English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Nathaniel and I have now provided feedback on each white paper proposal as a comment. Be sure to check yours out.

We noticed that there were two common issues that came up for several groups: purpose and audience.

For the first issue, purpose, we noticed that some proposals outlined documents that were collections of tips or instructions to ameliorate particular problems. For example, a few groups addressed the problem of increased energy consumption and stated that their documents would identify ways for people to be more energy-efficient. These documents actually would not be white papers. The purpose of a white paper is to evaluate competing solutions for a specific problem, so that the reader can make an informed choice among them. Solution options are mutually exclusive, so the decision-making audience is only going to select one. An example we used in multiple feedback comments is this:

Imagine that the specific problem you are addressing is that the mother of a middle-class family of five people does not know what mid-sized sedan to buy. The corresponding white paper with automobile salespeople as its primary audience (with perspective buyers such as the mother as a secondary audience) would present the strengths and weaknesses of the different makes and models (based upon cost, gas milage, room, features, etc.). Salespeople would use this information to assist the mother with her purchase, but ultimately she is just going to select one of them, not buy them all.

This highlights a crucial aspect of a white paper: its purpose is to inform audience members about competing options so that they can select from among them intelligently. A white paper does not provide a list of tips or instructions that can all be done to improve a particular situation.

The second issue, audience, is also important, and it is related to the issue of purpose. White papers rarely have the individual consumer as their primary audience (although they may be a secondary or tertiary audience). Notice that in our weekly comments most people mentioned that they had never heard of white papers before. This is because white papers in general help a particular audience make a policy decision by providing an unbiased analysis of the available options. Some groups selected an audience for their documents that didn't seem to fit, such as college students or individuals making a purchase. White papers are technical documents generally used to help make a policy decision, such as which laptops to purchase for a whole company, or which alternative energy source a state should support. Notice that in both these cases, the options are realistically mutually exclusive. A company wouldn't buy multiple laptops for each of its employees, and a state government couldn't invest in every kind of alternative energy (both because of limited funds and because of available natural resources).

Remember that a white paper does not indicate the "correct" solution to a problem; a white paper lays out the multiple possible solutions so that the audience can make an informed choice among them. This isn't a case of the right choice and all the other wrong ones. It's a case of competing good choices, each with associated advantages and detriments. Linked below are two proposal examples that we feel are on the right track. One is commercial and one is governmental. Look through them and read their feedback.
Smart phone white paper (commercial)
Renewable energy white paper (governmental)