Writing Assignment #5
White Paper for an External Audience
Summary of the Assignment:
Task:In this paper, you will write a document that provides information that anexternalaudience can use to inform a decision.
We have read various white papers in the class this semester. White papers can be any one of the following types:
otechnical papers
obusiness benefit papers
oadvocacy papers
ohybrid technical/business papers
The CANRIGHT document that is provided in the class in LEO describes all four of these types of white papers.
Length:1300-1600 words
Graphics:at least three graphics, one of which has to be original
Format in Citing and Listing Sources:APA
Number and Sources:at least five sources, at least one of which has to be obtained
through OneSearch
Brief Description of the White Paper:
In preparing for this assignment, you will want to review the following video:
“White Papers: An Introduction to the Genre and Its Expectations,” from the Purdue OWLYou may take any of the following approaches:
a general white paper to an external audience–written to individuals in a particular industry or field of study, but not an organization you are a part of. The white paper could address a problem you are attempting to solve in the organization or to inform an external audience about a relevant trend.
a white paper promoting a new product or service to potential customers. This is an example of a white paper to an external audience, but it features different rhetorical considerations than the typical white paper written to an external audience does.
Both options are discussed in the Purdue OWL video mentioned above.
Please note:You willnot be writinga white paper to your boss or to superiors in the company for which you work.
That type of paper would be an internal white paper. If you take WRTG 394, you can write that type of paper. For WRTG 393, we ask for a white paper to an external audience.
Strategies to Consider for the White Paper:
Please follow these guidelines:
have a focused topic. Please see the sample white papers from previous students for examples of how previous topics have been developed for this paper.
write to a reasonably focused and identified audience
oA white paper to an external audience can have a fairly broad audience, but the
paper should focus on a particular problem that the audience is experiencing.
For example, you could write a white paper on better ways of training employees to detect phishing scams. The audience would be a broad range of managers and IT professionals. However, the problem they all share would be clear: Phishing emails have become a problem for cybersecurity in many companies.
You could write a white paper on better ways of teaching English grammar online to high school students. The audience would be a broad range of English instructors and principals of high schools, perhaps parents of high school students as well. However, the problem they all share would be clear: Current approaches to teaching grammar to high school students in an online format are not working as they should.
integrate thorough research
do not make a“hard sell”to the audience about what action it should take. Your white paper is designed to inform an audience of a possible solution to a problem. The Purdue OWL video mentions this principle. This is one reason the video refers to the white paper as abackgrounder report.