Working papers are written in committee. There will be multiple working papers circulating in your committee (depending on the size of your committee), and you will merge with other blocs later, combining your working papers to form resolution papers. Then you'll vote on which resolution paper to pass. 

 

Working papers can be anywhere from 1 page to 10 pages, depending on how much your bloc has to say. Working papers are where you put your solutions to the issue. In the heading, you should include the committee name, sponsors (people writing the paper), signatories (people who want to see the paper read, even though they didn't contribute to it), and the subject. Working papers are usually addressed to the General Assembly, which is the main policymaking organ of the UN. 

 

Working papers have two sections-preambulatory clauses and operative clauses.

Preambulatory clauses come first, and they always start with present progressive verbs (end in -ing), such as 'affirming', 'recognizing', or 'noting'. You should underline these verbs that start each sentence. These clauses talk about the general issues within the topic area, and address past actions that the UN has taken. There should only be a few of these, and they should not be the bulk of your paper.

Next come the operative clauses. These clauses start with present action verbs like 'encourages', 'demands', and 'calls upon'. These are the clauses with actual substance, and where you outline your unique solutions to the problem and how you plan to enforce them. Make sure to include a general statement, then get into the who/what/where/when/why/how in the sub clauses. You can add as many clauses and sub clauses as needed to make a strong argument. The operative clauses should be the bulk of your paper.

 

Your working paper should read like a long run-on sentence. Put commas after every preambulatory clause, and after every operative clause and sub clause except for the last sub clause under a clause. The last sub clause under a clause should end with a semi-colon, before moving onto the next clause. There should only be one period in the entire paper-at the very end of it all.

 

Attached are some sample papers for extra help and formatting details: