Group Project: Client-Based White Paper Project

The Drama of Human Relations

For the White Paper Project, the class will work with and for the Tippecanoe County Human Relations Commission (TCHRC) on a grant-funded project to develop a white paper on the process involved in making and adjudicating complaints, with some additional attention to methods whereby the process may be improved and, more generally, ways that the TCHRC can fulfill its mission. The white paper is a common report genre in the professional world. White papers are used in business, industrial, and governmental contexts to sum up the gist of what’s known about a subject. During this project you will learn about

• the white paper genre through collaborative creation of a white paper.
• new writing and communication technologies that support business writing in college and industry, with attention to open source and other freely available software or writing spaces (online networks, blogging, etc.).
• collaboration, project management, and strategies for writing and revising.
• client research and collaboration

At the beginning of this project, you will be placed by your instructor into a group with fellow students. Each of the major components of this project will be completed in collaboration with group members. Individuals must also keep a project log at their course blog following these guidelines. Everyone will also be asked to email a peer collaborative evaluation form (Word format) independently to the instructor when this project is due.

Discussion

Learning about the genre of white papers. You'll spend some time in the early part of the project reading sample white papers and about the function of the TCHRC so that you can get comfortable with the genre and the general topic. The point of the white paper genre is to represent the critically important information about a specific topic (such as a technology, human relations, etc.), not to argue, sell, or promote (though those may be ancillary purposes). To see a collection of white papers produced here at Purdue and describing strategic planning in a number of areas, look here: http://www.purdue.edu/strategic_plan/2008-2013/whitepapers.html.

Rhetorical Situation: The primary audience for your writing will consist of members of the TCHRC but also members of County Government and local citizens who may benefit from the services that the TCHRC can provide. The purpose of your white paper writing should be to provide essential and accurate background information and sources on a specifci topic for interested readers so that they are well informed and ready to make up their minds about the function, usability, and effectiveness of the complaint process in helping citizens address problems of discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, or sexual orientation.

As a class, we will be submitting a proposal for the Student Grant Program For Community Service/Service Learning Projects. See the attachment below for the full description of the application process. Our partner/client for this project will be the TCHRC, which is chaired by Mike Piggott.

Project Goals

This project emphasizes several important goals that all professional writers should bear in mind and that are consistent with those of the Professional Writing Program at Purdue.

Writing in Context
Analyze professional cultures, social contexts, and audiences to determine how they shape the various purposes and forms of workplace writing, such as persuasion, organizational communication, and public discourse, with an emphasis on

• writing for a range of defined audiences and stakeholders
• negotiating the ethical dimensions of workplace communication

Project Management

• Understand, develop and deploy various strategies for planning, researching, drafting, revising, and editing documents both individually and collaboratively.
• Select and use appropriate technologies that effectively and ethically address professional situations and audiences.
• Build professional ethos through documentation and accountability.

Document Design
Make rhetorical design decisions about workplace documents, including

• understanding and adapting to genre conventions and audience expectations
• understanding and implementing design principles of format and layout
• interpreting and arguing with design
• drafting, researching, testing, and revising visual designs and information architecture

Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork and collaboration, such as

• working online with colleagues
• determining roles and responsibilities
• managing team conflicts constructively
• responding constructively to peers' work
• soliciting and using peer feedback effectively
• achieving team goals

Research
Understand and use various research methods to produce professional documents, including

• analyzing professional contexts
• locating, evaluating, and using print and online information selectively for particular audiences and purposes
• triangulating sources of evidence
• selecting appropriate primary research methods, such as interviews, observations, focus groups, and surveys to collect data
• working ethically with research participants

Technology
Use and evaluate the writing technologies frequently used in the workplace, such as emailing, instant messaging, image editing, video editing, presentation design and delivery, HTML editing, Web browsing, content management, and desktop publishing technologies.

Deliverables

1. Client Research. Each group will do preliminary research on the TCHRC, including some document analysis and client interviews. Be sure to carefully plan your intereviews and follow these Ethical Guidelines for Conducting an Interview with a Client. You should plan on interviewing one member of the TCHRC, including the Chair.
2. Project logs. Each group member will keep a weekly project log on their individual weblog. See the guidelines for project logs.
3. Research posts. Each individual group member will, in coordination with the rest of the group, research the group's topic and post these notes to their individual weblogs on the course website. For the research posts, everyone in the group should agree to use a common tag for the category (e.g., "Research on Google Docs"). As a group, agree on the tags you will use for this aspect of your research so that you can keep track of your work easily.
4. Annotated bibliography. At the end of the research phase, the group will assemble a short annotated bibliography (including 6 critical sources) and compile and post the bibliography to a member's blog, tagged so that it shows up with the group's project documents (e.g., tag = Group 2 White Paper Project)
5. White paper drafts and revisions. The group is responsible for the timely creation of two drafts of the white paper. The first draft of your white paper should be 2,000-3,000 words + the annotated bibliography. Following the first draft, you will receive further instructions for a revision assignment for creating the final draft. As you revise your white paper, you will work from global concerns (e.g., content development and organization) toward local concerns (proofreading and editing), with peer review focused on the major concerns at each stage of the revision. The final draft of your white paper should
   • Demonstrate a good knowledge of the white paper genre.
   • Be rhetorically sensitive to the needs of the primary and subsidiary audiences.
   • Be well argued and supported by research.
   • Be carefully and fully cited and include a references section, in addition to the annotated bibliography.
   • Contain a consistent voice and style throughout.
   • Be free of proofreading and editing problems.
   • Follow the stylistic conventions for professional writing and writing for the Web as covered in the course readings and discussion.
   • Be presented in suitable format and include relevant visual content to teach as well as illustrate concepts and information.
6. Oral Presentation. At the end of the project, present your White Paper to the TCHRC in person, at a time and place TBA.
7. Peer Collaboration Evaluation Form. At the end of the project, each group member will provide a detailed evaluation of all of the group's members and submit the form to the instructor.

Collaboration

Successful collaboration will be a critical component of this project. Follow guidelines for successful collaboration as described in Professional Writing Online (and discussed in other course readings and messages). To summarize, you should

• Work collaboratively with the rest of the group in researching and drafting a white paper, including participating in any online group meetings and providing deliverables in a timely manner in the requested format.
• Follow good professional communication practices, especially in project and issue logs
• Copy all group members on any email communication regarding the project (including contacting the instructor, unless of a personal nature).
• When assigned, provide detailed feedback to other groups on their projects/drafts.
• Conduct yourself in a professional manner in all group communication and when giving feedback to other groups.

Grading

Your individual grade for this project will be based the work produced by your team and the quality of your contribution to the project, as determined by your project evaluation forms and project logs. Project 2 is worth 30% of your overall course grade.

Supporting Readings from The Thomson Handbook

• Chapter 7, "Understanding Academic Genres" (123)
• Chapter 8, "Reading Critically" (131)
• Chapter 12, "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (217; esp. pages 235-36)
• Chapter 15, "Online Research" (289)
• Chapter 16, "Library and Field Research" (315)
• Chatper 17, "Using Information Effectively" (337)
• Chapter 18, "Research and Plagiarism in the Digital Age" (357)
• Chapters 19 and 20 (MLA and APA style) (377 and 443)
• Chapter 24, "Using Visuals to Inform and Persuade" (557)
• Chapter 25, "Desktop Publishing and Graphic Design" (571; esp. pages 586-87, which are very relevant!)
• Chapter 29, "Writing and Rhetoric on the Web" (641)
• Chapter 30, "Designing Simple Web Pages" (659)
• Chapter 31, "Designing Complex Websites" (681)

Supporting Readings from Professional Writing Online

• White Papers: http://tinyurl.com/6zkwjz
• The Rhetoric of Report Writing: http://tinyurl.com/rhetoricofreportwriting
• Types of Reports: http://tinyurl.com/typesofreports
• All readings in the "Social and Cultural Issues" section: http://tinyurl.com/socialculturalissues
• Field Research: http://tinyurl.com/fieldresearch
• Writing Reports (all sections): http://tinyurl.com/writingreports
• Constructing Visuals: http://tinyurl.com/constructingvisuals
• Oral Presentations: http://tinyurl.com/oralpresentations