what are position papers for English 88v?

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position papers don't fiddle-faddle with general introductions or conclusions,

...but rather get rather quickly to the point, which is

Shawn Walker (English 88v teaching assistant) at left; Dave Deifer (founder and editor of CrossConnect and founding member of the Writers House planning committee) at right
...a contention - or interpretive position - about the reading or topic in question,
...and can be thought of as your position on what you take to be the text's position (your opinion as to what the text's position is).

position papers don't summarize what's in the text (assume your reader knows the text well), and be sure to

a good rule of thumb

...for knowing if you have a remarkable position: ask yourself, "Might others be capable of disagreeing with me?" If not, then consider that your "position" is truistic or obvious or too agreeable. (In other words, a good position paper is one someone could argue against.)

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