Model UN Help Center

Model UN is not a centralized activity– every club and team operates independently from one another, and there is no central organizing body. To start an after-school Model UN club, you’ll have to find out how your school recognized co-curricular activities. Each school will have different processes for creating a new club, so consult a teacher or faculty member and ask how to begin the process. Most schools will require a teacher or faculty advisor, so contact teachers you think may be interested. They can also help you create a constitution that will govern your club’s functions. Then, begin speaking to friends and peers about the club to grow interest in membership.

Many people will tell you that you should always speak as much as you can no matter what. This can be the case in certain instances, but it’s also possible to overkill how much you speak.

The answer to this question varies depending on committee size and type. In larger committees, speaking opportunities are few and far between, so you should aim to speak as much as possible. In committees like this, your placard should always be raised up high whenever the chair asks if anyone wishes to speak; that way, you can establish a presence in committee.

In smaller committees, the answer becomes slightly more strategic. If possible, you should try to speak AT LEAST once in every single moderated caucus. If you speak once during the first half of the moderated caucus, it may also be beneficial to try to speak again during the second half by reiterating your ideas in different words or being responsive to speeches made by other delegates. In rare cases where your country or position is an important player in a particular topic of a moderated caucus, speaking more than twice is acceptable but should be used sparingly. If you feel a need to speak more than twice without being a central player in a discussion, it simply means that your first speeches were not comprehensive enough to get your point across.

In most US conferences, clauses cannot be written before the official start of a conference when debate is opened during committee session 1. Writing clauses before this time is called pre-writing and is considered cheating within the Model UN community. For most conferences, pre-writing is grounds for disqualification for awards and sometimes even expulsion from the conference.

You are free to begin writing as soon as debate opens, but it’s generally a good idea to wait and hear from other delegates and find ones with similar positions as you before you begin writing. Many delegates perceive people that write clauses before solidifying a bloc as uncooperative or manipulative, so it’s best to hold off at least for a little bit. What you can do to get around this is write out positions you have or ideas you would like to put into a draft resolution as loose bullet points that way you can remember and reference them when it is time to begin writing clauses but are still not cheating by pre-writing.

If you are a single delegate, in most instances, it is unwise to leave the committee room during formal debate. Debate is important in advocating for your country’s positions and stances. Missing out on debate makes you appear weaker and less visible in committee to other delegates and the chair. Draft resolutions in Model UN are also supposed to be written in groups of delegates called blocs, so writing yours alone during structured debate time can make you seem uncooperative or undiplomatic. If you’re concerned about not having enough time to write your draft resolutions, don’t worry! Committees usually move towards the writing stage during the middle of the second day of a conference, where there will be plenty of longer unmoderated caucuses that you can use as time to write your resolution along with the rest of your bloc. 

The main exception to this would be in a dual delegate committee, where at the chair’s discretion, one delegate can stay in the room and participate in debate while their partner leaves the room with other delegates to write resolutions and optimize committee time.

Draft resolutions contain three main parts: the heading, preambulatory clauses, and operative clauses.

The heading will vary depending on your committee and conference, but headings will always include sponsors and signatories of the resolution. They also typically include the committee’s name and the title of the resolution.

Preambulatory clauses state the purpose of the resolution or the situation that the resolution hopes to rectify. These clauses are always followed by semicolons.

Operative clauses provide the concrete action being taken to resolve the issue or topic at hand. They can be very specific and are also followed by semicolons. If subclauses are used, they will be followed by commas. If you have one subclause, you must also have a second subclause. The final clause is followed by a period.

For more information about writing resolutions, check out our MUN 101 Draft Resolution Guide.

Absolutely. Opening speeches are your chance to make a strong first impression on the chair and the other delegates in committee. Not only is it important to show other delegates that you’re confident and know what you’re talking about, but it’s also always good practice to share your country’s stances and platform very early on to make sure those with similar stances know that you both align and can potentially work together on a resolution. If you do not show the other delegates in the room who you are as a delegate, you will be perpetually behind in committee.

For further guidance on giving speeches, visit our MUN 101 Guide to General Assembly Public Speaking and Debate.

This answer can change based on personal preference and speaking style. Generally, you should follow the HIPA structure: Hook, Information, Point, and Action. Your hook is a shocking statistic, anecdote, or joke that grabs the other delegates’ attention. This hook should be followed by a bit of informational background, connecting your hook to the main idea of your speech or position. The point then clearly lays out what your opinion or solution is, with reference to the information as evidence that supports the point. Finally, your speech concludes with an action statement, or simply “what to do next”. This can be something as simple as requesting for a vote on a paper or sending a note if someone wants to work with you in the future or has similar ideas.

For more detailed speech strategies, visit our MUN 101 Public Speaking and Debate Tutorial.

Opening ceremonies are much more flexible than closing ceremonies. Generally speaking, the secretary general should give a speech thanking everyone for attending the conference. There should also be an introduction of the other members of the secretariat as well as their titles and roles. Then after that, some conferences like to introduce the chairs and crisis directors for each committee, but this is not important if you choose to not include it. Conferences also usually invite a guest speaker to discuss a topic of global significance with the delegates attending the conference. Speakers can be anyone, but should be someone involved in international policymaking. Good candidates could be a former diplomat, NGO or think tank leader, or someone who has experience working in the United Nations or another reputable intergovernmental organization. Then, the opening ceremony should conclude with the secretary general hitting a gavel and formally declaring the conference to have begun.

Model United Nations builds foundational skills that can help students be better prepared for many different future career paths. Model UN can teach interpersonal skills, public speaking skills, confidence, and cooperation. Starting a Model UN club at your school or in your community can help develop these necessary skills as well as further foster a dynamic dialogue between students about relevant issues of global significance. Not only that, but Model UN looks great on a college application and resume.

Think of writing a background guide as simply writing an extended research paper. Make sure to do extensive research on the topic(s) your committee will be covering and write about all aspects of that topic, making sure to cite your sources along the way. Be sure to include a brief introduction and concluding remarks about the topic at the beginning and end of the background guide, respectively. When writing the background guide, think about what things you would want to know about the topic if you were competing as a delegate. It can also be beneficial to include guiding questions at the end of the background guide to help the flow of committee. Many background guides also include a letter from the dais at the very beginning, which can help delegates feel more familiar and comfortable with their dais staff.