Position Paper

In a position paper, the writer takes a stance on an issue and present supporting material to support that stance. The goal of these papers is to engage and persuade the reader, which means presenting the claim and evidence in a manner that is unbiased, providing ample scholarly evidence in support of the claim, and considering opposing viewpoints fairly.

PROMPT

After identifying and narrowing in appropriate (debatable) topic, take a position on it and support it with pieces of evidence that are relevant, well researched, and fully developed. Your argument should go deeper than the surface level and employee mix of Aristotle‘s appeals (logos,pathos,ethos). You must use at least three scholarly resources and cite them properly in APA style using in text citation and a reference page. You must write an abstract for this paper. Papers should it be at least three full pages long but not more than five pages long. Please use a cover page, an abstract, and reference page in addition.

STRUCTURE

The structure will look something like this:

• creative intro with thesis
• evidence paragraph(s) (reason #1)
• evidence paragraph(s) (reason #2)
• evidence paragraph(s) (reason #3)
• Refutation (counterargument, address faulty assumptions, rebuttal) • conclusion (please don’t restate three points; tell me why this topic matters; what are its implications for society?)

CRITERION

-Analysis

• Essay includes the effective use of persuasive elements, supporting material, and counterarguments so that the writers stance on the topic is fully explained and supported.
• Arguments are well developed and go beyond surface level

-Introduction & thesis

• Creative introduction engages the reader, states the essays thesis without “announcing” the essay purpose, provides context about the issue to be debated, and states the author’s opinion.

-Meets requirements

• Essay is at least three full pages in length but not more than five pages in length •APA formatting is correctly applied throughout: double spacing, 1” margins, title page, headers, 12-point Times New Roman font, a reference page, and an abstract.

-Organizational strategies

• body paragraph correlate to thesis/intro • essay is logically organized, with clear transitions between paragraphs.
• within paragraphs, sentences are clearly written and conducted.
• strong conclusion that goes beyond summary (why is this important, why does it matter?)

-Writing style

• strong writers voice
• maintains academic/formal tone
• strong verbs
• no word graveyard words ( just/ got/ I believe)

-Grammar, punctuation, and Mechanics

• correct verb choice and tense
• proper use of pronouns
• strong sentence structure ( no run on/fused sentences or fragments) • students clearly proofread; no spelling/typing errors