More recently, they have become vehicles for building the credibility of an organization or new venture and developing new business leads either through sharing information with potential clients or demonstrating the intellectual leadership of a company. Many marketing companies are also using them to position or reposition the company into new sectors.

Originally, white papers were very thorough and thoughtful, containing a lot of evidence derived from careful research and supported with many references to studies, opinion pieces, etc. They always indicated the reason for the white paper and the significance of the topic. Recently, many white papers have become shorter and more focused with less research; often, they are only available electronically in return for sharing contact information.

Purpose of White Papers
Giving students the assignment to write a white paper can help them focus their writing on a particular audience, develop an appropriate voice, learn to make a solid case with evidence, conduct careful research and learn to structure their papers. Providing specific information about a specific audience helps them focus their writing and consider the tone and point of view of their writing, something that can be hard for them in regular essay assignments. In fact, assigning white papers and prescribing a specific audience have led students to investigate the specified audience and write carefully for that group, making the challenge of developing a clear voice and tone to the paper easier.

Inviting students to write a persuasive paper—still not using the first-person point of view—also encourages them to consider the logic of their argument and the quality of the evidence they need to marshal to convince the reader. Since these tasks, crucial to all writing, can be hard to help students learn, white papers help faculty members since students are forced to focus on the clarity of the logic, the nature of the evidence and the quality of the research they conduct—something we want all students to consider. The more common essay assignment sometimes does not help students build these skills since it does not seem as specific and important to write for a particular audience.

Writing a white paper also forces students to consider the implications of their recommendations and make suggestions for implementing them. This extension of their ideas requires critical thinking, a goal we all push in our teaching.

Assigning White Papers
When making a white-paper assignment, it is helpful to consider a range of information to provide students so that they can do their work. In addition to describing the potential audience—a board of directors, a group of decision makers, key influencers—you may want to remind students that their white papers need to include the following:

• Introduction
• Explanation of the significance of the topic
• Specific recommendations (and maybe suggestions for implementation)
• Evidence for the recommendations
• Possible counterarguments against the recommendations
• Implications of the recommendations
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

When putting the paper together, students need to remember to provide an executive summary, a table of contents, a bibliography and an appendix of supporting documents. Using these sections helps them with organizing the contents and focuses their attention on what goes into the paper and what are supportive materials and documentation to the white paper. I have found that students who have to write executive summaries have developed a clearer sense of the purpose and scope of the paper, and the introductions and conclusions have been stronger.

Summary
Thank you for reading this column about assigning white papers. Next month, we will discuss the differences between abstracts and executive summaries and the value of having students write those documents. Even the assignment to compose an annotated bibliography can have the same impact.

If you have suggestions for other topics, send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I will include them in future Mayo’s Clinics.

Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT, is a clinical professor at New York University and a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide.