White Paper Project

The focus of Project 3 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. Often, white papers are commissioned by an organization (a business, government organization, etc) to provide a quick summary on a complex topic so that leaders and decision makers can get quickly up to speed. Your future employer may say "Write me a white paper on biofuels (or open source technology, or the effects of new domestic policy, etc)" so that s/he can take it to a meeting and not look like an idiot. Because of this, white papers are raidable (easy to pull information out of) and strategically repetitive (crucial information in several places) so that a decision makers can reference it during a discussion.

For this project, each group will write a white paper about the business applications of Google Docs using Google Docs to compose the white paper (more introduction to Google Docs here). Groups may choose another open source technology to cover if they wish. 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.

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 3 is due. To find out more about the purpose and form of white papers, review the discussion in The Thomson Handbook, Chapter 12, "Writing for Business and the Workplace" (pp. 235-36).

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 information about Google Docs so that you can get comfortable with the genre and the topic. The point of the white paper genre is to represent the critically important information about a specific topic (such as a technology), its applicability, and its pros and cons, not to argue, sell, or promote (though those may be ancillary purposes)

Rhetorical Situation: The primary audience for your writing will consist of a specific institution (of your group's choosing) which is hypothetically interested in using Google Docs for writing and communication. 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 should be to provide essential information about the software and provide examples of how the software can address specific needs of the given organization. To accomplish this, you will need to perform research about both Google Docs and the writing practices of the organization that requested the white paper.

Writing That Matters : Students whose work focuses on open source software or technologies may be able to publish their work at the Open Source Development and Documentation Project. If your work focuses on writing and communication technologies, we will encourage you to submit your work to the professional writing program for showcasing on our resources website for subsequent use by future students, instructors, and the public.

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 logs. Each group member will keep a weekly project log on their individual weblog. See the guidelines for project logs. Due weekly from weeks 5-7
2. 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 group's research wiki. Resources should include a mix of professional, public, and scholarly sources. Each group member should post 3 source annotations to their group research wiki. The posts should explain and summarize the source, provide a link if possible, and most importantly, describe how it might benefit the project. Each annotation should be 150 words in length. Research Posts Due July 16
3. 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 roughly 1500 words. Following the first draft, you will receive peer feedback for creating the final draft. As you revise your white paper, you will work from higher order concerns (e.g., content development and organization) toward lower order concerns (proofreading and editing), with peer review focused on the major concerns. 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.
   • Showcase sophisticated and usable design/
   • Be carefully and fully cited and include a references section.
   • Be 2000-2500 words in length.
   • 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.
   The white paper rough draft is due July 21. The final draft is due July 25.
4. Peer Editing: I will assign each group another group's white paper to review. Each group member should read the white paper carefully and post a comment to the blog which evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the paper, focusing on possibilities for improvement. Consider scope of the paper, organization, accuracy, audience, and design. Each peer review comment should be 150 words in length. Peer review due July 23
5. 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. The Peer Collaboration Form is due as a .doc attachment in an email to the instructor by July 26

Collaboration

Successful collaboration will be a critical component of this project. Follow guidelines for successful collaboration as described in The Thomson Handbook (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 group grade will be determined from shared grades on the group portions of the project and comprises 60% of the grade along the following breakdown: Draft 10%, Final Draft 50%. 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. The individual portion of the project is worth 40% of your grade along the following breakdown: Research Posts 15%, Work Logs 15%, Peer Review 5%, Assessment Form 5%. Project 3 is worth 30% of your overall course grade.

Revision

As the final project in the course, project 3 may not be revised.

h2>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)
• 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 29, "Writing and Rhetoric on the Web" (641)
• Chapter 30, "Designing Simple Web Pages" (659)
• Chapter 31, "Designing Complex Websites" (681)