This assignment asks you to write a Position Paper of around 1000-1350 words in length that draws on at least TWO of the Recommended Readings from Units 3 and 4 in defending a position on an issue addressed under the topics of Ecophenomenology or Political Ecology (or a combination of the two if you see it that way). A position paper follows a particular format. First, the thesis is stated in (or very near to) the first paragraph of the paper. The thesis statement expresses the author’s position on a specific issue (an issue is any claim that may be called into question), and the issue itself is introduced in the first part of the introductory paragraph. Your position on the issue is, in fact, your opinion; however, the task here is to support your opinion with good reasons for why you hold that opinion or believe your thesis to be true. This is what it means to give or present an argument. 

You may have one or more separate arguments (or sets of supporting reasons/evidence) to bolster your position. After stating your thesis and presenting your argument(s), you should then consider at least one counterargument (an argument that attempts to prove that the negation of your thesis is true; i.e., that your thesis is false) or refutation of your position (an argument that attempts to show why your thesis is not or might not be true). You must then reply to the counterargument or refutation, explaining or showing why that objection may be rejected or dismissed. Finally, re-state your thesis in an expanded form as developed by your discussion throughout the paper. This will stand as the conclusion of your position paper.

 

APA FORMAT