Position papers

Prior to attending WMHSMUN, all delegates are encouraged to prepare a position paper for each of their committee’s topics from the perspective of their assigned position (except if you are participating in the ad-hoc committee). These papers will provide a condensed overview of delegates’ research and position, ensuring engagement with the topic and guiding committee discourse. A position paper is not simply a summary and restatement of the committee’s background guide.

At WMHSMUN XXXVIII, position papers are required to receive any award in all general assemblies and SA/RAs regardless of whether they are novice or non-novice. Please also note that double-delegate pairings in GAs only need to submit ONE position paper. If you are not interested in receiving an award, then position papers are fully optional. Once committees are fully decided a list of committees that require a position paper will be released.

If you opt to submit a position paper, it must be emailed to the director(s) of the committee by the end of the day on Thursday, November 14, and all delegates MUST cc confcomms@wmirc.org when sending in their materials. If you would like to receive feedback on your position paper, we ask that you explicitly state this in your email. All submitted position papers should be attached as Microsoft Word documents to the email; all director emails are listed on the first page of each background guide. We ask that all position papers range from 2-5 pages; novice papers should be closer to 2 pages, while non-novice BGs should be in the 4-5 page range.

GENERAL Guidelines

  • Two to three pages per topic (or, if the background guide does not specify topics, three to four pages), double-spaced, 12 pt. font, with 1-inch margins

  • Each page (or the first page) must have a left-aligned header that includes the delegate name(s), position, committee, school, and topic (if applicable)

  • Citations, in either MLA format (both in-text and a works cited page) or Chicago style (numerical endnotes). Citation pages are not counted towards the length requirement

  • Written in third-person format (if you are representing a country) or first-person format (if you are representing a person)

  • A successful position paper will address past and current international actions on the topic/the situation at hand, your country’s position on the topic/what you will advocate for during committee, and potential solutions to the issues