How to Write an Effective White Paper

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:WriteEffectiveWhitePaper
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How to Write an Effective White Paper

Introduction

White papers are most often technical documents describing some aspect of a particular position or concept. Businesses often use white papers to provide non-marketing information on technologies relevant to their products, which can be more trusted by prospective customers than pure marketing materials. Care should be taken when writing white papers to ensure that they are accurate, unbiased and that they clearly support the covered material.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Steps

1

Step One

Select a relevant topic. For a business white paper, assess your products and services and identify key attributes that can be explained clearly to a target audience. For scientific and political white papers, topics are often more obvious, but care must be taken to ensure that the topic can be clearly explained and adequately sourced.
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Step Two

Gain the required approvals. Whether in a business, a political organization, or an academic environment, white papers can have profound effects on the position of an organization among its constituents. Ensure that you have received all appropriate approvals from relevant groups and that your white paper will not contradict stated positions or reveal proprietary or confidential information.
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Step Three

Outline your white paper. White papers typically follow relatively standard outlines, with introductions, thesis statements, supporting evidence and conclusions. Make sure to outline your white paper carefully to ensure that it covers all of the relevant points and fully supports your position. For business white papers, increased emphasis is usually placed on how a given technology will solve business problems and in ways specific to the company's product or service.
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Step Four

Write the white paper. Use a voice not too conversational but also not too dry and that appeals to your target audience. Avoid acronyms and buzzwords. Provide sources for all researched information to add authority to the white paper and avoid plagiarism.
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Step Five

Edit the white paper. Make sure that the language flows clearly from point to point, and that all spelling, grammatical and compositional errors are eliminated. Recheck your sources to ensure the accuracy of your white paper, and provide it to colleagues to review for clarity and ease of reading.

Tips & Warnings

  • Use side bars to highlight specific information whenever it contributes to the overall message.
  • For business white papers, avoid specifically mentioning a product or service. Rather, provide valid information on a topic of interest to the audience that also describes your company's products or services.
  • Get legal approval of white paper before distributing outside of your organization to ensure that no proprietary or confidential information is being revealed or established positions contradicted.
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