MUN position paper format: length, layout and what to include

How long should an MUN position paper be, and what should it say? The honest answer is that it depends on your conference. The United Nations' own Model UN guide sets out what a paper should contain, but length, layout and submission rules come from each conference, and they differ a lot. This guide walks through what the United Nations recommends a good paper includes, then compares the rules of four well-known conferences so you know what to check before you write.

What a position paper is for

The UN's Model UN guide describes the position paper as "a brief and concise description of a State’s, international organisation’s or NGO’s position and priorities for a given Committee." It lets delegations plan before the meeting by taking each country's positions into account. The guide also says the finished paper should be shared with the committee's Chairs, so they can give you feedback before the conference.

National Model United Nations (NMUN) adds a useful distinction. Working papers and resolutions are written during the conference and reflect several delegations. A position paper "is written prior to the conference and reflects the perspective of only one delegation." Because NMUN publishes papers before each conference, it calls the paper each delegation's "first communication" to both the organisers and the other delegates. In other words, at NMUN your paper is the first thing your future negotiating partners will read about you.

What the UN guide says a paper should include

The UN guide lists the parts of a position paper:

• "A general sentence in the beginning clearly stating the country’s position".
• "A succinct policy statement for each topic" representing the views of your assigned country.
• An elaboration of that position, using one or more of these: quotes from the UN Charter, agreements or resolutions your country has ratified, and statements by your head of state, head of government, ministers or delegates to the UN.
• "Recommendations for actions to be taken by the Committee".
• "A conclusion restating assigned country’s position on the topic".

Two style rules from the same guide are worth following. First, "Do NOT use the first person in a position paper." Write "the Republic of India" or "our government," never "I think." Second, keep it short: the guide says long, essay-type papers that retell a nation's history "are not useful" and that "a simple and concise overview is best."

How long it should be: four conferences compared

The UN guide gives no page limit. It asks only for a paper that is "brief and concise." The limits below come from the conferences themselves, which is why you should always read your own conference's guide first.

• NMUN: "Length must not exceed two pages," plus a third page that holds only a statement disclosing any use of AI tools.
• Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN), Boston: one single-spaced page for each topic area, unless the committee's background guide says otherwise. A committee with two topics gets one document containing both papers.
• Harvard Model United Nations India (HMUN India): General Assembly and ECOSOC delegates write "a position paper of 1-2 pages," and dual-topic committees put both papers in the same document.
• The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN): calls the document a "policy statement," not a position paper, and says it should not "exceed 300 words."

So a paper that fits one conference can be twice too long for another. Check the length rule before you start drafting, not after.

Layout and submission rules can be strict

NMUN's guide is very detailed. Margins are 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides, the font is Arial at 10 point, headers are centred and the main text is left aligned. The first line, in bold, reads "Delegation from" followed by your Member State, and the second line, in bold italics, names the committee. Your school or university's name must not appear anywhere in the paper. Images are not allowed, and that includes flags and national seals.

Submission rules matter as much as writing. NMUN takes papers only through its submission form, not by email, and only as PDF files named after the committee and your assignment, for example "GA1_Cuba.pdf." To be considered for awards, papers must arrive by 11:59 p.m. US Eastern Time on the posted date. Its New York conference page warns that ignoring the guidelines means evaluation points are deducted, and late papers cannot win position paper awards. HMUN India asks for submission on its MUNager platform as a .doc, .docx or .pdf file, with a file name made of committee, position and school.

How three conferences structure the paper

The structure also varies, and seeing the differences side by side helps you write for any conference.

NMUN papers have exactly two sections, one for each topic, in the order they appear in the committee's background guide. There is "no overall introduction, conclusion, or additional substantive information" beyond those sections. For each topic, NMUN suggests a paragraph on the current situation and what matters most to your delegation, one or two paragraphs on the frameworks and bodies you support, oppose or want changed, and a final paragraph on the action you want to see.

THIMUN's policy statement has five parts: define the issue and its key terms, summarise recent international action, refer to key documents, state your country's general position, and suggest solutions that fit your country's policies. THIMUN says the statement can serve as the basis for your opening speech, and its guide on draft resolutions says the clauses you later write "should correspond closely" to it.

HMUN says each paper has "three basic parts: your country’s national interests, your country’s national policies, and your opinion on potential resolution components." Its outline runs from background, to your delegation's position, to proposed solutions, and asks a sharp question in the last part: what do you predict will be the main opposition to your proposals?

How papers are judged

Not every conference gives prizes for position papers, but several tie them to awards. NMUN gives separate "Outstanding Position Paper" awards and publishes the weights it uses to judge papers for those awards: position 35 per cent, supporting information 25 per cent, international diplomacy 15 per cent, clarity and conciseness 15 per cent, and overall impression 10 per cent. It defines clarity and conciseness as being "information dense and substantive throughout, avoiding “filler” language."

HMUN's staff read and summarise the papers to guide debate, and "quality of position papers" is one of the criteria for individual awards. HMUN India makes papers a condition: delegates in most committees must submit one "to be eligible for awards."

Notice what the NMUN weights reward. A clear position and solid supporting information make up 60 per cent of the marks. Elegant writing helps, but only after the substance is right.

Sources, citations and AI

Here the conferences disagree. The UN guide says statistics, quotes and other information "should be cited in an accepted scholarly citation format." NMUN says the opposite for its own papers: footnotes, endnotes and in-text citations "should not be used," though quotation marks and an indication of the source are still expected when you quote a document. Follow your conference, and keep your own list of sources either way, because chairs and other delegates may ask where a figure came from. Our guide on how to cite sources in a school research paper explains the main citation styles.

Originality rules are firm. NMUN says plagiarism makes a paper ineligible for review, and it counts "significant reproduction" of UN documents as plagiarism, even though brief quotes are allowed. On AI, NMUN does not ban the tools but requires a disclosure statement on the third page. HMUN India goes further: delegates who use generative AI or plagiarise "will not be considered for awards." The UN guide's research advice applies to all of them: not all websites are reliable and many sources may be biased, so confirm information in more than one source and "distinguish between opinions and facts."

A checklist before you submit

• You have read your own conference's position paper rules, including length, font, file format and deadline.
• Your opening sentence states your country's position clearly enough that a chair could repeat it.
• Every claim about your country's policy is backed by a real statement, agreement or document.
• Your recommendations say what the committee should do, not just what the problem is.
• The paper is written in the third person throughout.
• Every figure has a source you can show, cited in the way your conference asks.
• The file is named and submitted exactly as the conference requires, before the deadline.

What to do next

For a full worked example, with a research method, a PESTEL analysis and an annotated sample paper, read our guide on how to write a Model G20 position paper. For the whole conference, from research to committee day, see how to prepare for a Model G20 or Model UN conference.

If you want to practise these skills in a summit setting, Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.