MUNSA+XVIII+Chair+Training+Day

Chair Training Day - April 6th, 2013

Hey everyone! Now that you all know who your co-chairs are and what committee rooms you have it's time to get to work. This portion of the day is going to be devoted to learning about MUNSA XVIII's theme, beginning to brainstorm and do research on topics for your committee rooms, learning how to use research tools, and an overview on writing a background paper.

Things To Do:

 * Theme Presentation
 * Topics and Topic Research
 * Background Papers
 * [|Trinity Wifi Access]

Theme:
The theme for MUNSA XVIII is human migration. Migration encompasses all forms of human movement, including processes like urbanization and immigration. Keep in mind that as co-chairs you will be required to tie in the theme curriculum into your committee topics in a relevant fashion.

Committee Research:
Now that you know which committee room you have the first thing you should do is conduct research on that committee room. Go to your committee's website (unless it is a specialized room). As you research your committee's website you should be asking:


 * What is the focus of your committee?
 * What are the functions and duties of my committee?
 * What recent topics or issues has my committee dealt with recently?
 * What authority does my committee have?
 * What action has my committee taken recently, if any?

Doing this will help put you into the mindset of your committee room, and help you to begin brainstorming potential committee topics.

Topics and Topic Research:
Besides moderating debate within committee rooms, the chair's main focus is to develop the topics that your delegates will be researching and debating at MUNSA. Each committee room will be required to create 2 topics. That means that each co-chair will develop one topic extensively and take point on it at MUNSA, while the other will be responsible for developing the other topic for which he/she will take point while in session. Committees with three co-chairs will be the exception to this. In this case it is necessary that one or more co-chairs work together and collaborate on their topics. Remember that communication with your co-chair is key.

**There are 2 MAIN CRITERIA for each committee topic:**
1. **Is the topic debatable?**

Though consensus is a large part of delegating and resolution creating in your room there still needs to be a good degree of conflict between delegates in your room. If your topic is too dormant then the delegates might come to a conclusion much earlier than needed making for a boring committee.

2. **How does the topic tie into the general theme?**

The theme is the focal point of all the committee topics being discussed and practiced at MUNSA. As such it is very important that your topic relate to the topic in some way. This isn't to say that you are restricted on what topics you can choose, but that you must tie it into the theme.

**The following will be due on Friday, April 19th: **


 * **A list of potential topics, each chair should have their own list. This means 2-3 lists per committee. **
 * **Each list should have at least 3 well-developed topics. **
 * **If in a committee of three, each co-chair must create a list of at least 2 well-developed topics. **
 * **Please share your lists to zziebe@isa.neisd.net, jboone1@isa.neisd.net, mander21@neisd.net and callen@neisd.net on Google Docs by 4:05pm on April 19th. **


 * Research and Resources: **

While researching it would be a good idea organize and bookmark your research and sources as you go along. There are several ways you can do this; the suggested method is creating and sharing with your co chair a google document to record pertinent sources and information you have gathered online. Alternatively, you can use social bookmarking sites such as [|Diigo].


 * Good Resources:**

Although [|Wikipedia] is often distrusted by teachers, it is an excellent resource for finding secondary and primary sources. You should not rely heavily on Wikipedia to gather the information in your background paper; instead you should find relevant Wikipedia articles and look for what sources they're using. In order to do this you can click on the citation notes in superscript that link to the source for whatever sentence or paragraph they're attached to. (They look like this: [1]) Or, you can simply scroll down to the list of references and external links at the bottom of the article.

Additional trusted sources include the [|CIA World Factbook] and [|Google Scholar.] There are many other useful sites containing valuable information, but always be sure to use your judgement and watch for potential bias or misinformation.


 * Background Papers **

The primary goal of this topic development and research is the eventual crafting of a background paper. the background paper is the major premise of your topic and the main issue that is going to be debated on in the room. After having chosen your topic from your list of approved suggestions your next step should be to provide intensive research and background knowledge on the issue. This is the main purpose of the background paper and serves to guide your delegates.

Having done extensive research you should now draft your paper. Your  **First Draft** is due on **Friday, May 3rd.** Please e-mail in all of the papers no later than 4pm. Although this is a first draft, it should be well-developed and should reflect not only your MUN skills but also your knowledge of the topic. Writing the first draft of your paper will likely be the hardest part of the process, but if this step is executed well, it will be easy to edit and revise it. Use the linked document to familiarize yourself with the format of a background paper and its content.

[|MUNSA XVIII Background Paper Introduction]

Another good source of reference would be past background papers written by chairs of MUNSA XVII. These can serve as reference points for your background paper writing.

[|Citation] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> is important. For help on evaluating sources and documenting sources, <span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">[|click here.] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">You can also evaluate sources at <span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">[|BibMe] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Purdue University <span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">[|Online Writing Lab] <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> is a great resource for breaking down the research and citation process.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">It is crucial that you edit and revise your papers. These will all be going up on the MUNSA website **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">no later than June 4th **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">, which means they need to be flawless ahead of time.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">It is advised that you schedule an appointment(s) with one or more of the Secretariat members to help you with your paper.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The **first draft** will be due on **May 3rd.**

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The s **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">econd draft **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> will be due on **May 10th.**

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> **third and final draft** will be due on **May 24th.**