Week 5: February 4-8

First Meeting:

Introduce White Paper Assignment

• What is a White Paper? Wikipedia
• Required elements for the white paper
• Appropriate topic choices
• Blog and forum postings

Review reading questions

For Next Meeting

Read:

• White Paper Example of White Paper (Attached below).
• The Steak Behind the Sizzle: Effective Marketing Using White Papers (Attached Below).

Negotiate via Drupal's White Paper Forum your groups and prepare to discuss your ideas in class next time.

Individual deliverable 1: Drupal topic posting due by 12 noon on Tuesday.

When you come to class on Wednesday, I expect to see that you have divided yourself into groups. I will not assign groups or force a group to accept you (however, remember that groups are capped at four people), so please do not email me requests along those lines. It is your responsiblity to make yourself attractive to a group. If you are having difficulty finding a group that will welcome you, I suggest that you do additional research or other preliminary work so that you have something to bring to this group. As in the business world, you are responsible for your own success in these negotiations. Your ultimate success with the white paper project will depend in large part on how successfully you sell both your idea and yourself.

Second Meeting:

• Group 3 presentation
• Proposal guidelines
• Group negotiation time for preliminary proposal drafting (trade contact info, etc.)

For Next Meeting:

Read in PW Online the following:

• Why Writers Need to Find and Use Information

• Methodology and Design
• Finding Sources that Already Exist: Library and Web Resources
• Gathering and Analyzing New Information: Field Research
• Style: Citing Research Sources
• Using Citation Formats

Principles: Analyzing Workplace Writing

• Analyzing Workplace Writing Situations
• Representing the Information Visually

Group deliverable 1: Topic Proposal Memo due in class next time.

Each potential group (as established over Drupal) will turn in one hardcopy of a 250 word topic proposal, in the form of a memo, by February 8 (Friday). This memo will include information about the topic under consideration, the potential solutions to be examined, and possible resources. Follow the guidelines for memo writing outlined at Purdue's Owl. Remember that you are selling an idea, specifically, to me and other potential group members -- this is a persuasive, not descriptive, document. This means presenting the issue as worthy of consideration, and the solutions (three) as relevant, while demonstrating the feasibility of the project within the parameters of the assignment.

Sources (3) must be annotated with the following items:

• assessment of source reputability
• assessment of source relevance
• brief summary of content (1-2 sentences)

Third Meeting:

• Proposals due
• Use of source materials:
  • Evaluating sources
  • Citing sources ethically, accurately, and appropriately
  • Citation formats
• Documentation memo assigned (as a group), due Wednesday Feb 13.
  • Complete the documentation memo according to the following guidelines:
    • Consult with a professor, a professional, or read through technical journals in your field to figure out the commonly used documentation style of that field. OR you may simply use APA, if there is not a proscribed style which you feel strongly about following. When you have done so, use this documentation style to write me a memo which includes the following four elements:
      • Name of documentation style (e.g. MLA)
      • Bibliographic citation for a book
      • Bibliographic citation for a journal
      • Bibliographic citation for an online source
      • Sentence with in-text citation

For Next Meeting:

• Begin research necessary for documentation memo
• Be prepared to answer the following questions from "White Paper on White Papers" (WPOWP) and "The Steak Behind the Sizzle" (TSBTS) (attached at the bottom of the page):
  • Name 2 types of white papers (WPOWP article). Which does the author recommend?
  • Name 3 "little details" that can make or break your white paper (WPOWP)
  • Name 2 reasons (TSBTS) why white papers fail.
• From PW Online, read the following sections on writing reports:
  • Overview
  • Structured Writing
  • Types of Reports
  • Style, Audience, and the Arrangement of Information
  • Thinking about Document Design
  • Ordering Information for Understanding
  • Constructing Visuals
  • Designing with Color

REMINDER: Update your blog by 5 pm on Friday with the work you've done this week!