Training
For Delegates new & Returning to MUN
WHAT IS MODEL UNITED NATIONS (MUN)?
As the name implies, in its most traditional sense, Model United Nations involves simulations of various bodies that make up the United Nations, ranging from the General Assemblies to organs like the World Health Organization. Since its birth in 1921, MUN has grown to include various simulations including cabinets, corporate boards, and more. Fundamentally, Model UN is about diplomacy and leadership. Over the course of the conference weekend, delegates work together in their committees to solve problems with creative solutions.
There are three main styles of committees: General Assembly (GA), Crisis, and Specialized/Hybrid. All three of these kinds of committees will be addressed in subsequent sections in more detail, and feel free to browse our committees to see examples of these different committee types.
The basic set-up of a Model UN committee features delegates writing resolutions (GAs) or directives (Crisis) with other delegates in order to solve some issue related to the committee. Resolutions are long, typed documents with a formal tone similar to UN resolutions. Directives are short and handwritten, often with more informal and creative solutions.
Each committee has a corresponding background guide written by the people in charge of running the committee, the Senior Staffers. The guide will contain background information and current context about problems that delegates will deal with during committee, along with important information about your assigned position on committee. We highly recommend reading the background guide as a first step toward beginning your preparation to be a delegate.
Key Terms
Dais - the chair and other staff at the front of the committee room, moderating debate
Moderated Caucus - Structured debate on a specified topic, during which particular speakers deliver timed speeches to committee (ex: 9 min, 45 sec speaking time discussing the crisis update). Also referred to as a “mod.”
Unmoderated Caucus - Unstructured time when delegates can move around the room to discuss freely or to work on resolutions and directives. No topic is necessary (ex: 10 minute unmoderated caucus) Also referred to as an “unmod.”
Additional Terms for Crisis Simulations:
Frontroom - Refers to the committee room where delegates debate, but also to the body that the committee is simulating. Frontroom is where speeches are given, votes are taken, and resolutions/directives are written.
Backroom - The world outside of the committee that is subject to interference from delegate actions through directives or crisis notes. Refers to the room where crisis responds to notes and directives
INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL ASSEMBLIES (GA)
General Assembly Committees are the original Model UN simulations that typically feature an international body attempting to solve a global problem. General Assembly committees feature formal debate, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the Rules of Procedure for the conference and/or your committee. The flow of debate in General Assemblies generally follows the following steps:
Flow of Committee
Delegates will normally set the Speaker’s List that can be moved to at any time there isn’t a motion on the dais. There will also be moderated caucuses featuring delegates giving their opening speeches on the topic at hand. Soon after, there will be an unmoderated caucus where delegates will start forming informal working groups known as blocs. Members of a bloc will usually work together on a resolution and often have similar positions on the topic. However, this should not be a restriction. It is always useful to engage in healthy discourse, even if this means having a variety of positions within a bloc. The beginning of committee is a great time to give speeches about your ideas for solutions to the problems presented by the topic and begin working with your fellow delegates to implement those solutions.
Working Papers and Draft Resolutions
As blocs begin to become more solidified, it’s time to begin drafting a working paper. The working paper should contain clauses that provide solutions to the problem being discussed. Each bloc will usually have its own Google Doc or another online document that allows for all bloc members to write clauses for the working paper. It is natural to have some disagreements about specifics of clauses during this phase, and it is valuable to talk and workshop clause ideas with your fellow delegates. Depending on the number of working papers being accepted and the determined page cap for each working paper, it is possible that your bloc’s resolution may have to merge with another. The merging process involves talking through which parts of the resolution are most important and keeping those in. It is also a time to eliminate redundancy and combine clauses that are similar. Those who write the working paper are considered sponsors, and those who want to see it debated, but do not necessarily support the ideas or not, can sign on as signatories. There is usually a minimum signatory amount to submit a resolution. Once submitted, there will be a Presentation and Q&A period, which is described in the next section. After these, working papers will merge and be edited into draft resolutions. The dais will usually accept fewer draft resolutions than working papers, but the draft resolutions usually have a large page cap. After finalizing draft resolutions, the committee will once again have a Presentation and Q&A.
Presentation and Q&A
For Presentation and Q&A, each bloc collectively picks delegates to present the paper to committee and delegates to answer questions asked by other delegates. The number of spots available for Presentation and Q&A will be announced by the dais before papers are submitted. Presentation is as straightforward as it seems: the delegates chosen for presentation will give a short overview of the paper. For Q&A, delegate field questions from other delegates about the paper. This usually occurs for every single paper for both working paper phase and draft resolution phase.
Amendments and Voting
Oftentimes, GAs will contain opportunities for amendments. At this time, usually after a draft resolution Q&A, delegates can try to formally modify the resolution. Amendments can be either “friendly” or “unfriendly.” Friendly amendments are amendments that all of the sponsors support and are usually just quick changes to the resolution by those who wrote it. Unfriendly amendments are usually more controversial. They are amendments that all of the sponsors don’t support. These amendments are debated and voted upon before being added to the resolution. After amendments are set in stone, the committee will vote on the resolutions!
INTRODUCTION TO CRISIS
The main difference between Crisis and General Assembly committees is that Crisis committees are dynamic; the "state of the world" changes in response to the decisions and actions of delegates in committee. A General Assembly committee is typically focused on creating in-depth, well-researched solutions to a single problem, whereas a Crisis committee generally tries to respond to a specific “crisis” and then has to deal with the outcomes of the response, often following up on solutions and implementation long after debate on the initial question has been settled. Crisis Committees can be expanded to Joint Crisis Committees (JCCs), Non-Traditional Crises, and more. Additional information on JCCs and Non-Trads can be found on UNCMUNC’s website under our committee subpage. The main elements of a Crisis committee are outlined below:
Crisis Updates
The initial topic is the crisis itself. Crisis staffers may update the committee on recent events in the "world" of the committee in the form of crisis updates, which can be in-person, in writing, or in other media forms. They typically take some questions after delivering the update if it is in person. These updates typically start according to the crisis room's plans for the committee but may also be the result of, or a response to, delegate action.
Directives
Instead of working for several sessions on a long resolution, delegates in crisis committees write several smaller documents over the course of the weekend. The key differences between directives and resolutions are:
Directives are much shorter than resolutions, typically between 1-2 pages when first written (although like resolutions, they can be merged to become larger).
Directives take substantive action compared to the declarations/suggestions of resolutions. Clauses in a directive must be actionable; they need to actually make a concrete, immediate difference in the world if they are enacted.
Crisis Notes
The key distinction between GA and Crisis committees is that Delegates in a Crisis Body have a portfolio, or personal powers in addition to the powers of the committee. Delegates can take private action in the form of notes to crisis from the role of the character they play on committee. Crisis staff respond to notes with the result of the action taken. They may be favorable (e.g. the action succeeded) or they may lead to unforeseen effects (e.g. a delegate may try to work with an enemy group and be caught and revealed). Generally, the more detailed, realistic, creative, and well-thought-out the note is, the greater the chance of it receiving a favorable response from the crisis team.
Joint Private Directives
Joint Private Directives (or JPDs) are essentially one large crisis note signed onto by several delegates to pool together resources and achieve a dually desired result. Two or more delegates will write on a piece of paper several actionable items, kind of like a directive. Both will sign onto the JPD and send it to the backroom. JPDs with many delegates signing on have a higher chance of success than a crisis note. JPDs are covert, meaning that they do not need to be shared with the room or debated upon. Two delegates may secretly write a JPD together during debate or an unmoderated caucus and submit it with their crisis note.
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIALIZED COMMITTEES
Specialized committees (Specs) are a combination of crisis and GA elements to form a truly unique committee experience. Some sessions will be completely crisis with a full crisis backroom, while others will be General Assembly based with resolutions, block forming, and authors’ panel. Due to the accelerated nature of the GA sessions in hybrid committees, the working paper phase is often skipped, and there is only the draft resolution phase.
Some committees, like the UNSC, will begin with a full crisis, including backroom crisis notes and arcs, and then move into GA based on the events of the crisis portion of committee. To this end, delegate arcs should aim to cause crises, but also to build institutions that can be used and referenced in resolutions.
Other committees will begin with a GA to draft some document foundational to committee, such as a constitution. After finishing the GA portion of committee, the following sessions will be full crisis, including a backroom and responding to the resolution that passed (or not!) during the GA portion.
Finally, most specs will contain special overarching mechanics that affect debate, usually tied to the topic in particular. For example, UNCMUNC’s Dynamic Crisis has delegates representing multiple roles throughout time and can be applied to different committee topics. Most specs, however, will have intricate mechanics that can only be applied to the body represented by committee, such as election mechanics, price modelling, and more.
Though specialized committees combine crisis and GA elements, they are accessible to all delegates, regardless of experience, and can be an exciting way to experience everything that MUN has to offer!
Ad-Hoc Committees
Last but certainly not least, UNCMUNC features two Ad-Hoc Committees this year, one non-traditional crisis and one traditional crisis. These committees are the toughest challenge that UNCMUNC can provide, but that’s about all I’m gonna tell you about them. Have fun! Topics will be released upon your first committee session in Chapel Hill.
From your Secretary-General Marvin Lee!
How do I write a Resolution?
Resolutions are thought out, several page solutions to a problem debated upon by committee, traditionally used in General Assemblies. A good resolution will include all of the following aspects:
Title: Self-explanatory, the title is what the Resolution is known by! Titles are traditionally informative, such as an acronym on the details of the paper, or catchy and clever. Some resolutions will include a title page that lists the name of the paper and the sponsor/signatory list. Title pages are normally used when two resolutions merge.
Sponsor List: Sponsors are delegates who wrote clauses on the paper. A sponsor has vested work into the resolution and wants it to pass. A delegate may not be a sponsor unless they have put “words on the paper” so to speak. This will not be checked by the dais but is a good way for a bloc to decide who should be a sponsor on the paper. Most committees will include a sponsor limit to committee papers. Common limits are “No less than 3, no more than 6 sponsors” and other similar numbers.
Signatory List: Signatories are delegates who support a directive being brought up to debate in front of the committee. A signatory does not have to support the paper being passed, however. Many signatories will sign on to vehemently oppose a directive in front of the committee. Many others will support a resolution passing and sign on to help it. Others will be a signatory to help out fellow delegates. Regardless of the reason, all resolutions need a minimum of signatories to be submitted to the dais. The minimum will usually be larger than the sponsor limit. Signatories can also be delegates who wrote part of the directive but did not necessarily decide to put themselves on the Sponsor List.
Pre-Ambulatory Clauses: Also known as Pre-Ambs, these clauses convey the intent behind the paper. They include several gerunds and small phrases to help show the committee what the paper is supposed to do to solve the issue. Traditionally, 3 to 5 is a perfectly acceptable amount of Pre-Ambs.
Operative Clauses: Operative Clauses are the action of the paper. These clauses are full sentences with calls for action or changes implemented by the committee to solve the issue at hand. These are long winded clauses with several points to help be as specific and wide-ranging as possible. A traditional operative clause will include the number, a lettered subclause, and additional sub-sub clauses if necessary!
How do I write a Directive?
Directives are similar to resolutions, but are typically much shorter and respond to one issue at hand. A good directive will include all of the following aspects:
Title: Self-explanatory, the title is what the directive is known by! Titles are traditionally informative, such as an acronym on the details of the paper, or catchy and clever. Catchy titles are more popular in crisis committees.
Sponsor List: Sponsors are delegates who wrote clauses on the paper. A sponsor has vested work into the resolution and wants it to pass. A delegate may not be a sponsor unless they have put “words on the paper” so to speak. This will not be checked by the dais but is a good way for a bloc to decide who should be a sponsor on the paper. Most committees will include a sponsor limit to committee papers. Common limits are “No less than 3, no more than 6 sponsors” and other similar numbers.
Signatory List: Signatories are delegates who support a directive being brought up to debate in front of the committee. A signatory does not have to support the paper being passed, however. Many signatories will sign on to vehemently oppose a directive in front of the committee. Many others will support a resolution passing and sign on to help it. Others will be a signatory to help out fellow delegates. Regardless of the reason, all resolutions need a minimum of signatories to be submitted to the dais. The minimum will usually be larger than the sponsor limit. Signatories can also be delegates who wrote part of the directive but did not necessarily decide to put themselves on the Sponsor List.
Operative Clauses: Directives do not include Pre-Ambulatory Clauses, only Operatives. Operative Clauses are the action of the paper. These clauses are full sentences with calls for action or changes implemented by the committee to solve the issue at hand. These are long winded clauses with several points to help be as specific and wide-ranging as possible. A traditional operative clause will include the number, a lettered subclause, and additional sub-sub clauses if necessary! Clauses in a directive should respond directly to the crisis, background guide, and plan for the future of committee.
How do I write a Crisis Note?
Crisis Notes are actions written to a historical or fictional character, intended to complete an action to further a character’s crisis arc. They are written in letter format.
A Crisis Arc is a delegate’s plan to obtain power, resources, or create disorder to affect committee. Examples of a Crisis Arc could be obtaining power and becoming King of England, creating a chain of Chili’s with hypnotic triple dippers, or creating a militant society of rat men to seize power over a city.
A good Crisis Arc will combine notes that collect resources and notes that create action. Your goal is to obtain power and affect committee. Crisis notes should have all of the following aspects:
Subject of the Letter: To whom the Note is addressed to.
Introductory Statements/Roleplay of your Character/How you know the subject
Specific Requests, the meat of your crisis note
Farewell Address,
Signature
How to write a successful note?
Be specific about what you want and how you intend to use it
Provide reasons for who you’re writing to as to why they should help you and/or give them something in turn
Support notes with JPDs and Directives (when possible)
Use historical avenues to achieve powerful means
Use your role’s abilities to forge a relevant and effective arc
How do I write a JPD?
JPDs are the combination of crisis notes and directives. A JPD should include the following aspects:
Title (if desired)
Operative Clauses/Requests to backroom
Signatures of all involved delegates
JPDs do not need to be written like a letter or crisis note. Simply include the necessary information and what you want from the backroom.
How to write a successful JPD?
Be specific about what you want and how you intend to use it
Support notes with Crisis Notes and Directives (when possible)
Use historical avenues to achieve powerful means
Use every delegate’s powers and resources to increase success rate
Think big!
The more delegates on the JPD, the more powerfu
INTRODUCTION TO SPECIALIZED COMMITTEES
Hybrid committees are a combination of crisis and GA elements to form a truly unique committee experience. Some sessions will be completely crisis with full crisis backroom, while others will be GA. Due to the accelerated nature of the GA sessions in hybrid committees, the working paper phase is often skipped, and there is only the draft resolution phase.
Some committees, like the UNSC, will begin with full crisis, including backroom crisis notes and arcs, and then move into GA based on the events of the crisis portion of committee. To this end, delegate arcs should aim to cause crises, but also to build institutions that can be used and referenced in resolutions.
Other committees will begin with a GA to draft some document foundational to committee, such as a constitution. After finishing the GA portion of committee, the following sessions will be full crisis, including crisis backroom and responding to the directive that passed (or not!) during the GA portion. .
Though hybrids combine crisis and GA elements, they are accessible to all delegates, regardless of experience, and can be an exciting way to experience everything that MUN has to offer!
Credits
Thank you to the University of Chicago’s ChoMUN for gracefully letting us use this page!
Edited by Director of Academic Affairs, Aiden Lang!