Position Paper Outline : Outline For Argumentative Essay
Position Paper Outline
What Is a Position Paper?
A position paper is just like a debate in that in a position paper, you are expected to present and convince others to accept your side of an arguable opinion about an issue.
Therefore, the goal of a position paper is to convince the audience that your opinion is valid and defensible.
Care must be taken in choosing a topic, developing your argument, and organizing your paper. When presenting the arguments, you should ensure that all sides of the issue are addressed and presented in a manner that is easy for your audience to understand.
Your job, when writing a position paper, is to take one side of the argument and persuade your audience that you have well-founded knowledge of the topic being presented. It is important to support your argument with evidence to validate your claims and refute the counterclaims to show that you are well informed about both sides.
Before we go further, let us make a few distinctions between a position paper and an opinion paper because some students usually confuse the two.
Position Papers vs. Opinion Papers
In an opinion paper, the student is required to express and argue a personally held opinion. The opinion presented can, on occasion, be supported by empirical evidence, though more often the opinion is supported not by empirical evidence, but by intellectual logic and emotional engagement.
Position papers, by contrast, are supported by a reasonable preponderance of empirical evidence. Conclusions drawn in the paper are dictated by the evidence and data, though the interpretation of the evidence may be skewed by the personal agenda of the writer.
Choosing an Issue for Your Opinion Paper
Writing a good opinion essay involves first looking for a topic that is arguable and interests you. The questions below can help you to come up with a topic that will raise a strong argument:
- Does the topic present a real issue, with genuine controversy and uncertainty?
- Can you identify at least two distinctive positions that one can take on the topic?
- Are you personally interested in advocating one of these positions?
- Is the scope of the issue narrow enough to be manageable?
Once you choose a topic, you should make a pro and con lists, compare the information side by side, and then, while considering your audience, as well as your own viewpoint, choose the position you will take.
Sample Position Paper Outline
1: Introduction
Your introduction should do a number of things:
- Introduce the topic that you picked for your paper
- Arouse your readers’ interest in what you have to say
- Provide background on the topic to explain why it is important
- Assert the thesis (your view of the issue). More on thesis statements can be found below.
One effective way of introducing a topic is to place it in context, such as by using statistics and quotes that will put it in perspective and slowly lead your readers into your specific field of discussion (re: your thesis statement).
2: The Body
The body is made up of 3 or more supporting paragraphs and a paragraph or two for counter-arguments.
Three or More Supporting Arguments
You may have more than 3 overall points to your argument, but you should not have fewer. Every argument should be in a paragraph of its own, introduced by a leading sentence and supported by well-referenced sources. Follow the referencing style given in the course’s marking rubric.
Paragraph #1: Assert point #1 of your claims
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- Give your educated and informed opinion
- Provide support/proof using more than one source (preferably three)
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Paragraph #2: Assert point #2 of your claims
- Give your educated and informed opinion
- Provide support/proof using more than one source (preferably three)
Paragraph #Assert point #3 of your claims
- Give your educated and informed opinion
- Provide support/proof using more than one source (preferably three)
3: Counter Argument
Ask yourself what someone who disagrees with you might say about each of the points you've made or about your position as a whole and respond to each of their positions. You can either concede that your opponent has a point, but explain why your audience should nonetheless accept your argument or you can reject their counterargument and explain why it is mistaken.
It is usually better to consider one or two serious counterarguments in some depth, rather than to give a long but superficial list of many different counterarguments and replies. Make sure your response is in line with your initial opinion and all your supporting arguments so as not to contradict yourself.
Therefore, a counterargument section should:
- Summarize the counterclaims
- Provide supporting information for counterclaims
- Refute the counterclaims
- Give evidence for the argument
When you are summarizing opposing arguments, be charitable and diplomatic. Present each argument fairly and objectively, rather than trying to make it look foolish.
3: Conclusion
The simplest and most basic conclusion is one that restates the thesis in different words and then discusses its implications.
- Restate your argument
- Provide a plan of action but do not introduce new information