In the minds of ESL exam candidates, e ssay writing is one of the most daunting tasks they are required to complete, regardless of the level of the exam, the administering body or the ease with which they themselves use the language. The same applies to students who are asked to write an essay by their teachers at school. In the previous sample essays posted on the blog, the main point I stress is the need to become acquainted with this form of writing (as opposed to writing a letter, review or report, for instance), to get a feel of what authorial voice is and how to organize and progressively express the arguments you wish to make in a coherent manner. Unfortunately, the best way to prepare for exam writing or learn how to write good essays for school is to read as many essays from as many sources as possible, then write as
As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest part - ask any writer and they'll show you their fingernails, or whatever's left of them.
Well, starting off with your grand Model United Nations endeavor is not unlike writing in that you need to get your facts straight before you can begin to put your ducks in order. In this case your ducks are your ideas and overall opinion vis-Ã -vis the issue.
The reason why most of you are reading this right now is because you've signed up for the MUN team, or you've been asked to join it, or have heard that you'll travel abroad to attend it, and hey, any opportunity to get away from your regular routine is welcome. Believe me, few people say "No!" to road trips.
However, beyond the point of accepting to attend, you have little idea what it is that you'll be doing. If you know of someone who's going at it a second time, ask them. First-hand accounts are always the best. If you're part of a team who are new to this, then your coordinator is the next best individual to approach. Chances are, said coordinator has already briefed you on a number of things and well-prepared coordinators will have handed out a set of folders with useful information for first-time delegates.
This, dear reader, is the blog entry for those who have no one 'competent' to turn to.
After a moment's silence there for all you neglected, lonely delegates, let's roll up our sleeves and get cracking.
So, where to start, you ask? Simple enough. You've been assigned a country, and a committee, and one or more current issues that are to become the center of attention at the actual conference. However, that's something you already know about the MUN and if you don't, you could easily find on Wikipedia in a jiffy. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just take a look at that page to have an overall picture of what is in store for you.
Step 1 is think of yourself as a reporter and tread as a reporter would. All good reporters study their subject before formulating an opinion on it and once that opinion is formed, then and only then do they plan their article. Having taken good notes, which they've subsequently organized in a meticulous manner, they proceed to write their piece.
MUN delegates are no exception to this. Having helped out a few students in the past, I've realized that the greatest mistake they make (and the one I've pointed out repeatedly to them, which of course they ignore) is that they start their research way too late. As a result, their position papers and proposed resolutions are weak, and they themselves go to the conferences unprepared. I therefore stress it here before going any further:
START YOUR RESEARCH AS SOON AS YOU HAVE YOUR ASSIGNED COUNTRY, COMMITTEE, ISSUE.
This article is intended to give you a list of websites to visit and gather information concerning the basics, in other words your country, committee, topic, as well as a few more useful links. More articles will follow about MUN procedures, delegate folders, position papers and resolutions.
First off, find out about the United Nations.
That said, let's turn to learning more about the MUN.
Get General Information about the MUN
Now that you've read a few things about the UN, you ought to see what an MUN is like. A nice place to start would be the official UN page that talks about it. The most useful section here is the MUN Guide for the General Assembly found on the far right of the horizontal menu bar at the top. Read through it to get your bearings.
As students, the following pages should also provide further important links:
Your next move should be to find information about your country.
Get General Information about the Country You Represent
As all acclimatized delegates will tell you, search for facts concerning the country you've been assigned here:
The reason why most of you are reading this right now is because you've signed up for the MUN team, or you've been asked to join it, or have heard that you'll travel abroad to attend it, and hey, any opportunity to get away from your regular routine is welcome. Believe me, few people say "No!" to road trips.
However, beyond the point of accepting to attend, you have little idea what it is that you'll be doing. If you know of someone who's going at it a second time, ask them. First-hand accounts are always the best. If you're part of a team who are new to this, then your coordinator is the next best individual to approach. Chances are, said coordinator has already briefed you on a number of things and well-prepared coordinators will have handed out a set of folders with useful information for first-time delegates.
This, dear reader, is the blog entry for those who have no one 'competent' to turn to.
After a moment's silence there for all you neglected, lonely delegates, let's roll up our sleeves and get cracking.
So, where to start, you ask? Simple enough. You've been assigned a country, and a committee, and one or more current issues that are to become the center of attention at the actual conference. However, that's something you already know about the MUN and if you don't, you could easily find on Wikipedia in a jiffy. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just take a look at that page to have an overall picture of what is in store for you.
Step 1 is think of yourself as a reporter and tread as a reporter would. All good reporters study their subject before formulating an opinion on it and once that opinion is formed, then and only then do they plan their article. Having taken good notes, which they've subsequently organized in a meticulous manner, they proceed to write their piece.
MUN delegates are no exception to this. Having helped out a few students in the past, I've realized that the greatest mistake they make (and the one I've pointed out repeatedly to them, which of course they ignore) is that they start their research way too late. As a result, their position papers and proposed resolutions are weak, and they themselves go to the conferences unprepared. I therefore stress it here before going any further:
START YOUR RESEARCH AS SOON AS YOU HAVE YOUR ASSIGNED COUNTRY, COMMITTEE, ISSUE.
This article is intended to give you a list of websites to visit and gather information concerning the basics, in other words your country, committee, topic, as well as a few more useful links. More articles will follow about MUN procedures, delegate folders, position papers and resolutions.
First off, find out about the United Nations.
General
Info about the UN
- the UN's central page will give you information on just about everything
- read the About the UN page and in the subcategories on the drop down menu, keep in mind the following
- the main organs
- the specialized agencies
- the UN Charter which will become useful for when you write resolutions later on
- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also useful for resolutions)
- read each section of the What We Do menu separately by clicking on the 5 different categories beneath it (maintain peace, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, etc.). Understand what it is you will be aiming for at the conference
- the Where We Work section will be of use once you know the country you've been assigned. Look under the geographical location your country belongs to and keep in mind all the UN offices that are active in that region. Going to the various websites available, will give you valuable background information. For example, by clicking on Africa, then the UN's Women link and then Malawi (because, let's say, that was the country you were assigned) you find a very helpful introduction to women's issues in the country and the programs the UN is actively engaged in at the moment there
- under the News and Media section on the menu bar, you'll find press releases from UN officials and other renowned individuals you can use later on in your position papers or resolutions, or from whom you can get ideas about potential solutions to issues
- once you know the issues you'll discuss, check out audiovisual material, search UN videos on their webtv, and other documentaries as well
- finally, go to their news page and under the topic section on the menu bar search for facts about your topic once it has been announced
- the documents section will be of use later on when it's time for you to write your position paper and think about drawing up a resolution, but make sure you know what's included under this heading and the different types of documents you have at your disposal
That said, let's turn to learning more about the MUN.
Get General Information about the MUN
Now that you've read a few things about the UN, you ought to see what an MUN is like. A nice place to start would be the official UN page that talks about it. The most useful section here is the MUN Guide for the General Assembly found on the far right of the horizontal menu bar at the top. Read through it to get your bearings.
As students, the following pages should also provide further important links:
- the UN's page for students
- the website Best Delegate
- for your position papers later on visit the MyMUN database
Your next move should be to find information about your country.
Get General Information about the Country You Represent
As all acclimatized delegates will tell you, search for facts concerning the country you've been assigned here:
- the CIA World Factbook
- the World Bank
- the World Statistics Pocketbook published annually that can be downloaded in pdf format and summarizes each country on a convenient sheet
- find and visit your country's permanent mission to the UN on this list
- the US Department of State also has further information here
- Wikipedia always is an easy solution in the end
A final thing you need to research is the committee you will be on.
 |
Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash
|
Get General Information about the Committee / Council / Organization / Assembly / Court You Are Attending
The UN's 6 organs:
All of these goals, programs and documents are usually found on the menu bar at the top of each committee's website.The UN's 6 organs:
- General Assembly (GA)
- GA1: Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC)
- GA2: Economic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN)
- GA3: Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM)
- GA4: Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (SPECPOL)
- GA5: Administrative and Budgetary and general Committee
- GA6: Legal Committee
- Security Council (UNSC)
- Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
- Secretariat
- International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- Trusteeship Council
To recap, you have general information about the UN, what the MUN is and have gathered facts about the country you are a delegate of and the committee or organization you are attending.
Get General Information about the Specific MUN Conference
Your next step is to log onto the specific MUN website, that is, the website of the institution that's organizing the conferences. For instance, if you're going to the Paris MUN, you need to go here. If you're in the US, this is a page to go to but regional and even international MUN conferences will have you surfing the net.
This part of your search will provide you with a program and agenda as well as other information the school or college deems of value. Introductions to issues on the agenda will prove very useful so find and read those, which brings me to my next point.
 |
| Photo by brotiN biswaS from Pexels |
Get General Information about the Issues on the Agenda
At this stage, if you know what MUN you will be attending, you need to turn to your agenda topics and carry out research on them. Apart from typing key search terms on Google and other search engines, also know that there are other news agencies or web pages you can take advantage of:
- BBC
- Reuters
- AP
- The Guardian
- Al Jazeera
- RT
- DW
- France24
- Wikileaks
- find a list by country of origin here
Learn about what has been going on at the UN regarding your issue by searching for documents, speeches and voting records on the
- United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBIS)
- United Nations Official Document Search (UN ODS)
The more you search, the more clues you'll find that will lead to key words you can type on search engines and probe deeper into the matter.
The last links I'm going to give contain the ultimate delegate guides that MUN advisors should point delegates towards. If your advisor hasn't already done so, read the following handbooks or use the following links:
- The Hague's MUN Guide
- DelegatePal
- The United Nations Association of the United States of America resource for students (if you're a teacher, this is the link to go visit)
Good luck, have fun, and remember - START YOUR RESEARCH EARLY!