ROBERT'S RULES MOTIONS
This type of action brings brand new business before the assembly.
What is a Main Motion?
A member must obtain this authorization from the chairperson before they are allowed to speak.
What is the floor?
This official UN document outlines your assigned nation’s views, data, and policy goals for the committee topic.
What is a position paper?
This point-of-view perspective must be used when writing the paper, completely avoiding the words "I" or "my."
What is third person?
This ethical practice ensures respondents know the purpose of a survey before they choose to participate.
What is informed consent?
The number of members required to back a main motion before it can be discussed by the group.
What is one?
This official document lists the scheduled order of business to be followed during a meeting.
What is the agenda?
You should read this comprehensive background research document provided by your committee chairs before writing your paper.
What is a Background Guide?
This standard maximum page limit is strictly enforced for most Model UN position papers.
What is one page?
This rule requires that numerical survey brackets, like ages, do not overlap (e.g., 10–14 and 15–19).
What is mutually exclusive?
A motion used to modify or change the wording of a proposal currently being discussed.
What is to amend?
This official written record of all actions taken during a meeting is kept by the secretary.
What are the minutes?
This standard visual block at the very top of the paper includes the committee name, topic, country, and sponsor school.
What is a heading?
This formal, professional tone must be maintained throughout the document, avoiding slang or casual speech.
What is diplomatic language?
This vital choice must be included in sensitive demographic questions to respect a participant's privacy.
What is "Prefer not to answer"?
This motion is used to temporarily set aside business to handle something more urgent.
What is to lay on the table?
This term describes the minimum number of members who must be present to legally conduct business.
What is a quorum?
This specific section of the paper details how the issue directly affects your country’s economy, safety, or population.
What is National Impact?
This standard typography sizing is typically required for formatting standard position papers.
What is 12-point font?
This safety practice involves removing names, phone numbers, and addresses from datasets to protect privacy.
What is anonymization (or de-identification)?
This motion effectively kills a main motion for the rest of the meeting without taking a direct vote on it.
What is to postpone indefinitely?
A member calls this out immediately when a rule of parliamentary procedure has been broken.
What is point of order?
This section details specific laws, treaties, or declarations your assigned nation has previously supported.
What is Past International Action?
These two common citation styles are most frequently used to format footnotes and bibliographies in Model UN papers.
What are MLA and Chicago style?
This type of error occurs when certain population groups are accidentally left out of a survey sample.
What is sampling bias?