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How To Build A Position I - Done (Lecture Notebook)

The document provides guidance on how to build a position on a topic through several steps: 1. Read widely on the topic from various perspectives to understand different positions rather than relying solely on personal experience. 2. Brainstorm with others to gain additional insights and identify strengths and weaknesses in your reasoning. 3. Create assertions, which are debatable opinions on an issue rather than facts, and evaluate if they fit a central theme or thesis statement. 4. Develop a thesis statement that articulates the overall position based on the supporting assertions.

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Mary De Jesus
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3K views

How To Build A Position I - Done (Lecture Notebook)

The document provides guidance on how to build a position on a topic through several steps: 1. Read widely on the topic from various perspectives to understand different positions rather than relying solely on personal experience. 2. Brainstorm with others to gain additional insights and identify strengths and weaknesses in your reasoning. 3. Create assertions, which are debatable opinions on an issue rather than facts, and evaluate if they fit a central theme or thesis statement. 4. Develop a thesis statement that articulates the overall position based on the supporting assertions.

Uploaded by

Mary De Jesus
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to Build a Position

Marikit Tara Alto Uychoco

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(1) The first thing that you must do when you build a position is to read widely about the topic. It is
not enough to rely on your common sense or personal experience. In order to succeed in
building a position, you must read what other people have written about it first.
(2) You may be surprised about how varied these positions are. These positions have been reached
because of different experiences and worldviews, and each position must be accorded due
respect. They can come from different takes on morality, concerns about society, social
backgrounds, and political ideologies.
(3) Just because you disagree with a position does not mean that you should ridicule, ignore, or
demonize that position. This is the stance of the ignorant. For the educated, an open mind is
imperative in order to give way to critical thinking. As Thomas Dewar once said, “Minds are
like parachutes, they only function when open.”

Brainstorm
(4) After gathering all the positions and evidence you need, brainstorm with a friend about the ideas
you have found. The old adage “Two heads are better than one” is specially true when it comes
to the construction of arguments. Oftentimes, we can be blind to our flaws in reasoning, so it is
always better to consult someone about your arguments in order to see their strengths and
weakness clearer.

Create Assertions
(5) Assertions are opinions that people may or may not agree with. They are not general truths;
instead they are positions on an issue. For example, when it comes to the issue of whether
uniforms should be required in the school, the assertion is that the use of uniforms promotes the
ideals of equality in the school. This is a philosophical position that one may or may not agree
with.
(6) An example of a statement that is not an assertion is that all uniforms look the same. One cannot
possibly disagree with this, because this is a general truth, a statement of fact, whereas an
assertion is a statement of opinion. Nobody can contest that all uniforms look the same, but
others may disagree that this promotes the ideals of equality.
(7) For example, uniforms may be made from different materials, of either inferior or superior
quality,
and this is already an indicator of social inequality. There are different kinds of lunchboxes,
bags,
and the meals themselves that may be subject to social evaluation and inspection. In the end,
because children are often cruel, these can be used as a basis for ridicule and bullying, despite
wearing the same uniform as their classmates. In this manner, one can argue on principle that
uniforms do not promote equality, even though all uniforms superficially look the same.
(8) Upon building arguments, one should write down several assertions. After reading one’s
assertions, one should evaluate whether all of these assertions fit a particular theme or main
idea. This theme, main idea, or your thesis statement should be the controlling idea of your
position paper.

For example, in the position regarding the requirement of uniforms in the school, one may write
the following assertions:
a. Uniforms promote the ideals of equality
b. Uniforms lessen distractions between the opposite sexes.
c. Uniforms unite the student populace in having a common purpose and identity.
d. Uniforms make people feel that they are part of a larger institutions than themselves.

(9) Given these assertions, one can come out with the theme, “Uniforms should be required in the
school because it benefits the greater good in forwarding a common sense of purpose, unity, and
equality among students. “However, as I have stated before, it is equally possible to have
assertions that are just as strong, or stronger, than those written above.

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