position paper
- noun
- /pəˈzɪʃən ˈpeɪpər/
- Formal
- Our position papers are first-rate.
- write position paper
- issued a position paper
- developed a position paper
Examples
-
Students then write a position paper in French about whom they think was responsible for the assassination.
Academic text (2005) -
Taiwan's Government Information Office issued a position paper asserting the ROC's rights as a sovereign state. 1 August 1997.
Academic text (1999) -
I read your position paper.
-
Look, he could refer them to our foreign policy position paper.
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I sent in a position paper, sir... to intelligence, as requested.
-
The year ends with the submission of individual position papers by each officer.
Academic text (1991) -
The association also produced a constant flow of proposals and position papers and maintained a regular presence at intergovernmental meetings.
Academic text (1998) -
Students used these forums to analyze the arguments being made, and they developed ideas to write position papers to school administrators.
Academic text (2012) -
The board adopted proposed position papers on children's environmental health, global climate change, and endocrine disrupters.
Academic text (1997) -
The senator's position paper outlined her views on climate change and renewable energy.
Synonyms
A written report that gives research results
An official report that explains plans or how something works
A formal paper that gives information or records facts
How Formal
- Formal
- Formal
- Literature
- Literature
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a written document stating a viewpoint' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'position' (an expressed stance) with 'paper' (a written document). Although the term is used in formal contexts, its composition is regular and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Position paper comes from the simple image of putting a clear stance on paper: someone takes a position (a firm 'view') and writes it down on a paper. So a position paper is a written document that explains and argues for that 'position' or 'policy'.