Working Papers

Please follow these guidelines carefully before submitting your work to the

Secretariat.

Contents

Every Delegate has to write a working paper on the topics of the committee that are to be discussed in his/her Committee from the assigned country’s point of view. You should also include recommendations for action to be taken by your committee. It shows the format of a resolution.

Formal aspects

• All papers must be typed and formatted according to this template.
• Font must be Arial sized between 10 pt. and 12 pt.
• The Approval Panel will do the line numbering. Please don't add numbers.
• Document must be saved as a word-document:
  • Committee_item_main submitter
  • e.g UNESCO_Journalists_Impunity _Romania
• Committee (Body), Topic (issue concerning) and Submitter Nation need to be clearly labelled on the first page.
• Agenda topics must be clearly labelled in separate documents.
• A working paper should be divided into two sections to fit the sample. The sections are introduced by colons; preambulatory clauses are ended with commas, and operative clauses are ended with a semicolon. The operative clauses should be numbered to aid in discussion.
• Clauses may be divided into sub-clauses using (a), (b), etc.
• The final clause ends with a period.  

Working Papers need to be submitted via email to your Chair. ​​​​​​​He/She will pass it on to you.

They will be published on the MUNOG website. When submitted the Chairs check and give feedback before the conference.

How to write a working paper

A working paper is a carefully-drafted single sentence asking the assembly to express an opinion, affirm a policy, or take an action. It is a formal proposal made to the assembly by a delegate or group of delegates. It consists of both preambulatory and operative clauses. A submitter of the Working Paper must be prepared to explain and defend the views expressed and the action requested in the Working Paper. It is not appropriate or sufficient to ask delegates to vote “yes” because “this is a good Working Paper and it should be passed.”

Useful hints

The Preamble

This section explains the purpose of the Working Paper and states the chief reasons for the recommendations given in the Operative Clause(s). Often, the Preamble refers to a previous UN action. The Preamble may NOT be amended. Each preambulatory clause starts with a verb. The following is a list of verbs that may be used as verbs in preambulatory clauses:

Affirming

Alarmed by

Approving

Aware of

Believing

Bearing in mind

Confident

Contemplating

Convinced

Declaring

Deeply concerned

Deeply conscious

Deeply convinced

Deeply disturbed

Deeply regretting

Desiring

Emphasizing

Expressing its appreciation

Expressing its satisfaction

Fulfilling

Fully aware

Fully believing

Further deploring

Further noting

Further recalling

Guided by

Having adopted

Having considered

Having considered further

Having denoted attention

Having examined

Having heard

Having received

Having studied

Keeping in mind

Noting

Noting with approval

Noting with deep concern

Noting with regret

Noting with satisfaction

Observing

Realizing

Reaffirming

Recalling

Recognizing

Referring

Recalling

Seeking

Taking into account

Taking into consideration

Taking note

Viewing with appreciation

Welcoming

Each clause ends with a comma.

The Operative Clause

This section states the policy or action that delegates are being asked to adopt. It must be clearly and succinctly worded. This section must be based on the positions and arguments you have made in the Preamble. Each clause must deal with only one complete idea and set forth a clear action to be taken. Each clause must be numbered. Clauses may be divided into sub-clauses using (a), (b), etc. These clauses may be amended.

Operative clauses begin with action verbs. Some action verbs may only be used by the Security Council. They are indicated by a star *. Action verbs that may be used to introduce an operative clause are as follows:

Operative clauses end in semicolons. The final clause ends with a period.

From a Working Paper to a Resolution

1: Working Paper 

                  2: Secretariat/ Approval Panel

3: Draft Resolution

                  4: Committee/ Amendments

5: Resolution

Working Papers …