TMF Guides · Delegate Training

The Ultimate MUN Guide: How to Write Position Papers and Win Awards

Updated · 26 July 2026 · ~18 min read

Every award-winning delegate we have watched at The MUN Factory does the same unglamorous things: they read the background guide properly, they know their country's real policy, they write a position paper that reads like a foreign ministry brief, and they say fewer but sharper things in committee. This guide is the complete version of that process — from first research session to the closing gavel.

1. What Model UN actually is

Model United Nations is a simulation of UN bodies — UNGA, UNSC, UNHRC, ECOSOC, crisis committees and regional councils — in which each delegate represents a country (or, in specialised committees, a person or organisation) and debates a fixed agenda under formal rules of procedure. You are not arguing your personal opinion. You are arguing your assigned country's documented position, and you are judged on how faithfully and persuasively you do that.

A standard committee runs on a loop: roll call, opening speeches, moderated caucuses on sub-topics, unmoderated caucuses for bloc building, working papers, draft resolutions, amendments, and a final vote. Understanding that loop is half of MUN strategy, because it tells you when to speak, when to lobby, and when to write.

2. Research: know your country cold

Weak delegates research the topic. Strong delegates research the topic through their country. Before you write a single line, you should be able to answer these in one sentence each:

• What is my country's official stated position on this agenda, and where did it say so — a UN speech, a vote, a treaty, a national policy document?
• How has my country voted on related UNGA or UNSC resolutions in the last ten years?
• What domestic pressure (economy, security, elections, geography) shapes that position?
• Which three countries reliably vote with mine, and which three vote against?
• What is my country's red line — the clause it would never sign?

Sources that chairs respect

• UN Digital Library and the UN Documents system for resolutions and voting records.
• Your country's Ministry of External / Foreign Affairs statements and permanent mission website.
• UN specialised agency reports (UNDP, UNHCR, WHO, IPCC, IAEA) for data.
• Reuters, AP and the conference's own background guide for recent developments.
• Never cite Wikipedia in committee. Use it only to find the primary source it links to.

Keep one research document with three columns: claim, source, and the exact sentence you would say out loud. That last column is what turns research into speeches under pressure.

3. How to write a position paper

A position paper is a one-page diplomatic brief submitted before the conference. It tells the chair three things: that you understand the agenda, that you understand your country, and that you have arrived with solutions rather than complaints. At most conferences it is the single biggest input into award shortlisting before debate even begins.

The three-paragraph structure

• Paragraph 1 — Background & framing. Define the problem with two hard statistics and frame it the way your country frames it. A small island state frames climate change as survival; a major exporter frames it as just transition.
• Paragraph 2 — National policy & past action. What has your country signed, ratified, funded, vetoed or abstained on? Name resolutions and treaties by number and year. This is where credibility is won.
• Paragraph 3 — Proposed solutions. Two or three specific proposals with a mechanism, a funding source and an implementing body. "Increase international cooperation" is not a proposal. "A UNDP-administered adaptation fund capitalised at 0.1% of donor GNI, disbursed through national focal points" is.

Rules of tone

• Write in third person: 'The Republic of India believes…', never 'I think…'.
• Formal, cold, factual. No rhetorical questions, no exclamation marks, no slogans.
• Every claim carries a source. Footnote or bracket the citation.
• One page, 12pt, single spaced, with committee, country, agenda and delegate name in the header.
• Proofread for the country's official long name — 'the Islamic Republic of Iran', not 'Iran', on first use.

4. Position paper template

Copy this skeleton and replace the bracketed parts:

Committee: [UNHRC]
Country:   [The Federal Republic of Nigeria]
Agenda:    [Protecting civic space in the digital age]
Delegate:  [Name, School]

I. Background
[Two sentences defining the issue + two hard statistics from a UN agency
report, framed the way your country frames it.]

II. National Position
[What the country has signed / ratified / voted on, with resolution numbers
and years. One sentence on domestic policy. One sentence on the red line it
will not cross.]

III. Proposed Solutions
1. [Mechanism] — implemented by [body], funded through [source],
   reviewed [timeline].
2. [Mechanism] — with a named regional partner and a measurable target.
3. [Optional confidence-building or capacity-building measure.]

The delegation of [country] looks forward to working with all member states
towards a consensus-based outcome.

5. Speeches that land

Committee time is scarce. The delegate who speaks eight times without saying anything new scores lower than the delegate who speaks four times and moves the debate each time. Use a fixed structure so you never freeze:

• Hook (1 line): a statistic, a date, or a consequence.
• Position (1 line): what your country wants from this caucus.
• Substance (2–3 lines): the mechanism, the funding, the precedent.
• Call to action (1 line): who you want to work with and on what clause.

Opening speech, 60 seconds

Write it out, time it, and cut 20%. Say your framing, your one flagship proposal, and an open invitation to allies. Do not spend 40 seconds thanking the chair.

Points of information

Ask questions that expose a gap — funding, enforcement, sovereignty, timeline — rather than questions that attack the delegate. When answering, concede the small point and reframe: "The delegate is right that costs rise in year one; that is precisely why our proposal front-loads concessional financing."

6. MUN strategy and lobbying

Awards are decided as much in unmoderated caucus as on the speakers' list. Treat the first unmod as a mapping exercise, not a shouting match.

• Minute 0–3: find the two or three delegates whose proposals overlap with yours and agree on a shared clause.
• Minute 3–8: form the bloc, assign roles — one drafter, one negotiator, one speaker. Volunteer to draft; drafters control the text.
• Minute 8–15: absorb the smaller unaligned delegations. Every signatory you add is a vote and a chair-visible act of diplomacy.
• Throughout: keep a bloc sheet of who wants what. The delegate holding the map ends up leading the bloc.
• Never publicly humiliate an opponent. Chairs consistently mark diplomacy over dominance.

7. Rules of procedure, decoded

• Motion to open debate — starts committee after roll call.
• General Speakers' List — the default speaking order; always be on it.
• Moderated caucus — structured debate on a sub-topic; specify total time, speaking time and topic.
• Unmoderated caucus — free lobbying and drafting time.
• Point of order — flags a procedural mistake, not a disagreement.
• Point of personal privilege — comfort or audibility only.
• Right of reply — for a personal or national insult, used sparingly.
• Motion to move into voting procedure — closes debate and votes on draft resolutions.

Procedure is a tool, not decoration. A well-timed moderated caucus on the exact sub-topic your proposal solves is one of the highest-leverage moves in committee.

8. Working papers and resolutions

A draft resolution is one long sentence: preambulatory clauses (context, in italics, ending with commas) followed by operative clauses (actions, numbered, underlined verb, ending with semicolons, final clause with a full stop).

• Preambulatory verbs: Recalling, Noting with concern, Bearing in mind, Affirming, Deeply disturbed.
• Operative verbs: Calls upon, Requests, Encourages, Establishes, Decides (UNSC only), Urges.
• Every operative clause should answer: who does it, with what money, by when, reviewed by whom.
• Sub-clauses beat new clauses — depth reads as competence, length does not.
• Amendments: friendly ones show flexibility; use unfriendly ones to force an opposing bloc to defend its weakest clause.

9. How awards are actually decided

Chairs at most Indian and international circuits score on a rubric close to this:

• Policy accuracy — did you stay in character all session? (highest weight)
• Position paper quality and originality of solutions.
• Substantive contribution — speeches that changed the direction of debate.
• Diplomacy — bloc building, absorbing smaller delegations, resolving deadlock.
• Documentation — authorship and clarity of the working paper or resolution.
• Procedure — clean, purposeful use of motions and points.

The practical takeaway: a Best Delegate is usually the delegate the chair could point to and say "that bloc exists because of them, and they never broke policy".

10. Ten mistakes beginners make

• Arguing personal opinion instead of national policy.
• Submitting a position paper with no citations and no numbers.
• Speaking often but adding nothing new.
• Reading a pre-written speech that ignores the last twenty minutes of debate.
• Trying to lead a bloc without ever drafting a line of text.
• Using points of order to disagree rather than to correct procedure.
• Ignoring small delegations who are actually free votes.
• Writing operative clauses with no funding mechanism.
• Being aggressive with opponents in front of the chair.
• Skipping the background guide's questions a resolution must answer — chairs write those for a reason.

11. Conference-day checklist

• Printed position paper (x2) and printed research binder — devices are often restricted.
• One-page country profile: policy, allies, red lines, three statistics.
• Pre-written 60-second opening speech, timed.
• Blank paper for chits, a bloc-mapping sheet and two working pens.
• Western formal attire, ID card, water bottle.
• Your allotted committee, portfolio and agenda memorised — not searched for at roll call.

12. Frequently asked questions