcomes cooperation with [partners] on [shared goal].

Model UN Position Paper Format: How Conference Rules Differ

There is no single Model UN position paper format, and some conference rules contradict each other. Compare NMUN's guide, the Vancouver Model United Nations VMUN 2026 Position Paper Guide and Best Delegate's general advice:

UNA-USA's classic guide went the other way on several points, suggesting a country seal or "official" letterhead, footnotes or endnotes, and one to one-and-a-half pages. If your conference publishes its own guide, it overrides all of these.

How NMUN Scores Position Papers

NMUN gives separate Outstanding Position Paper awards and publishes its criteria and weights:

Papers must meet the deadline to be considered, and NMUN wants a PDF named with the committee and delegation, such as GA1_Cuba.pdf.

AI Disclosure Rules

NMUN requires a disclosure statement, alone on the third page, saying whether and how AI tools were used, including grammar checkers like Grammarly. Using AI doesn't change your review, but NMUN may leave papers without a disclosure out of its review. Other conferences set their own policies.

Common Position Paper Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Most weak position papers fail in predictable ways, and each has a quick fix:

If you'd like a second reader, a tutor can go through your draft with you, test your position against the strongest objection and explain any APA, MLA or conference rule you're unsure about. You can get feedback on your own position paper whenever you're ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Should a Position Paper Be?

Your assignment sheet or conference guide decides. NMUN caps each paper at two pages per committee, plus a third page that holds only the AI disclosure. VMUN 2026 allows one page per topic, not counting the bibliography. UNA-USA's classic guidance said one to one-and-a-half pages. Class papers vary the most, and Stockton's writing center advises making yours long enough to spell out your position, why you hold it and anything else your instructor asks for.

What Are the Parts of a Position Paper?

A class position paper usually has four parts: an introduction that ends with your position, body sections with your supporting arguments, a counterargument section with your rebuttal, and a conclusion that proposes action. Model UN papers are built differently. Best Delegate breaks them into a heading, topic background, past UN action, country policy and proposed solutions, while NMUN papers skip the overall introduction and conclusion and go topic by topic.

Can You Use "I" in a Position Paper?

In a class paper, it depends on your instructor. Stockton's writing center even lists personal experience as possible evidence, while other instructors want third person throughout, so check the prompt. In a Model UN country paper, NMUN says to avoid first person and refer to your delegation in the third person, as in "Germany believes." VMUN 2026 allows "we" for countries and "I" only in committees where you play an individual.

Do Model UN Position Papers Need Citations?

Only if your conference asks for them. NMUN says not to use footnotes, endnotes or in-text citations, though you still put quotation marks around borrowed wording and name its source in the sentence. VMUN 2026 requires an MLA bibliography that doesn't count toward the one-page limit. Best Delegate's general advice is to cite with in-text citations or footnotes. When guides disagree, your own conference's guide is the one that counts.

Is a Position Paper the Same as an Argumentative Essay?

Not quite, though they overlap a lot. Stockton's writing center calls a position paper a type of argumentative essay. The differences are emphasis and format: position papers usually tackle a live policy question and end with a recommended course of action, and professional versions, like the Army War College template, split the argument into labeled sections for busy readers. Model UN papers sit further away, using diplomatic language in a country's voice.

How Do You Start a Position Paper?

Start with the issue itself. Give the reader a specific case, fact or tension that shows why the question matters now, add only the background needed to follow your argument, and then state your position. Stockton's guide says to put your opinion in your opening paragraph. For Model UN, Best Delegate calls opening quotes and questions cliché and suggests hooking the chair by going straight into the topic background.

Can I Use AI to Write a Model UN Position Paper?

Check your conference rules first. NMUN doesn't ban AI tools, but it requires a disclosure statement on the third page of every paper saying where, if at all, you used them, including grammar tools like Grammarly, and it may leave papers without one out of its review. NMUN also says a paper drafted by a well-prepared delegate is likely to stand out against an AI-generated draft. For class papers, follow your syllabus and school policy.