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Missouri State University

A Survey of White Paper Types

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The white paper is a widely used technical marketing document genre that has been curiously neglected in technical writing instruction. Used in government for over four centuries to foster discussion and promulgate official political positions, the white paper genre has expanded in recent decades to such diverse areas as business, education, marketing, law, medicine, science, accounting, architecture, and even religion. A general survey of many documents, combined with a meticulous analysis of a few, representative documents, should yield a array of characteristics common to the genre as a whole, which will help form a basis for instruction in white paper design and production. By examining the history of white papers, detailing their use in a variety of rhetorical situations, thoroughly surveying a surfeit of individual white papers, and analyzing four white papers in detail using the Data-Based Strategy for Document Evaluation, I will demonstrate how white papers in all situations are a hybrid document type that uses information persuasively.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts in English
Level thesis:degree_level
Masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
English
Year
2008

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Thompson, Edward D.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Kristene Sutliff

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • © Edward D. Thompson

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1104
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2105

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Missouri State University
Base URL
bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Thompson, Edward D.. A Survey of White Paper Types. Masters thesis, 2008. https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1104