EAPP REVIEWER

Position Paper

Position Paper: also called argumentative paper or manifesto is an essay that presents a
person’s or group’s position or stand on a particular issue.

Uses of a Position Paper

a. Are used in any kind of situation in which there is a significant issue that needs to be
addressed
b. Requirement in schools, in international relations and politics
c. Helps others to become more aware of certain problems in society and possibly become
more involved in finding a solution to it.

Parts of a Position Paper according to McWhorter

1. Issue: an idea or question which people are divided, also called controversy
2. Thesis: the claim, is a statement that expresses your stand or position on an issue
3. Reasons: also called arguments, it is important to state the reasons in order to
explain to the reader why his or her argument is logical, acceptable and believable. \
4. Support: refers to evidence or ideas to substantiate the reasons. May be classified
into the ff:
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: also known as counterarguments, give the arguments

opposing your stand so that any opposition in the reader’s mind is dealt with.

Logical Appeals
Logical Appeals: use of facts in order to support a position; persuades the audience
by targeting their audience

Types of Arguments based on Evidence

1. Argument from transitivity: two classification statements serve as premises

which then serve as the basis for the argument ,presented in a form of a
conclusion as in A is B; B is C; thus A is C
2. Argument from incompatibility: presents two contradictory choices, such as
the choice one means the exclusion of the other.
3. Argument from reciprocity: 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: argues that two situations will have the same
outcome because of the similarities between these situations.
5. Argument from generalization: using one member of a population to make
conclusions about an entire population
6. Argument from examples: using a group of examples- sample from that
population to serve as your basis
7. Argument from cause: posits that’s A is caused by B, which means the
presence of A (cause) will mean the presence of B (effect)
- Strong cause: the occurrence of the cause guarantees the existence of the
effect
- Weak cause: the occurrence of the cause is necessary for the effect to
occur.
8. Argument from sign: uses a sign or indicator X to argue for the existence of
condition of Y.

Emotional Appeals
Emotional Appeals: use of the audience’s feelings for the subject of the paper
such as angel, pity, and aversion in order to persuade

Types of Emotional Appeals

a. Bandwagon/ join the crowd: uses people’s tendency to conform to the
majority
b. Appeal to common folk: 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
c. False authority: in which a person speaks as expert on something on which
he/she has no expertise.
d. Name calling/ ad hominem: uses labels with negative meanings to cast
one’s opponent in a bad light
e. Association: done by creating a link between one thing or idea and another
one that people have positive/ negative feelings for

Types of Position Paper

a. Business
b. Technology
c. Professional
d. Artistic
e. Political
f. Scientific
g. Educational
 TYPES OF CLAIMS

Claim of Fact: A fact claim is a statement about how things were in

the past, how they are in the present, or how they will be in the future.
A fact claim is not a fact; it only claims to be a fact. For example, "The
Earth is round" is a fact claim. "In our right-handed world, left-handed
people are discriminated against" is a fact claim. A persuasive
speaker must provide arguments which build a case in favor of the
claim, showing that the claim is probably true.

Claim of Value: are arguable statements concerning the relative

merits of something which is measured subjectively (e.g., "Hawaii is a
better place to go for summer vacation than Colorado."). What makes
a value claim arguable is that different people may disagree on the
criteria used to evaluate something (e.g., weather, live
entertainment,water sports)

Claim of Policy: is a statement regarding the merits of a course of

action. What makes it arguable is that, even though people may not
be totally certain about the proper course of action to take, they still
must act. For example, “The death penalty should be abolished in
Illinois.”

EXAMPLES:

Fact claim: Heartland relies less on state taxpayer funding than ISU.

Value claim: Heartland is a better school than ISU.

Policy claim: Students in Heartland’s district should do their first two years there before
transferring to a two year school.

Fact claim: The death penalty does not deter crime.

Value claim: Capital punishment is unjust.

Policy claim: The death penalty should be abolished in Illinois.