English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

This week’s readings covered our next project’s focus, specifically white papers. As “How to Write a White Paper”, an actual white paper, explains, the purpose of a white paper is to argue a certain position, or present a solution to a problem. In “The Streak Behind The Sizzle”, another white paper written on white papers, the author notes that these technical documents are also often used to explain or elaborate on the benefits a complex product or technology might offer. These types of white papers, as the title implies, provide the “streak” behind the “sizzle” or, in layman terms, demonstrate the validity of product claims. Their importance, in every sense, is emphasized by their objective of aiding in the decision making process. On the other hand, countless white papers are not written for such a purpose. One specific example is government sponsored white papers. In this case the purpose may be to inform or persuade the public on some issue, rather than to persuade for business gain.

One of the strongest points stressed, in each reading, was the importance of understanding your audience. As “The Streak Behind The Sizzle” states, this is one of the most common problems that individuals have when constructing white papers. A strong understanding of the audience is necessary because that is obviously whom you are writing for, and whom you should be attempting to influence through your work. Depending on the audience, significantly different approaches may be found appropriate to meet one’s goals. I think that this will definitely be one of the main focuses of our white paper, and that we’ll definitely need to keep this in mind to obtain our objective. Another lesser concern, as the readings also noted, will be on making information simple and easy to find. This will include having detailed titles, and subtitles, to better guide the reader.