Tips & Tricks for your Position Paper

Ever since the start of the overall MUN concept, these conferences meant something different for every single one of us. From the emotional attachment and the people you meet there to the actual academic knowledge & resources that you acquire, they are certainly a unique affair for each and every member of this community. Usually, experience has its word to say in getting the hang of MUNs, yet you’ll never be perfect. That is why it is good to always seek improvement, either from fellow delegates or chairpersons. The magic of these conferences is that you will always have a different mix of people in your committee and the feedback will inherently differ. Analytical thinking is in fact one of the skills that MUNs help you develop during your journey and everyone might see you from a different point of view, therefore giving you multilateral advice.

Particularly, position papers serve an essential role in these conferences. The ground of your research, from which you will, later on, build your speeches, strategy and solutions, are all based on your initial research, the document that will then be submitted and checked by your chairs. While it might seem like an additional stressful factor, they are in fact the way in which your chairpersons check how well you understood the topic. I started my MUN journey about one year and a half ago, and from what feedback I’ve received during this period of time, I can guarantee you that time will tell. If there is something that I learned and stayed with me is that there is always a little bit of space for a little bit better. It can be hard to understand from your first try what they actually are or even after some time, so that’s why I thought that it would be good to offer you some brief shortcuts to know what to do better in the future.

Even if they say that the best work is the one that you do, that you trust, and each person probably has their own way of doing something, I gathered here multiple solutions from members of the community. Remember, you can always get better, yet your previous work and how much you’ve come until now are nevertheless valid!

1. Do a general research before actually starting your document

Get familiar with the topic, search for videos on YouTube, try to see the issues as a general situation without getting in the shoes of the country you represent. Otherwise, you will either have nothing to write until you read articles or you might be tempted to plagiarise. Don’t put pressure on yourself, this step is only for you to ease your task by doing an overall research. Pro tip: After generally digging into your country’s policy to understand it logically, try to test yourself by putting down the information that you have, for example, allies, problems and solutions up until that point. From that moment on, you will only add details on the base of your research, so it would be ideal to have your thoughts in place. Try to do this step in a workspace that suits you, in order to value your analytical thinking that will help you understand the basis of the topics.

2. Read from official sources

Media has grown extremely during these last few years and, as a result, the rate of accurate news has decreased. Many times we encounter the phenomena of “fake news”, done either to dramatize the situation or even worse, to badly inform people that then choose to further spread it. As a result, it’s just a domino of chaos. If you don’t want to fall into this trap, it is advisable to take your information and ideas from official, known sources so that you won’t have surprises during the conference when other delegates will condemn your sayings.

3. DON’T plagiarize

The chairpersons will most probably check what you wrote with a plagiarism checker so there isn’t really room for you to do this; while it might seem that you are fooling them and optimizing your time, you are actually just setting the trap for yourself only. Ideally, no plagiarism would be perfect but sometimes a small amount can occur, either as an error or because the initial ideas sounded better in their form. However, try to minimize it as much as possible, because it will make you pay more attention to a weaker area of your research since you didn’t know how to rephrase and it will also make you develop a healthy habit useful in the future, stimulating your brain to overcome tougher moments.

4. Respect the requests from the chairs

The role of your chairpersons is to guide you. Alongside your study guide, the basis of your initial research, you might find additional suggestions and a position paper structure. It would be recommendable to follow them, since it would also ease their job of giving feedback, therefore making you receive a clearer, more accurate one. If you don’t find such structures, try to ask other people for one, because usually the paragraphs are the same or at least similar. If not, we have provided you one here, so whenever you feel like you’re in trouble, come back here and use it:

- Paragraph I

General overview of the topic and its importance on the international scene (summarising what the core issues behind the question under consideration are)

- Paragraph II

Stance of your country (what your country’s position is on the given issue, what government officials have declared about it)

- Paragraph III

Past action taken (first on an international level, then specifically by your country)

- Paragraph IV

Possible solutions to the conflict (ideas of measures that should further be taken by the international community with regard to the topic at hand and that your country could be reasonably believed to support)

5. Get creative with solutions!

This paragraph is ideal for you to liberate from the other restrictions imposed by the structure and the overall formality requested from your chairpersons. Keep the academic language and the general policy of your country, while freeing your imagination in order to find solutions. Think outside the box and try to search for implementable ways to solve the problems. You might also find comfort in this paragraph, because it brings a lighter, positive note on the overall document and also gives you the validation that you covered the topic, especially if you chose to organize your solutions on long, short term or social, economic matters. This will later improve your mental state, making you more receptive and confident during the conference.

6. Communicate, even if that means asking questions or else!

If you have questions at any point during your research, write them down and ask your chairs. If you need an extension for the position paper- contact them. Communication is the key, and just as you will be open with them, they will do the same with you. Remember, they are here to help you!

7. Take a final look at your document

Make sure that the document respects your assigned indications, is easy to read and is as fine-tuned as possible!

There’s always room for improvement, but don’t beat yourself up if not everything will come as easy as you want, no matter if it is in terms of MUNs or in general. Your best version of yourself doesn’t just appear overnight, you bring it there by doing small steps and by having perseverance.

What are you waiting for? Go and be productive, conquer the world and always seek to be better!