Steps to Writing a Position Paper

Writing a research paper can seem like a daunting task and many students are so overwhelmed with this that they have no idea where to begin. If a good teacher helps them to break this process down into individual parts, and walks the students through the process, this project can become much more simplified and manageable.

What has worked for my students in deciding on a research paper topic is to begin with what I call a "Gripe List." I ask my students to brainstorm a list of things that make them angry . . . that aren't right . . . that need to be changed. I tell them to consider personal issues, social issues, political issues, religious issues, ethical, moral and scientific issues. I also ask them to think about what is taking place around the school, the community, their towns, their states, our nation, the world. I also ask them to ask themselves if they have ever said to themselves, "Something should be done about . . ." Or if they have ever said, "Here is what should be done . . ."

We also browse newspaper headlines and online news features covering all subjects -- science, language, technology, society, the medical field, political unrest, the rich and famous -- virtually any subject can be transformed into a worthwhile topic if the right thesis is formed.

From here, I ask them to take a good look at their brainstorm and choose one that they think they may be intersted in writing about. I insist that my students choose topics they care about. Otherwise, they will not gain near as much as they can from the project.

We turn this topic into a thesis statement. A statement of opinion that they will seek to prove in their paper, or at least explore further. For example, a gripe about SAT testing may turn into a thesis proposing an alternative testing suggestion that is more accurate in predicting future career success.

They then come up with a long list of all the reasons they feel the way they do about the topic -- reasons to support the belief. I also have them determine the main reasons that people who disagree with the topic may have for disagreeing, and I suggest that they seek to refute opposing arguments. This may require a great deal of research including interviewing and conducting surveys.

Eventually they will be deciding what their strongest reasons are that support their topics. These reasons must be clear, diverse, complete, strong, and ordered (with the strongest or most compelling reason listed last so that they are building an argument). They will also need to determine what the strongest opposing arguments are, and determine how they will refute these claims.

Basically what I have just done for the students is help them to create a general outline of their argument for their research topic. At this point, they are ready to determine the best places to go to gather evidence to support their topics, and begin actually researching. But by completing this preliminary work, they will save themselves a great deal of time.

I have found that one of the most exciting aspects of teaching research is seeing a student's arguments "break down" as they delve into their topics and discover issues and viewpoints they hadn't considered. Or sometimes, they find so much more evidence to support their views that they become empassioned about the topic, sometimes even dedicating a strong part of their lives to further research and study.