Basic Features Of Position Papers 4y69z

Basic Features of Position papers 1. Presenting the issue: Unless an issue is current, hotly debated, and well-known to many readers, writers need to identify the issue as well as explain it to readers. To present the issue, writers may provide several kinds of information; for example, they might place it in a historical or cultural context, cite specific examples to make the issue less abstract, show their personal interest, or establish or redefine the of the debate. 2. Asserting a clear, unequivocal position: Writers of position papers take sides. Their primary purpose is to assert a position of their own and to influence the readers’ thinking. This assertion is the main point of the essay, its thesis. It tells the reader the writer’s position on an issue. Usually it comes early in the essay, and frequently it forecasts the stages of the argument as well, identifying the main reasons that will be developed in the course of the essay. 3. Arguing directly for the position: Writers must provide reasons for their positions. They do this with facts, statistics, examples and anecdotes, quotes from experts, and analogies. Facts are statements that can be proven objectively to be true. Although statistics may be mistaken for facts, they often are only interpretations or correlations of numerical data. Examples and anecdotes, in contrast, tend not to make truth claims or pretend to apply to everyone. Instead they present particular stories and vivid images that work by appealing to readers’ emotions. Analogies are comparisons that encourage readers to assume that what is true about one thing is also true about something to which it is compared. 4. Counter-arguing objections and opposing positions: Writers of position papers try to anticipate likely objections and questions readers might raise as well as opposing positions. Writers may then concede or refute this counterargument. If the counterargument is thoughtful and reasonable, the writer will concede. If however the criticism is flawed or weak, a writer will refute it by poking holes in the logic and of the counterargument. 5. Establishing credibility: Readers judge the credibility of a position paper by the way it presents the issue, argues for the position, and counter-argues objections and opposing positions. Readers expect writers to advocate forcefully for their positions, but at the same time they expect writers to avoid misrepresenting other points of view, attacking opponents personally, or manipulating readers’ emotions. A writer establishes credibility by creating a bond of trust with readers; this is accomplished by demonstrating shared values, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals.