LESSON 4 TOPIC: POSITION PAPER (ARGUMENTS IN MANIFESTOES) Flashcards
is the writing of one’s stand on a particular issue. The topic should be arguable. It discusses an issue,
which the writer will take a stand (agree/disagree), the purpose is to convince the reader to take his or her stand.
Position paper
What Contains a Position Paper?
- Issue
- Argumentative Thesis
- Claims
- are statements that support the writer’s stand.
Example: students have the right to come to school at any length of hair they preferred.
- Issue
- is formed when the writer took a stand on the issue.
Example: The haircut policy on male senior high school students should be abolished because they have the right to come to school in any length of hair they preferred. (Note: this is your thesis statement)
- Argumentative Thesis
- is the topic being argued upon in the paper.
The writer will choose his/her side. He may take it negative or positive.
Example: Topic: Haircut
Issue: Abolish the haircut policy on senior high school male students.
- Claims
– is a proof that strengthen the writer’s claim.
Example: - Since female students can come to school in their long hair, male students should be allowed also to
exercise fairness in gender equality.
- Evidence
An _____________ is a list of statements, one among these statements is the conclusion and the others are the premises
or assumptions of the argument.
To give an argument is to provide a set of premises as reasons for accepting the conclusion.
Example:
If you want to get a high grade, you should study hard. You really want to get a high grade. So, you should study
hard.
Note:
The first two sentences here are the premises of the argument, and the last sentence is the conclusion.
To give this argument is to offer the premises as reasons for accepting the conclusion.
How to Analyze an Argument?
To analyze an author’s argument, take it one step at a time:
1. Briefly note the main assertion (what does the writer want me to believe or do?)
2. Make a note of the first reason the author makes to support his/her conclusion.
3. Write down every other reason.
4. Underline the most important reason.
Main assertion: (what does the writer want me to believe or do?
Reasons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
* You can now summarize the author’s position and, if required, agree or disagree in part or in whole, offering examples from your own experiences.
What is an Argument?
What is a Manifesto?
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a manifesto is a statement in which someone makes his or her intentions or
views easy for people to ascertain.
On the other hand, Encyclopedia Britannica defines manifesto as a document publicly declaring the position or program of its issuer. A manifesto advances a set of ideas, opinions, or views, but it can also lay out a plan of action.
While it can address any topic, it most often concerns art, literature, or politics. Manifestos are generally written in the name of a group sharing a common perspective, ideology, or purpose rather than in the name of a single individual.
Example: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’s The Communist Manifesto (see/read on the internet), is a good and
famous example of a manifesto regarding politics.
See also the “Sample Manifestos by Swarthmore Students,” re:
Arts and Social Change.
(https://www.swarthmore.edu/arts-social-change/sample-manifestos-swarthmore-students)
Here is one example of their manifestos.
I believe that every child has potential. Regardless of race, socio-economic class, or IQ, every child has the ability to contribute to our world. It can be intellectual– the next brilliant math or physics theorem, the next great poem of our time– it can be athletic– representing fair play and competition– it can be artistic– a song, a dance, a play. Every child has potential. No child is confined by where they live, who their parents are, what society expects of them. Every child can contribute something beautiful to our world. It can be a smile, a laugh, or one good thought. That is all it takes to change someone’s life.
- Katie Sipiora
