POSITION PAPER

POSITION PAPER

▪ The position paper is devoted to a discussion of

one side of an issue.
▪ It tackles significant issue of a community on which
the author or writer takes a stand.
▪ It aims to convince the readers to take the author’s
or writer’s position.
▪ In writing position paper, credible and authentic
evidence needs to be presented.
MANIFESTO AS A FORM OF WRITING
▪ It is a document publicly declaring the position or program of
its issuer.
• A manifesto advances a set of ideas, opinions, or views, but it
can also lay out a plan of action. While it can address any
topic, it most often concerns art, literature, or politics.
▪ It is generally written in the name of a group sharing a
common perspective, ideology, or purpose rather than in the
name of a single individual.
▪ It combines a sometimes violent societal critique with an
inaugural and inspirational declaration of change.
▪ Manifesto is often authored by social activists and usually
linked to new ideas.
TOPIC VS ISSUE

▪ The issue of a position paper is similar to the

topic sentence, whereas, it is the central concept
up for contention. It would have supporters for
both negative and positive sides and the
author/writer chooses one for the position paper.
Moreover, an issue compels readers to take a
stand.

▪ A topic is a broad and can be explored from

different perspectives.
CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE
▪ Claims are statements that support the author’s
stand.
▪ Evidence are proofs to strengthen the author’s
claims.
▪ Evidence from surveys, library research, and
experiments.
▪ Evidence from informant interviews (those who
have direct experience related to the problem/issue)
▪ Evidence from expert interviews.
FOUR ESSENTIAL PARTS OF POSITION PAPER

▪ INTRODUCTION
o It contains background information concerning the issue
(the who, what, where, when, and why), a yes or no question
containing the issue, and the argumentative thesis.
o The yes or no question is the issue posed as an interrogative
statement. This allows readers to see both sides of the issue. It
allows you to weigh the evidence to support your claims for
your essay.
o The argumentative thesis is the sentence that takes a stand
on the issue and includes the claims to support your stand.
• SUMMARY OF COUNTERCLAIMS

Counterclaim is a claim made to rebut a previous

claim.
o It constitutes the second paragraph of the position
paper which is devoted to an enumeration of
arguments opposing a stand. It is a unique feature of
argumentations as it highlights the author’s
opposite claims. This will allow you to refute these
claims in the body of your argument.
▪ ARGUMENTS or BODY

o It contains the central argument. o

It has the evidences supporting all the
claims made by the author.
▪ CONCLUSION

o It contains a restatement of the thesis

statement and summarizes the main
claims. It gives the strong sense of the
author’s position.
STRATEGIES IN WRITING A POSITION PAPER

▪ Focus on a narrowly defined issue found in at least

two of the readings. Use a specific, clearly stated
thesis to introduce the focus. Introduce the issue early
in the discussion.

▪ Develop your argument by defending your claim and

showing how it relates to the positions of your
sources. Show the positions of three authors, at least
two of which must be from the list below of class
readings.
• Organize your paper in a way that effectively
conveys information to your readers, is easy to
follow, and presents your position in relation to
those of the authors.
• Document all outside sources (both written and
field sources) using MLA in-text citations and
works cited.
• Write in a style that is clear, readable, appropriate to
audience, and free from distracting errors in
spelling, grammar, and usage.
 MODES OF REASONING IN WRITING A
POSITION PAPER

▪ Inductive Reasoning. It makes broad

generalizations from specific observations.

▪ Deductive Reasoning. It examines the

possibilities to reach a specific, logical
conclusion.
VALUES COMMUNICATED IN WRITING A POSITION PAPER

▪ Logical Thinking. It is a process of using a rational, systematic

series of steps based on a sound procedure and given statements to
arrive at a conclusion. A logical thinker knows how to observe,
analyze phenomenon, draw conclusions based on input, and justify
strategies, actions and decisions based on facts.

▪ Objectivity. Objective in expressing or dealing with facts or

conditions as perceived without distortion, personal feelings,
prejudices and interpretations.

▪ Balanced of conflicting ideas. Balance in the use of language, in

shifting from the opposing argument to supporting argument and in
expressing both arguments and counterarguments.
Formulate claims of fact, policy, and value

If fact can be proven true or false, an opinion is

what someone believes or thinks. The topics lead
to your opinion by asking three specific types of
questions: questions of fact, value, and policy.
Questions of Fact are those which ask you
to answer whether or not something is.
These questions are always answered with
either “Yes” or “No” and then you must
construct paragraphs to support the facts.
Example: Is the wall blue? (Yes or No, and
then your evidence)
Questions of Value address the relative
merit (goodness or badness) of something.
Here you are usually asked to choose
between things, ideas, beliefs, or actions
and explain why you did so. Example:
Which is more valuable, love or money?
(Which and then why?)
Questions of Policy ask the writer to explain
what they would do. The key word in these
topics is usually “should” as in “what should
we do...?” The question asks the writer to
make a plan of action to solve some sort of
problem. The answer is a breakdown of the
plan and a justification that it fixes the
problem. Example: What should be done to
combat the drug problem? (Plan and justify.)
 HOW TO SELECT A TOPIC

▪ Conduct preliminary research

▪ Challenge your own topic or your chosen issue
▪ Continue to collect supporting evidence
▪ Create an outline ▪ Construct your position paper
REPORT WRITING:
TYPES, FORMATS,
STRUCTURE AND
RELEVANCE
What is a REPORT?
 It is any informational work made with an intention to relay
information or recounting certain events in a presentable
manner.
 Reports are often conveyed in writing, speech, television, or
film.
 Report is an administrative necessity.
 Most official form of information or work are completed via
report.
Report is always written in a sequential manner in order of
occurrence
 TYPES OF REPORTS
 Internal and External Reports
- Internal report stays within a certain organization or
group of people. In the case of office settings, internal
reports are for within the organization.
 External reports, such as a news report in the
newspaper about an incident or the annual reports of
companies for distribution outside the organization.
 Periodic Reports
Periodic reports are sent out on regularly
pre-scheduled dates. In most cases, their
direction is upward and serves as
management control. That is why we have
annual or quarterly or half-yearly reports. If
they are this frequent, it only makes sense to
pre-set the structure of these reports and just
fill in the data every period.
 Formal and Informal Reports
- Formal reports are meticulously structured. They
focus on objectivity and organization, contain deeper
detail, and the writer must write them in a style that
eliminates factors like personal pronouns.
- Formal reports are a collection and interpretation of
data and information and is usually in a complex and
used at an official level.
- Other types of Formal Reports are Informational,
Analytical and Recommendation
These are the steps in preparing a FORMAL REPROT
1. Identify the readers
2. Determine your purpose
3. Formulate specific questions
4. Conduct research to answer the questions
5. Draw valid conclusions (for analytical or
recommendation reports)
6. Decide on recommendations (for recommendations)
7. Write the report
- The function of Informal report is to inform, analyze and
recommend.
- Informal reports are usually short messages with free-flowing,
casual use of language. This report differs in length and
formality. It is written according to organization style and
rules, but usually does not include the preliminary (front) and
supplemental (back) material.
- The informal report is usually more controversial in tone and
typically deals with everyday problems and issues addressed to
a narrow readership inside the organization.
- It usually takes the form of a memo, letter or a very short
international document like a monthly financial report,
monthly activities report, research and development report,
etc.
 There are many embodiments of the
informal report:
1. Progress report
2. Sales activity report
3. Personnel evaluation
4. Financial report
5. Feasibility report
6. Literature review
7. Credit report
 Informational and Analytical Reports
- Informational reports present results so readers can
understand a particular problem or situation.
- Informational reports might:
A. Present information on the status of current
research or of a project.
B. Present an update of the operation in your
division.
C. Explain how your organization or division does
something.
D. Present the results of a questionnaire or
research.
- Analytical reports present results, analyze those
results, and draw conclusions based on those results.
- These reports attempt to describe why or how
something happened and then to explain what it
means.
- Explain what cause a problem or situation – Present
the results of a traffic study showing accidents at an
intersection – the report explains what it means.
- Explain the potential results of a particular course of
action.
- Suggest which option, action, or procedure is best.
 Recommendation Report
- This type advocates a particular course of action. This
usually present the results and conclusions that
support the recommendations. This type is identical
to analytical report.
- These are the questions you need to consider in
writing a Recommendation report
1. What should we do about a problem?
2. Should we or can we do something?
3. Should we change the method or technology we use to
do something?
  
 Proposal Report
- This kind of report is like an extension to the
analytical/problem-solving reports. A proposal is a
document one prepares to describe how one
organization can provide a solution to a problem
they are facing.
- There’s usually always a need to prepare a report
in a business set-up. The end goal is usually very
solution-oriented. We call such kinds of reports as
proposal reports.
Format of a Report
Below given are the components of a report in which
they would occur:
1. Title page: It should include the title, name(s) of the
author, date of submission, your course/department.
2. Contents page: A clear, well-formatted list of all the
sections and sub-sections of the report. Page numbers
should be marked correctly. Most word processing
software can build a table of contents automatically.
3. Abstract: A summary of the major points, conclusions,
and recommendations should be written to give a
general overview of report.
A good way to write an abstract is to think of it as a series of brief
answers to questions. These would probably include:
 What is the purpose of the work?
 What methods did you use for your research?
 What were the main findings and conclusions reached as a
result of your research?
 Did your work lead you to make any recommendations for
future actions?
 What is the purpose of the work? 
 What methods did you use for your research?
 What were the main findings and conclusions reached as a
result of your research?
 Did your work lead you to make any recommendations for
future actions?
4. Introduction: You will explain the problem and show the
reader why the report is being made.

5. Body: This is the main section of the report. There needs to be

several sections, with each having a subtitle. The various sections
include Review of Literature, Materials and Methods and Results.
A discussion section can also be included at the end of the body
to go over by findings and their significance.
These are the question you could also consider in writing the
methods of your report.
 How was the survey carried out?
 How did you decide on the target group?
 How many people were surveyed?
 Were they surveyed by interview or questionnaire?
6. Conclusion: A conclusion should draw out the
implications of your findings, with deductions
based on the facts described in your main body.
The significance and relevance of study is
discussed in this section.

7. References: This is a list giving the full details of

all the sources to which you have made reference
within your text.
 Relevance of Report Writing
 REPORT AS A MEANS OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
- It provides feedback to employees and also gives
information or guidance to others connected with the
problem.
 REPORT FACILITATES DECISION MAKING AND
PLANNING
- Report provides reliable data which can be used in the
planning and decision-making process. It acts as a
treasure house of reliable information for long term
planning and decision making.
 REPORT DISCLOSES UNKNOWN INFORMATION
- Reports provide information which will be new to all
concerned parties and it also collect data and draw
conclusions that could lead to new business
opportunities through unknown information
available in the reports.
 REPORT GIVES INFORMATION TO EMPLOYEES
Reports are available to managers and departments for
internal use. They are widely used by the departments
for guidance. Report provides feedback to employees
and are useful for their self-improvement.
Activity No. 1.
Instructions: Research one type of report on the internet and provide the
copy of the report that you would refer to.
Then, identify the type, format, structure and relevance of the report and
explain it briefly.
Criteria: Content- 10-point, Clarity of ideas – 10 points and Organization-
10 points (30 points)
Title of the Report:
(Provide link)
Type of Report
Format of the Report Introduction:
(Just give the summary of the
report) Body:

Conclusion

Relevance of the Report: