How to Write a Position Paper: Tips and Fallacies to Avoid
Classified in Psychology and Sociology
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English with a size of 2.36 KB.
Position Paper: Writer's Stand on an Issue
Intro: Define issue & discuss background, provide general statement
Body: Provide sufficient evidence, provide counter arguments
Conclusion: Suggest course of action, state paper's superiority, end w/strong statement
- Choose issue, should be current & relevant
- Perform in-depth research on the issue
- Define unfamiliar terms
- Be aware of different opinions on the issue
- Reflect on your position & identify weaknesses
- Cite valid & reliable sources
- View issue from different perspectives
- Limit paper to two pages
Where to put counter arguments:
- Part of intro, before proposing thesis
- As a section/paragraph after the intro
- As a section/paragraph before conclusion
Construct counter argument:
- Develop thesis & gather supporting evidence
- Think like the opposition
- Respond to counter argument
Fallacies:
- Slippery slope: Minor action will lead to major result
- Hasty generalization: Generalizing without sufficient info
- Ad hominem: Attacking the person
- Circular argument: Restating the argument
- Appeal to force: Threatening the opponent
- Red herring: Diverting attention from the topic
- Bandwagon: Validating topic because others believe the same
- Straw man: Generalizes a person's view
- Card stacking: Omit info that would counterargue
- Emotional appeal: Using emotion instead of logic
Research Design: Overall strategy used to integrate components of a study
- Descriptive: Observe and report on a phenomenon
- Quasi-experimental: Causal relationship between variables
- Correlational: Determining relationship
- Experimental: AKA true experimental
- Ex post facto: A cause from existing effect
- Prototyping: Development approach to improve existing design
Validity:
- Face, Content, Criterion, Concurrent, Predictive
Purposive Sampling: Deliberate selection based on characteristics
- Convenience, Quota, Snowball
Instruments:
- Questionnaire: Academic setting
- Test: Test skills/abilities
- Interview: For discourse; emotion
- Observation: Trials, criteria