How to Build a Model UN Research Binder

Why a Model UN research binder still beats a laptop

Plenty of conferences ban internet use during session, and some ban devices in committee entirely, allowing laptops only for drafting in unmoderated caucus. A delegate who kept all their research in browser tabs finds out on the first morning that none of it is reachable. Paper also has a practical edge: you can flip to a tab while another delegate is still speaking, and nobody wonders whether you are checking messages.

The bigger benefit happens before the conference. Sorting research into fixed tabs shows you what is missing. If the bloc map tab is empty two days out, you know exactly which evening to spend on it. Start with our country research worksheet; the finished worksheet fills most of tabs 2, 3, and 5, and the rest of this guide covers everything around it.

The one-page cheat card on top

Before tab 1 comes a single page you write last, from memory, once the research is done. It is the page you will actually read in committee, so keep it to what fits on one side in a readable font.

• Your country's position in two sentences.
• Three proposals, each with who pays and who implements.
• Two or three past resolutions or treaties you can cite by number.
• Allies, likely opponents, and one or two swing delegations.
• Red lines: what your country will never vote for.
• Four or five numbers worth quoting, each with its source.

If you cannot write the card without opening the rest of the binder, the research is not finished. That is the most useful test of readiness we know.

The ten tabs of a Model UN research binder

Use a one-inch ring binder and numbered plastic dividers. The page counts are targets for a single-topic committee; double the policy and past-action tabs if your committee debates two topics.

What goes in each Model UN binder tab

1. Background guide, annotated. Read it once straight through, then again with a pen. Circle every term and acronym you cannot define and write the definition in the margin. Put a star next to the questions the chair asks at the end, since those usually shape the first moderated caucuses. Where the guide describes a policy your country opposes, write “we object” and the reason.

2. Country profile. One page, bullet points only: government type, head of state and foreign minister, region and neighbors, main exports, and every organization the country belongs to (regional group at the UN, plus bodies like the African Union, ASEAN, the EU, or the OIC). You need this page when someone asks a question you did not expect.

3. Country policy on the topic. This is the tab that wins or loses committee. Record three to five votes on related resolutions as a short list: resolution number, year, how your country voted, and a one-line note. For example, “A/RES/xx/yy, voted yes, joined co-sponsors” or “abstained, explanation of vote cited sovereignty concerns.” Add the treaties it has signed and ratified (or conspicuously skipped), one or two quotations from official statements, and any domestic law or program that shows the policy in practice.

4. Past UN action. List the resolutions, conventions, and conferences that already address the topic, with a sentence on what each one did and why it fell short. Name the agencies involved. Committees reward delegates who build on existing frameworks instead of reinventing them, and this tab is where your “recalling” and “noting” clauses come from.

5. Bloc map. Draw three columns: likely allies, likely opponents, swing states. Under each country, write what it wants in five words or fewer. A line like “Brazil: wants technology transfer, dislikes monitoring” tells you how to recruit it during the first unmoderated caucus. Base these guesses on voting records and regional groups, not on assumptions about which countries seem friendly.

6. Position paper. File the version you submitted and highlight the three sentences you would happily say out loud. If you have not written it yet, our position paper guide shows a weak and a strong version side by side.

7. Speeches. Your opening speech goes first, printed large enough to read while standing. Behind it, write five or six 30-second responses to the arguments you expect: “If someone says the plan is too expensive,” followed by your answer. The opening speech examples give you complete models to adapt.

8. Clause bank. Write your proposals as clause fragments, one per line, each starting with an operative verb and naming a body and a funding source. “Requests UNEP to establish a regional monitoring network funded through voluntary contributions” is usable in a working paper within seconds. Keep the preambulatory and operative clause list behind this tab for the right verbs.

9. Rules of procedure. One page with the motions you will use in their exact wording, the voting threshold for each, and anything this conference does differently. Copy the specifics from the delegate handbook and fill in the rest from our points and motions reference.

10. Notes and tracking. Print a few copies of a simple grid and fill it in during opening speeches. By the first unmoderated caucus you will know who to approach and who to avoid.

Where to find Model UN research sources

General web searches return old delegate guides and opinion pieces. Primary UN sources are faster once you know which site holds what. Every source below is free.

A workable order for tab 3: find two or three resolution numbers in the background guide, look up each one in the UN Digital Library to see your country's vote, then search UN press coverage of that meeting for its explanation of vote. The explanation is often the best quotation you will find, because it states the reasoning in the country's own words.

For tab 4, pull the full resolution text from the Official Document System and read only the operative clauses. For treaty status, the UN Treaty Collection lists each state party with signature and ratification dates.

Think tanks are useful for the problem itself rather than your country's stance. The International Crisis Group, Council on Foreign Relations, and Chatham House publish accessible explainers on conflicts and policy debates. Treat them as analysis, and never cite a think tank as your country's position.

Common Model UN binder mistakes

Printing articles instead of notes. A 12-page news feature takes minutes to find anything in. Read it at home, write the two facts you need on the right tab, and leave the article out of the binder.

A policy tab with no votes in it. Paragraphs of history about your country do not tell you how it behaves at the UN. A recorded vote does. If tab 3 has no resolution numbers, it is not done.

Numbers without sources. Chairs notice when a delegate cites a precise figure and cannot say where it came from. Every number on the cheat card should carry a short source tag, such as “UNICEF 2024” or “World Factbook,” so you can defend it if asked.

Researching only your own country. Most of the useful moves in committee depend on what other delegations want. Spend at least part of an evening on the five or six countries most likely to lead blocs, and put one line on each in tab 5. Delegates who know the room walk into the first unmoderated caucus with a plan for who to approach, while everyone else is still reading placards.

Digital or paper Model UN binder

Build the binder digitally and bring it on paper. Keep one document or folder per tab while you research, so edits and links stay in one place, then print the whole set two days before the conference. Save the source URL at the bottom of each page. If a chair or another delegate challenges a figure, you can point to where it came from.

If your conference allows laptops, carry a PDF of the full binder as a backup and keep the paper copy open anyway. Read the delegate handbook for the device policy and any rule on pre-written clauses before you print, since a few conferences limit what can come into the room.

How many evenings a Model UN binder takes

Plan on six evenings of about an hour each for a single-topic committee. Experienced delegates move faster; first-timers should add one evening for the background guide alone.

• Evening 1: annotate the background guide (tab 1) and fill the country profile (tab 2).
• Evening 2: voting records, treaties, and statements for tab 3.
• Evening 3: past UN action (tab 4) and the bloc map (tab 5).
• Evening 4: write the position paper (tab 6).
• Evening 5: opening speech, responses, and clause bank (tabs 7 and 8).
• Evening 6: rules page (tab 9), the cheat card from memory, then print and assemble.

Start about two weeks out so the position paper deadline does not squeeze evening 4. If you want the day-by-day version with speech practice and logistics, the Model UN preparation guide lays it out. Students who want feedback on their research before a big conference can see our coaching programs or book a free trial class.