Paper Guidelines
Delegates!
In light of the upcoming deadline for your position papers (which you should be researching now, and not waiting to the last minute), I have a couple brief reminders about paper criteria. These tips should be helpful in maximizing your score.
1) Sections: Make sure that you have four different sections. Of these four, your background should be the shortest, and your proposed solutions should be the longest (and most well thought out). Follow the guidelines for paper format found in the delegate guide and the committee specific requirements in the topic synopsis.
2) Research: Remember, you need to use two sources that are books. Make sure to go to the library! If your school library is insufficiently stocked for a research paper of this magnitude, then your local public library is a great stop. Encyclopedias, whether online or in print, are not acceptable as sources. When citing, make sure to use the MLA standard formating for history papers. There are several good sites that detail MLA format for all types of sources (you can either use this one: Purdue MLA Formatting Guide or punch “MLA Formatting” into Google). Make sure to use footnotes (I don’t like endnotes, and since I will be grading your paper, you would do well to not make it harder for me). If you have any trouble with citing or formatting, let me know via this blog or email and I will help you out. This paper is meant to be challenging but not impossible, so give it your best effort.
3) Plagiarism: In that line of thought, plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any quotation or idea that is not of your own origin should be cited and put in quotation marks (if it’s a direct quote). Taking credit for someone else’s research in your paper or lifting material will constitute a an act of plagiarism, and as I mentioned in the topic synopsis, your adviser will be asked to replace you. Since I expect the Security Council to field the best delegates, we have a higher standard for all of you. Cheating has no part in BMUN.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reply to this post, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I’m excited to get a chance to take a look at your papers and see what new ideas you’ve come up with to take Peacekeeping into the 21st century.
- Richard Hill
“Peace is our Profession”