Position Paper

One thing I have learned from the research writing process that I will use for future papers is that is important to prepare. The hardest part was figuring out which topic to research. I knew which side of every topic I was on I just had to pick one. In order to even begin an eight to ten page paper, you need to set up some parameters for your topic. Guidelines help lead you in the right direction in regards to your view on a topic. If the topic is too broad or general, it is easy to get lost in your own writing and nothing will make any sense. For example, if your topic is poverty in the US, there should be a theme of that topic that is going to be the focus of your paper, i.e. how much and where has poverty grown in the past decade. Once I took a position on my topic, it was easier to conduct my research because I knew what I was looking for. Before I started writing I went through books and articles about my topic and pulled quotes and statistics that supported my position. This is where my detailed outline came in handy because I could easily place my quotes in the appropriate paragraphs, then build my argument around those facts. I structured my paper so that there was a good amount of quotes from the naysayer side of my topic, but carefully selected info that enhanced my position.