White Paper Proposal and White Paper
White Paper Proposal: One-page

White Paper:
Ten-pages, plus a 500-word abstract, include a works cited page, and sources should be footnoted in the text.
At least ten sources for this paper, at least five of which should be scholarly. Sources should easy to find and be cited as MLA style, e.g. “…………………………………” (Author Last Name Page No.).
White Paper Proposal Leading to the White Paper Process

Each student will write a one-page proposal for his or her white paper topic. Your proposal will be presented to the class for comments, suggestions, refinement, etc. As class members are giving you feedback, you need to take notes (write them down on your proposal). This annotated proposal will be submitted with the rough and final drafts of your paper in your final portfolio.

Your proposal should consist of:

Your topic description – make this thorough enough so the rest of the class will understand.

The controversy – identify, define, and describe the problem or controversy inherent in your topic, which you will later take a position on in the White Paper. What is given or known? What is unknown? What are some of the criteria for solving the topic?

Besides this class, who is the audience for your White Paper?

Your presentation can be verbal, or you can use your laptop to augment your topic with visual information, which will help inform your audience (photos, graphs, etc.)

From this beginning, you can initiate the White Paper process, which might include:

Identify, define, and analyze the problem: what generates the problem? What is given, what is unknown, what are the criteria for solving the topic? What are factors – historical, contextual, systemic, economic, etc.?

Determine the information that is appropriate for solving the problem, and then research/find it, and assess its validity and authority

Assess the information critically (don’t just “throw the research” into the paper) – analyze it for how it addresses your controversy). Remember to include a counterargument

Determine what graphics might further illustrate your topic. Remember to cite them, and discuss them in your text.

Offer a range of potential solutions to the problem

Evaluate your solutions according to your criteria, choose the most viable option, and take a stand. Think about the contribution you will be making to this field.

White Paper Assignment

A white paper is a position paper, in which the author(s) take a position on a controversial issue, present the relevant factors contributing to that issue in an objective manner, and call for an action or a solution to that issue. The white paper can take a variety of forms, ranging from a report to a grant proposal to concept papers and proposals, and so forth. In all cases, white papers are research-driven, rely on analysis of the research presented to make an argument and call for a given action, and have a well-conceived structure that makes the issue at hand, the relevant factors/research/case studies, and the call to action/position easily accessible to the reader.

For your white paper, you will pick a controversy that matters to you relating to business, business ethics, or community impact (in other words, you have a wide range of material from which to choose). You will need a clearly focused topic. You will research the topic, drawing from scholarly papers, case studies, web sites, government sources, documentaries, newspapers, etc. You will need at least ten sources for this paper, at least five of which should be scholarly. The paper will be ten pages long, plus a 500-word abstract. You should include a works cited page, and sources should be footnoted in the text.

The structure and layout of the paper is open, and can include graphics, charts, and photographs. You should have well delineated sub-sections for the issue, the factors, and the research (see A Call for Local Food Systems for an example).

We will workshop proposals for this paper in class (see tentative schedule). For your proposal, you should have a clear description of your topic in a way everybody else can understand, an identification of controversy and initial relevant issues (you will find more in the research process), and an idea of what kind of position you might take (which could change over the course of research).