While reading this position paper which focuses on the strategies and effectiveness of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), I payed close attention to the style of how the position paper was written. Having mainly read formal essays and articles this far into the class, it was interesting to read a paper that was in a much different format.
The most obvious difference of the position paper in contrast to essays is that there is less of a focus on the use of language to appeal to the reader’s senses; the argument of the position paper is supported purely by facts. These facts are cited frequently and properly, and there is no time wasted on useless metaphors because the paper tries to establish the point early and stay on topic with plenty of information. Additionally, the preci of the paper is stated repeatedly.The goal of a position paper appears to be to confidently convey an idea using concrete sources of evidence. In general, I prefer the format of the position paper more than most formal essays and articles because most of the reading I do myself is strictly for factual information. As a reader, I want the facts given to me, and I like to make my own opinions about them.
It is an audience with a similar mindset that this paper is targeted to. The author assumes that the reader is somewhat knowledgeable of the subject matter already and wants a great deal of information organized efficiently. This can be more effective to defend a position on in certain situations because if one has enough concrete factual evidence to prove their argument, there is no need to persuade the reader using complex analogies and syntax because there are numbers, graphs, and first-hand accounts that will do the persuading for them.
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