The focus of Project 2 is the white paper, 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 technical 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.
• producing a text for the web in HTML that integrates visual content, such as screenshots, tables, and flowcharts

IMPORTANT: White papers completed for this project will address issues related to open source technologies and/or the larger open-source movement.

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 Project 2 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 new writing and communication technologies so that you can get comfortable with the genre and the general topic. You will see that although you may not be familiar with all of these new technologies (or things like "open source") yet, you'll learn about it quickly. In fact, you already know much more about it than you realize since this English 421Y website uses Drupal, which is itself open source software. (You may be viewing it in Firefox, also an open source project.) The point of the white paper genre is to represent the critically important information about a specific topic (such as a technology), not to argue, sell, or promote (though those may be ancillary purposes)

Rhetorical Situation: The primary audience for your writing will consist of peers and other technical writing experts interested in finding out how new writing technologies can help their organizations in college or the workplace. A subsidiary audience is other people interested in these new technologies (the early adopters in the public sphere), even entrepreneurs who may see (or desire) new applications for these technologies for business, education, and enterprise purposes. 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 value or usefulness of a technology.

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

• Write to the different levels of technical expertise of a range of audiences and stakeholders to foster technical understanding.
• Understand the ethical implications of working within the nexus of technology and culture.

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.

Document Design
Make rhetorical design decisions about technical documents including

• understanding and adapting to genre conventions and expectations of a range of audiences including both technical and non-technical audiences
• understanding and implementing design principles of format and layout
• ensuring the technical accuracy of visual content

Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork, such as

• working online with colleagues to determine 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 the research methods and strategies necessary to the production of professional documents, including

• locating, evaluating, and using print and online information selectively for particular audiences and purposes
• triangulating sources of evidence

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. Project proposal. Each group will do preliminary research, come up with an original topic, and submit their proposal as a "story" at our course website for class discussion and feedback.
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 in depth the group's topic and post their 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")
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 and tagged so that it shows up with the group's project documents (e.g., tag = Group 3 White Paper Project)
5. White paper drafts and revisions . The group is responsible for the timely creation of a total of four 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 HTML format and include relevant visual content to teach as well as illustrate concepts and information.
6. 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.

Deliverable due dates:

• Project proposal: Monday, February 18
• Annotated bibliography: Friday, February 22
• Preliminary copy of Draft 1 for peer review on February 29: Wednesday, February 27
• Draft 1 for instructor review: Friday, March 7
• Draft 2: Monday, March 24 (due date has been changed!)
• Draft 3: Two weeks after your graded Draft 2 has been returned
  
• Draft 4: One week after your graded Draft 3 has been returned

Collaboration

Successful collaboration will be a critical component of this project. Follow guidelines for successful collaboration as described in our text (see 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
• CC 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 oneself 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 25% of your overall course grade.