ENGL 420: Business Writing

Like most people in this class I was not aware that white papers existed. My major is biology and not business, but I do understand that purpose for having them. A white paper is used to describe a problem within a company or society, and then it presents a number of solutions equally. In our project we are presenting three solutions. The point of the White Paper is not to sell the reader on one solution, but to assume that the reader will pick one solution that fits his needs the best. The hardest part about the project is that the writer cannot contribute any bias to the paper.

To be completely honest I had never heard of a white paper before. Reading about it was very interesting because this is a project I am completely unfamiliar with. According to the article a white paper argues a specific position or solution to a problem which, as I understand, isn’t really what we are supposed to do. I think we are supposed to find a problem and argue each of our three solutions equally so that they each have the same weight. I would prefer to chose one solution out of the three and argue why it is better than the others.

It was too funny that I had never heard of a white paper before and that same day I pulled up a journal article that talked about white papers. I probably would have brushed it off as unknown lingo and never bothered to see the relevance to the article.

We found out during the last project that writing to the audience is very important in getting a job, as it allows the things which are relevant to the company to be presented with greater emphasis than the irrelevant information. Like getting a job, we learn that writing to the audience in a white paper is also very important.

Although there were not very many readings for this week I found that the ones we did have were there to help in beginning our new project. I have never heard of the term white paper and did not even know what it looked like. Looking at others reading responses I am glad to know I am not the only one. It seems that this is a new concept for all of us and will be helpful once we graduate. After reading the articles I think I have a better idea of how to go about writing one and what it should look like. Still confused as to why it’s called a white paper but I am sure I will learn why it is.

Before reading the white paper project guidelines and description, I was unaware of what a white paper was or what it role it played. In my past college writing career, I have always been asked to pick one side of an issues and present arguments supporting a particular view point. The difference between the white paper project and a typical paper is that the white paper does not express favoritism towards one side. Also, the white paper requires you to find three possible solutions to the problem which must be equally attainable.

White papers are a new concept to me. I have not heard of this prior to this class. Picking a topic for this project was a little difficult because I was not completely understanding this document. I took a look at the readings to get a better understanding. The reading on PWOnline helped me gain knowledge about this project. It really describes what white papers are and gives samples. After looking at this I did understand it a little more and helped me come up with a topic.

White papers are designed to provide the reading with information on key issues that may affect them in the work place, another reason for white paper is to offer solutions to these work place problems that may become issues. These are a few of the things I discovered about what white papers real are in my reading for the issue. Now I understand the purpose of why it is we are doing this project. The reading also gave a good look at the proper format that the projects need to be in.

I have never heard of a White Paper until this week in class. I am still a little confused in fact to why it is exactly called a white paper. From what I have read this week for class, a white paper simply discusses a certain problem that there may be with the way something is done and it gives some ways on how to fix that said problem. I am also new to the format in which a white paper is done. To me it seems to be a lot more professional looking than any other paper I have ever needed to do for any class.

So the White paper project seemed pretty useless to me at first. But through the samples and PWO readings, I now see how important a white paper can be. They seem to be like a term paper on steroids. It will be fun to work together with a group to see how we'll all blend our styles together. This project should be a lot of fun.