A position paper is an opinion-oriented piece that is based on factual evidence. It is a type of multidisciplinary paper that presents a doubtful assessment on a specific issue with the intention of persuading the audience that the writer's viewpoint is legitimate and worthy of consideration. The purpose of a position paper is to present one side of the argument, while addressing all sides of the issue and demonstrating the writer's knowledge on the subject matter. The paper requires careful examination of the concepts being considered, organization of the argument, and presentation of evidence to support the claims made in the paper. To achieve a well-rounded and persuasive paper, it is important to address counterclaims and provide evidence to back up the writer's claims. Overall, a position paper is a rigorous and thought-provoking piece of work that is intended to move a field forward in a significant way.
Writing a Compelling Position Paper: Tips for Crafting an Effective Thesis, Supporting Arguments, and Counterarguments.
Introduction: The introduction should provide background information on the topic and introduce your thesis statement. It is important to grab the reader's attention with a compelling opening sentence or anecdote. The introduction should also provide context for the topic and explain why it is relevant and important. Finally, the introduction should clearly state your thesis statement, which is the main argument you will be making in your paper.
Body Paragraphs: Each body paragraph should present a separate argument in support of your thesis statement. Begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph. Then, provide evidence to support your argument, which can include factual knowledge, statistical inferences, informed opinions, and personal testimony. Make sure to cite your sources appropriately and use quotes sparingly. Finally, make sure that each argument flows logically into the next and that the connections between the arguments are clear.
Counterarguments: It is important to address potential counterarguments in your paper. This shows that you have considered multiple perspectives on the issue and strengthens your overall argument. In the counterargument section, acknowledge the opposing viewpoint and provide evidence to refute it. This can include additional factual knowledge, statistical inferences, informed opinions, and personal testimony. Make sure to address the strongest counterarguments and provide a convincing rebuttal.
Conclusion: The conclusion should summarize your main arguments and restate your thesis statement in a compelling way. It is important to leave a lasting impression on the reader and remind them of the importance of your argument. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion and instead focus on synthesizing your ideas and providing a clear call to action or implication. Make sure to end with a strong statement that leaves the reader with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of your position.
Position Paper Format
The format of a position paper typically includes an introduction, body paragraphs, counterarguments, and a conclusion.
The introduction provides background information on the topic and introduces the thesis statement, which is the main argument presented in the paper. It is important to grab the reader's attention with a compelling opening sentence or anecdote. The introduction should also provide context for the topic and explain why it is relevant and important.
The body paragraphs present separate arguments in support of the thesis statement and are supported by evidence. Begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph. Then, provide evidence to support your argument, which can include factual knowledge, statistical inferences, informed opinions, and personal testimony. Make sure to cite your sources appropriately and use quotes sparingly. Finally, make sure that each argument flows logically into the next and that the connections between the arguments are clear.
Counterarguments are addressed and refuted in a separate section. It is important to address potential counterarguments in your paper. This shows that you have considered multiple perspectives on the issue and strengthens your overall argument. In the counterargument section, acknowledge the opposing viewpoint and provide evidence to refute it. This can include additional factual knowledge, statistical inferences, informed opinions, and personal testimony. Make sure to address the strongest counterarguments and provide a convincing rebuttal.
The conclusion summarizes the main arguments and restates the thesis statement in a compelling way. It is important to leave a lasting impression on the reader and remind them of the importance of your argument. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion and instead focus on synthesizing your ideas and providing a clear call to action or implication. Make sure to end with a strong statement that leaves the reader with a sense of closure and a clear understanding of your position.
The length of a position paper can vary depending on the specific requirements and guidelines provided by the instructor or organization requesting the paper, but it is typically around one to two pages in length. This means that writers must be strategic in their use of language and evidence, making sure to include only the most relevant and persuasive points to support their argument. Despite its limited length, a well-written position paper can have a significant impact and influence on the reader.
A Position Paper Example
Question to choose a position from: How does the present dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia (and several other Gulf states) relate to terrorism and what stance should Qatar take on the Saudi ultimatums?
Abstract
The diplomacy crisis between Qatar and other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, and UAE were based on the assumption that Qatar was supporting terrorist and extremist groups. The country houses the Al-Jazeera news network and is said to finance other news outlets that are seen to spread Islam State radical views. They also said to be funding and supporting terrorist groups. The Gulf States offered a list of 13 demands that were aimed at ending the stalemate. The demands though were unrealistic and hard to attain.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia Crisis
Saudi Arabia and some other Arab allies cut off their ties with Qatar on 5th June. UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, and Egypt joined Saudi Arabia through cutting any diplomatic relations with Qatar. This included cutting down all land, sea and air links to the Arab Gulf state. Some even recalled their ambassadors from Doha. These countries accused Qatar of supporting terrorism through maintaining good relations with terrorist groups. They listed 13 demands that they wanted to end the diplomatic crisis. This included Qatar ending its finance on terrorist groups among other demands. Qatar stated that the demands were unreasonable and hence failed to comply. They hope to maintain the sovereignty of the country.
This paper will analyze the terrorism-related issues that led to the Qatar and Saudi Arabia diplomatic issue and analyze the ultimatums given to understand their viability.
For a long period, Qatar has been having opposing views on some issues, from those of other Arab governments. The country hosts Al Jazeera and has good diplomatic relations with Iran, unlike the other countries. They are also faulted for supporting terrorism through funding them and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. They have also allowed Afghan Taliban to house a political office in their country. All these issues were further fueled by several events between Aril and May 2017 that led to the official break-off (Saunders, 2017).
In 2017 April, Qatar made a deal with the militants of Syria and Iraq, Shi’ite and Sunni. They hoped the militants would free 26 Qatari hostages and for humanitarian aid to be allowed safe passage and evacuation of civilians. This deal was successful leading to the evacuation of 2,000 civilians from the Syrian village. Qatar paid huge amounts of money to secure the deal, this greatly outraged UAE and Saudi Arabia. According to financial times, they paid over $900 million to various militia groups.(Solomon, 2017).
The Qatar news agency was hacked. The hackers produced articles that portrayed Israel, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood and Iran in a positive light. The Qatar government denied the authenticity of the articles. The articles though caused anger to Saudi Arabia and all its regional allies. The visit by Donald Trump, US president during the Riyadh Summit further induced the other Gulf States to stand with Saudi Arabia. These led to the severance of the diplomatic ties between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, and Egypt. They accused Qatar of destabilizing the region due to their support for terrorism, sectarian organization and extremists. They hope that through the action, they will protect the region from the dangers of extremism and terrorism.
Qatar has been accused of hosting terrorist in their borders for a long period. They are accused of supporting Hamas, a Palestinian terror group accused of organizing terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia, Canada, The United States, Israel, and Egypt. In the leaked email, an email addressed to John Podesta identified Saudi Arabia and Qatar as offering financial and logistic help to ISIL and other radical Sunni Groups (Weinberg, 2017). They were also accused of backing the ideologies of Islam states and backing al Qaida. They are also accused of supporting the Shi’ite militant group in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (Haaretz and The Associated Press, 2017).
Some of these allegations have no backing. Qatar was part of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia that saw the bombing of Houthis in Yemen. Qatar has responded to this allegation by denying that they harbor terrorist financiers. Emir stated in CNN that they are committed to fighting ISIS and are not funding them. The Qatar ambassador also stated that though they have ties with Iran due to the large underwater natural gas field that they co-share, they have a similar stance to those of the other Gulf Arab countries.
The diplomatic crisis between Qatar and Saudi Arabia is being mediated by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States presented Qatar with 13 demands on 22nd June 2017 that they had to fulfill in 10 days. They wanted Qatar to close Al-Jazeera and all its affiliate stations that are funded by Qatar including Middle East Eye, Arab 21 and Rassd. Qatar was also expected to close terminate any relations with Turkish, including closing their military base in Qatar and ending any joint military cooperation. They are also to cut ties with Iran and to denounce relations to terror groups like ISIS and the Hamas, among others. They were also expected to deny citizenship to all wanted nationals of Saudi Arabia, Egypt Bahrain, and UAE, and surrender all designated terrorists in the country (Saunders, 2017).
These demands are quite unreasonable, considering the ten days that they had been given to fulfill the requirements. Accepting these demands would be seen as allowing the other Gulf States to undermine the sovereignty of the country. Other negotiation terms needed to be set that would ensure that the Gulf states didn’t interfere with the internal affairs of Qatar and provided that the states worked together to fight extremism and terrorism.
Hire Expert Writers to Craft a Convincing Position Paper
A position paper is also called a point of view paper. We know that a position paper must convince your audience that your opinion is defensible and valid. Hence, we shall write your position paper to present your side of an arguable opinion on a chosen issue.
Moreover, we shall organize your paper, develop your arguments, and carefully choose a topic. However, apart from picking a side, we shall also address all sides of the issue and present them in ways that your audience will understand with ease.
Notably, your professor will want us to persuade our audience that we are well-versed with the topic being presented even though we take one side of the argument.
Therefore, our writers will support all the paper’s arguments with evidence to validate every claim and produce strong points that refute the counterclaims to prove that you are both knowledgeable and well informed.
Written By
Sheridan Vesting
Vesting is a dedicated researcher who explores the relationship between what we read and how it affects our thinking. His work spans across several fields, including psychology, cognitive science, embodied cognition, and open research and education. He has conducted studies that examine the impact of different types of reading material on cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and decision-making. Additionally, he has investigated how large language models like GloVe, Word2Vec, and ChatGPT affect the way we perceive and understand language. His research highlights the importance of considering the ways in which the information we consume shapes our thoughts and behaviors.
Southern University
April 16, 2023
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