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1 Choose a topic
The first step in writing a position paper is choosing your topic. You may be assigned a topic, or you may
need to develop a topic yourself. In either case, a good topic for a position paper is one that allows you
to take a definable, defendable stance that you can back up with relevant data. This is why thoroughly
researching your topic is critical to writing a strong position paper—which we’ll explore further in the
next section.
2 Conduct research
Once you’ve determined your paper’s topic, the next step is to do a deep dive into it. At this stage, you
may not have a clear position yet—that’s perfectly fine. You’ll determine your position by researching
the subject.
Consult sources that support multiple positions on your topic. This way, you can find any logical fallacies,
misunderstandings, and other shortcomings behind various positions one can take on the subject.
Through your research, determine the most logical position to take in your paper. Remember, though,
that a position paper isn’t based on opinions—although you’re taking the position that best reflects your
understanding of the topic, you need to support that position with credible facts.
3 Write a thesis
Once you’ve determined the position you’ll take in your paper, write your thesis statement. Your paper’s
thesis statement is the sentence that concisely states the position the rest of your paper will support.
After you write a thesis statement, you need to challenge it. Arguing against your thesis statement in
good faith demonstrates that you understand the topic from all angles and support your position from a
place of logic and careful reasoning.
5 Collect supporting evidence
Including quotes from experts in your position paper can be beneficial, but be careful to avoid the
appeal to authority fallacy. Their expertise must be directly relevant to your position, as do the quotes
you include. An example of a relevant quote would be an excerpt from a pediatrician’s research on
adolescent circadian rhythms in a position paper supporting later starting times for high schools. An
irrelevant quote would be a parent’s anecdote that their teen often sleeps late and misses the bus.
While this anecdote may be true, it’s not a researched or tested fact from an expert.
Introduction
In the introduction, hook your reader with an engaging opening, then introduce your thesis statement.
Then, briefly include your supporting argument.
Body paragraphs
The body paragraphs are where you support your thesis statement. You can include as many paragraphs
as you need, but remember that a position paper is typically a short piece of writing. Include one body
paragraph per argument—including counterarguments. In each counterargument paragraph,
demonstrate the flaws in the counterargument using relevant, credible facts and figures.
Be careful to strike a balance between paragraphs supporting your position and paragraphs discrediting
counterarguments. Overall, your paper should do more supporting than discrediting because the focus is
your position’s strength, not its opposition’s weakness.
Conclusion
In the final section, restate your position and summarize your argument. You don’t need to restate your
thesis statement word for word, but you should reinforce it here with a summary of the points you
made in your paper’s body paragraphs.
Before you begin to write, determine who will read your position paper. This will help you choose the
right tone to use and which details and sources to include. A position paper meant to be read by others
in your industry, for example, can use a more technical tone and include more jargon and industry-
specific knowledge than a position paper you plan to publish for a wider audience.
Once you’ve determined your paper’s audience, figure out which sources make sense for that audience.
If it’s an academic position paper, support your thesis statement with scholarly sources. If it’s a
professional paper, support your thesis with industry-relevant statistics and insights from key leaders.
And if you’re publishing your position paper as a blog post or opinion piece to be read by the general
public, be sure to use sources that will resonate with them.
Weave your sources into your paper. You can use direct quotes, paraphrasing, or both. Including
credible sources, both in support of and against your position, demonstrates that you did your research
and can back up any statement you make or refute others’ claims.
A strong position paper takes a clear position on a topic that people can disagree about. When there’s
no disagreement about a topic, it’s difficult to write a compelling position paper.
For example, a position paper about why humans need to drink water wouldn’t be very compelling.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees with your position that everyone needs to drink
water every day. A better topic for a position paper would be whether it’s more harmful or beneficial for
people to drink coffee every day because there is detailed research to support both positions.
It’s not enough to include references; you need to cite your sources as well. In most cases, you’re
required to include a bibliography that lists the sources you used to research your position paper. Even
when this isn’t a requirement, citations show that you have credible sources to support your position.
Proofread
As with any other type of writing, proofread your position paper before you send it to your professor,
colleagues, or supervisor, or before you publish it on your LinkedIn profile or website. A spelling or
grammatical mistake can undermine your position—and it takes only a second to fix.
In many ways, a position paper is similar to an argumentative essay, with the key difference being their
goals. An argumentative essay’s goal is to sway the reader’s opinion on its topic by guiding them through
a nuanced, balanced look at various positions, leading them to the position the author supports. A
position paper is a shorter piece of writing that spends less time exploring opposing positions and
instead simply presents the reasons the author holds their position.
A position paper is a type of academic writing that supports an author’s or organization’s position on a
topic through statistics, facts, and other pieces of well-researched, relevant evidence.
Professional areas that use position papers include legal, research, healthcare, government, and
organizational policy.
A position paper states a position and supports it through evidence from credible sources. An
argumentative essay has a broader scope and generally presents its position as a reasoned argument or
question rather than as an evidence-driven position.
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/position-paper/#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20a
%20position,writing%20tools%20in%20academic%20assignments.