EAPP

Reviewer ni Prins

[Elements of a Position Paper: Stand, Claims and Arguments]

STAND -- Position held on a specific issue.

CLAIMS -- Statements that supports the author’s stand.

ARGUMENTS -- Coherent reasoning or statements supporting a stand. is usually a

main idea, often called a “claim” or “thesis statement,” backed up with evidence that
supports the idea.

POSITION PAPER -- Discussion of one side of an issue. Is a type of academic writing

in which the author presents his or her position on a debatable issue and defends or
supports it with evidence (Quipper School, 2021).
This type of paper is used in academics, law, and politics and is usually one to
one-and-a-half pages in length.
It contains factual arguments to support the one-side claim or position
statement, but this will not limit the paper to present just only the strength but also
the weakness of the position statement.

THESIS -- States the stand of the author.

ASSERTIONS -- Opinions that people may or may not agree with.

OPPOSITION -- Negation of a position.

FACTUAL STATEMENTS -- information that can be proved true through objective

evidence: physical proof or the spoken or written testimony of witnesses that can be
checked for accuracy and thus proved as true.

OPINION -- belief, judgment, or conclusion that cannot be objectively proved true

and is open to questions. It is also important to support your arguments with factual
evidence to ensure the validity of your claims, as well as your counterclaims.

3 TYPES OF CLAIMS:
1. Claims of Fact -- are pieces of information which are grounded on reliable
authority such as science and history.
Example: Capital punishment does not deter crimes.
2. Claims of Value -- are pieces of information that are focused on relative judgment
such as goodness or badness, and these are addressed based on standards.
Example : Death penalty is inhumane.
3. Claims of Policy -- are specific statements on procedures or laws that need to be
modified based on certain issues or conditions. Most of the time, claims of policy ask
for plans of action to solve current problems.
 Example: Death penalty should not be legalized in the country.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING -- the author begins with general statements or premises

before arriving at a specific conclusion. The general statements are assumed to be
true for the conclusion to be considered logical.
Example: The Administrative Assistant position requires Civil Service Eligibility.
I am a Professional Civil Service Eligible, so I am qualified for the said position

INDUCTIVE REASONING -- the author begins with specific statements that lead to a
general conclusion. He or she begins by stating some data or facts, and then thinks
about which general theory or idea would best explain those facts or data.
Example: I am a Professional Civil Service Passer. The Administrative Assistant
position requires Civil Service Eligibility. Therefore, I am qualified for the said position.

MANIFESTO -- is a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or

views of its issuer (Merriam-Webster).
It functions both as a statement of principles and as a call to action (Fabrega,
2016).

ASSUMPTION -- is information not stated in the argument that has to be true in

order for the argument’s logic to hold. Simply put, an assumption is something an
argument takes for granted in reaching its conclusion.

EVIDENCE -- is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief

or proposition is true or valid.

[Writes Various Kinds of Position Papers]

 The main purpose of a position paper is to persuade readers to take the position
of the writer. The position paper presents a unique approach to solve a problem
based on what the writer believes in and agrees with.

AUDIENCE -- The audience is a very important consideration to take into account in

writing a position paper.

PARTS OF A POSITION PAPER:

1. Introduction
a) Start with an introduction which presents the issue while grabbing the
attention of readers.
b) Define the issues and discuss its background.
c) Provide a general statement of your position via your thesis statement.
2. Body / Content
a) State your main arguments.
b) Provide sufficient evidence for each argument such as statistical data,
interviews with experts, and testimonies.
c) Provide counterarguments against the possible weaknesses of your
arguments.
3. Conclusion / End Statement
a) Restate your position and main arguments.
b) Suggest a course of action.
c) State what makes your position paper superior and more acceptable,
d) End with a powerful closing statement such as quotation, a challenge, or a
question.

STAGES OF WRITING A POSITION PAPER:

1. Pre-writing Process -- Before writing a position paper, you must (1) identify the
issue to be discussed. The issue must be interesting, valid, and specific. The issue
must also have two identifiable positions or sides – either in favor or against the
claim or position statement. (2) Research both positions and (3) collate the
arguments, scholarly articles and in-depth studies from academic books and
journals. During this stage, the author writes the introduction, the body, and the
conclusion of the position paper.
2. Writing Process -- During this stage, the author writes the introduction, the body,
and the conclusion of the position paper.
3. Revising -- It is important because it is necessary for the author to go over his or
her work and spot the mistakes and take the chance to improve his or her paper. In
this stage, the author develops his or her ideas further and ensures the mistakes and
fallacies have been attended to.

Considerations the author should look into during this stage:

1. Content – Is the author able to support the position fully? Should he or she
provide more information?
2. Language – Has the author used formal language? Is the language biased? Does he
or she use the right words?
3. Organization – Do the ideas flow smoothly from one sentence to another or from
one paragraph to another? Are there any transitional devices used in order to make
sure that the paragraphs are coherent and cohesive?
4. Mechanics – Are there any grammar or spelling errors? Are there words that
should be capitalized?

How To Build A Position?

1. EXPLORE -- Read wisely about the topic. To succeed in building a position, you
must read what other people have written about it first.
2. BRAINSTORM -- Consult with a friend or colleague. Remember, “two heads are
better than one.”
3. CREATE ASSERTIONS -- Include assertions create arguments that are strong and
convincing to readers.
4. GATHER THE EVIDENCE -- Prove the points provided by presenting substantial and
relevant evidence. It is not appropriate to use moral or religious truths as these differ
from person to person, and one cannot assume that the person reading has the
same religious background.
5. HAVE CREDIBLE RESOURCES -- Do not just rely your knowledge. Research and
identify credible resources through journals, laws, and many more.
6. REFINE THE ARGUMENT -- Further explanation is needed between the link of the
assertion and evidence, the use of further examples and situations, and the
explanation and contextualization of the evidence and its importance.
7. PREPARE FOR THE OPPOSITION/COUNTERCLAIM -- When doing research, it is
imperative to read what the opposition has to say to refute them in your position
paper. How to refute? Find flaws in their arguments, check the quality of their
sources (if biased or not credible).

[Determines the Objectives and Structures of Various Kinds of Reports]

REPORT -- is a clearly structured form of writing which presents and analyses

information clearly and briefly for a particular audience.

INFORMATION -- is usually the result of an experiment, investigation, or some other

form of primary research such as a questionnaire or survey.

PURPOSE OF REPORTS:
 Reports are the backbone to the thinking process of the establishment, and they
are responsible, to a great extent, in evolving an efficient or inefficient work
environment.

The significance of the reports includes:

 Reports present adequate information on various aspects of the business.
 All the skills and the knowledge of the professionals are communicated through
reports.
 Reports help the top line in decision making.

Kinds of Reports:
1. Laboratory report -- Explains and analyses the results of an experiment; may also
be called lab report, experimental report, or science report. Remember that with lab
reports it may be impossible to rely on a single explanation for your findings.
Therefore, it is vital that you provide as many potential and relevant interpretations
as possible.
2. Business report -- This analyses a situation and uses business theory to provide
solutions or recommendations; includes many types, e.g. market research report,
marketing report, and financial report. Remember that with business reports,
typically, there is no single correct answer but several solutions, each with their own
costs and benefits to an organization. It is these costs and benefits which you need
to identify and weigh-up in your report.
3. Case study report -- This examines a real-world situation (the 'case') and analyses
it using appropriate theory (the 'study'). A case study is usually presented as a kind of
report, where sections within the body of the report deal with specific aspects of the
case.
4. Project report -- is a written document relating to any investment. It contains data
on the basis of which the project has been appraised and found feasible. It consists
of information on economic, technical, financial, managerial and production aspects.
5. Research report -- is a well-crafted document that outlines the processes, data,
and findings of a systematic investigation. It is an important document that serves as
a first-hand account of the research process, and it is typically considered as an
objective and accurate source of information. can be considered as a summary of the
research process that clearly highlights findings, recommendations, and other
important details.
6. Progress report -- A progress report is exactly what it sounds like – a document
that explains in detail how far you’ve gone towards the completion of a project.
It outlines the activities you’ve carried out, the tasks you’ve completed, and the
milestones you’ve reached vis-à-vis your project plan.
7. Field report -- This combines theory and practice by describing an observed
person, place or event and analyzing the observation. Field reports are common in
disciplines such as Law, Industrial Relations, Psychology, Nursing, History and
Education.

PRELIMINARIES -- There a re several parts which go at the beginning of the report,

before the main content. These are the title page, abstract, and content page.

CONTENTS PAGE -- This should list all the headings and sub-headings in the report,
together with the page numbers. Most word processing software can build a table of
contents automatically.

AIMS -- This part of the report explains why you are writing the report. The tense
you use will depend on whether the subject of the sentence is either the report
(which still exists) or the experiment (which has finished). If you are referring to the
report, you should use present tense. If you are referring to the experiment, which
has finished, you should use past tense.

METHOD -- Also called methodology or procedure, this section outlines how you
gathered information, where from and how much.

RESULTS -- This section, also called Findings, gives the data that has been collected
(for example from the survey or experiment). This section will often present data in
tables and charts. This section is primarily concerned with description. In other
words, it does not analyze or draw conclusions.
DISCUSSION -- The Discussion section, also called Analysis, is the main body of the
report, where you develop your ideas. This section will often include graphs or other
visual material, as this will help the readers to understand the main points. This
section should fulfil the aims in the introduction and should contain sufficient
information to justify the conclusions and recommendations which come later in the
report.

CONCLUSION -- The conclusions come from the analysis in the Discussion section
and should be clear and concise. The conclusions should relate directly to the aims of
the report, and state whether these have been fulfilled. At this stage in the report,
no new information should be included.

RECOMMENDATIONS -- The report should conclude with recommendations. These

should be specific. As with the conclusion, the recommendations should derive from
the main body of the report and again, no new information should be included.

REFERENCE SECTION -- Any sources cited in the text should be included in full in the
reference section.

APPENDICES -- Appendices are used to provide any detailed information which your
readers may need for reference, but which do not contain key information and
which you therefore do not want to include in the body of the report. Appendices
must be relevant and should be numbered so they can be referred to in the main
body. They should be labelled Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc. ('appendices' is the plural
form of 'appendix').

[QUESTIONAIRES]

QUESTIONNAIRE -- was invented by Sir Francis Galton, a British anthropologist,

explorer and statistician in late 1800. A questionnaire is simply a list of
mimeographed or printed questions that is completed by or for a respondent to give
his opinion.

Main Aspects of a Questionnaire:

1. General form -- A questionnaire can be either structured or unstructured.
Structured questions are those questions in which there are definite, concrete and
predetermined questions. A highly structured questionnaire is one in which all
questions and answers are specified and comments in respondent's own words are
minimized.
When these characteristics are not present in a questionnaire, it is termed as
unstructured or non-structured questionnaire. Interviewer is provided with a
general guide on the type of information to be obtained, but the exact question
formulation is largely his own responsibility, and replies are to be taken down in
respondent’s own words.
2. Question sequence -- The question sequence must be clear and smoothly moving.
A proper sequence of questions reduces considerably the chances of individual
question being misunderstood. The first few questions are particularly important
because they are likely to influence the attitude of respondents and in seeking his
desired cooperation.
3. Question formulation and wording -- Question should be very clear and impartial
in order not to give a biased picture of the true situation. In general, the questions
should meet the following standards.
a) It is easily understood.
b) It avoids unnecessary and vague words.
c) It conveys only one thought at a time.
d) It is concrete and conforms to respondent’s way of thinking.
e) It avoids words with ambiguous meanings.
f) It avoids danger words, catch words and words with emotional
connotations.

TYPES OF SURVEY QUESTIONS:

1. Contingency questions/Cascade format -- A question that is answered only if the
respondent gives a particular response to a previous question. This avoids asking
questions to people that do not apply to them.
2. Matrix questions -- Identical response categories are assigned to multiple
questions. The questions are placed one under the other, forming a matrix with
response categories along the top and a list of questions down the side. This is an
efficient use of page space and respondents’ time
3. Closed-ended questions -- Respondents’ answers are limited to a fixed set of
responses. Most scales are closed ended. Yes or no, Multiple choice, Scaled
questions
4. Open-ended questions -- The options or predefined categories are not suggested.
The respondents reply in their own words without being constrained by a fixed set of
possible responses. Completely unstractured, word association, sentence
completion, story completion, etc.

[Summarizing Reports through Graphics]

 Data collection is a worthwhile experience as it teaches students to manage

information (Valdez, 2016). It is useful when you are conducting research.

Examples of non-prose texts and their specific purposes:

1. Pie charts -- are used to illustrate proportions. The circle’s circumference
represents 100%, or the total numerical value of the data. The pie is divided into
segments, each of which represents a precise percentage.
2. Statistical tables -- are used to present numerical information in chart form. The
numbers appear in columns with headings to explain what the numbers represent.
Title is also important since it points out important information.
3. Tally Marks -- are used to identify frequency distribution. For instance, you have
conducted a survey to a number of families to find out how many of them has
internet connectivity at home of each kind (postpaid, piso wifi, pocket wifi). Consider
the frequency distribution table below and see how easier it would be for the
readers to understand the data being presented.
4. Bar graphs -- are used to compare two or more values with certain variables. They
offer an excellent way to summarize numerical data for anyone who is unfamiliar
with statistics. Their primary purpose is to indicate patterns and trends or to
compare elements (Pablo, 2002).
5. Line graphs -- are used to present trends over time. They are similar to bar graphs
but has lines instead of bars to connect the points on the graph. They have two axes,
the vertical and the horizontal.