Defending a Stand
Guidelines in Defending a Stand Effectively
More often than not, daily conversation
includes the challenge of presenting personal opinion
and supporting your claim to establish a sensible
exchange of information and persuade listeners that
you are an effective speaker. The same is true with
writing. The need to present your ideas in a manner that
is convincing requires enough knowledge and effort of
reading and researching just so you could present a
sensible paper.
Sharing opinion on an issue does not end on
stating it but making sure that you take a stand and
confidently defend them to convince others of the
soundness of your position. This is where you strive to
convince readers to accept your opinions as valid and
reasonable. To achieve this, you need to balance the use
of emotional appeal and intellectual appeal to sway
your readers.
Analyzing an Issue and Defending an Argument
Make sure that the issue is of genuine
controversy and uncertainty. Then start conceptualizing
at least two distinct positions. Decide which side are
you personally interested in. Lastly, see to it that the
scope of the issue is narrow enough to be manageable.
Once you have finally established your stance
on an issue, the challenge of presenting a strong
argument is just beginning to heat up. This time you
need to tap on your innate ability to reason out and
defend your side. You can do this with the help of
comprehensible researches and factual evidences that
would strengthen your claim. Ensure that your position
is well supported. Listing the pro and con sides of the
topic will help you examine your ability to support your
counterclaims along with the list of supporting
evidences for both sides. Generally, supporting evidence
includes the following:
 Factual Knowledge – information that is
verifiable and agreed upon by almost everyone
 Statistical Inferences – interpretation and
examples of an accumulation of facts
 Informed Opinion – opinion developed
through research and/or experiences of the
claim
 Personal Testimony – personal experience
related by a knowledgeable party
Many of these sources can be located online through
electronic database or on the Web. You may be able to
retrieve the actual information electronically or you may
have to visit the library to find the information in print.
You do not have to use all of the above supporting
evidence in your paper. This is simply a list of various
options available to you.
Knowing your Reader
Considering your readers in presenting your
view point also plays a vital role in convincing them that
your argument is valid and defensible. This simply
means that you have to know their way of thinking.
Understand their background including their beliefs and
interests. With this, you can make specific decisions on
presenting your arguments. As a result, you could
employ appropriate word choice and explain terms
accordingly. This will also help you identify effective
supporting details you need to convince your readers.
In doing so, these guide questions will help you
discover information that you can use to build common
ground between you and your readers. Moreover, it
would be easier for you to narrow your arguments on
points of their interest and will surely convince them to
be on your side.
1. Who is your audience?
2. What do they believe?
3. Where do they possibly stand on the issue?
4. How are their interest involved?
5. What evidences is likely to be effective with
them?

Writing an Argument
Arguments should always be carefully defended
with good reasoning and supported by plenty of
research. Part of learning to write an argument is
finding reliable sources or other documents that lend
credibility to your position. However, you also need to
remind yourself that you will not always win.
The goal of an argument is not to win a debate
but to make a claim and support it with credible
reasoning and evidences. Make sure you will not
compromise readers understanding along the process.
The diagram below will guide you in effectively
presenting your arguments. Study and follow the guide
to come up with your own comprehensible argument.
You can also follow this outline to comprehensively
present the arguments of your claim:
Your Argument
A. Assert your point #1 of your claims
1. Give your educated and informed opinion
2. Provide support/proof using more than one
source (preferably 3)
B. Assert your point #2 of your claims
1. Give your educated and informed opinion
2. Provide support/proof using more than one
source (preferably 3)
C. Assert your point #3 of your claims
1. Give your educated and informed opinion
2. Provide support/proof using more than one
source (preferably 3)
Note: You may have more than 3 overall points to your
argument, but you should not have fewer.
Writing a Position Paper
Asserting your point on a certain issue by giving
unsubstantial details won’t make an effective argument.
Ideally, presenting facts and evidences would highly
support a stand to make a point and influencing a
course of action. Thus, learning how to write a position
paper is vital in using your voice as an effective means
of change.
Position Paper
A position paper presents one side of an
arguable opinion about an issue. The goal of a position
paper is to convince the audience that your opinion is
valid and defensible. Ideas that you are considering
need to be carefully examined in choosing a topic,
developing your argument, and organizing your paper.
It is very important to ensure that you are
addressing all sides of the issue and presenting it in a
manner that is easy for your audience to understand. It
is important to support your argument with evidence to
ensure the validity of your claims, as well as to refute
the counterclaims to show that you are well informed
about both sides.
What are the purposes in writing a position paper?
1. to explain sensitive or controversial subject,
2. to criticize actions, decisions or situations,
3. to commend people or organizations for doing things
right, 4. to persuade people to follow a course of actions,
and
5. to propose a better solution to a problem or issue.
Parts of a Position Paper
1. Introduction (1 paragraph – around 20% of the
paper)
a. Contains the issue or situation to be discussed.
b. Present facts and may include statistics of the issue.
c. Establish your position on the issue.
8. Cite laws or relevant principle in your main
arguments, if possible, provide with statistics.
9. Use ethical, logical, and emotional appeal to evoke
readers.
10.Assert values that adhere to as a democratic country.
11. Restate your stand to conclude your paper.
12. Present your conclusion either to call for action or to
provide a solution.

2. Body (1 to 3 paragraphs – around 60% of the paper)

a. Provide main arguments containing 4E’s (Evidence,
Explanation, Example, and Extra details).
i. evidence provides facts and statistics to support your
stand
ii. explanation provides reasons to support your
evidences
iii. example provides a few statements for clearer
information
iv. extra details provide quotes or statement of some
experts

b. Provide counter arguments or opposing thought of

your stand.

c. Follow this pattern when presenting arguments

through a paragraph.
i. Stand – Weak point – Stand
ii. Weak point – Stand – Stand
iii. Stand – Stand – Weak point

3. Conclusion (1 paragraph – around 20% of the paper)

a. Restate your position of the issue.
b. Provide a plan of action or a solution.
c. Make your ending statement with views that
would resonate throughout the reader’s lives.

Additional Tips in Writing a Position Paper

1. Present clearly your stand on the issue.
2. Make your introduction as interesting as possible to
arouse interest and gain support.
3. Use transitional devices to carry a thought from
sentence to another.
4. Observe grammar and mechanics (spelling,
capitalization, and punctuations)
5. Fact-finding and research the topic to gain more
knowledge.
6. Present weak points of your argument but make sure
your claims are more substantial.
7. Credit reliable sources for the credibility of your
paper.