White Paper Generative Outline

For this exercise, you will compose a generative outline that will help guide your drafting process as you conduct your writing and research over the next three units. You have already made a significant start on your work by completing last unit’s topic proposal. This activity aims to help you maintain that momentum as you begin to compose the first concrete draft of your white paper.

This activity is primarily aimed at developing, or generating, the line of reasoning for your project. You have three main tasks: (1) identify your central claim, (2) develop a working outline for your project, and (3) compose a short draft section of your white paper.

Central Claim

Research-based writing advances a central claim that the writer hopes to persuade her reader of. For the white paper, this central claim is oriented around a problem and a solution. Recall the white papers we analyzed in Unit Four. We might map the central claim of all of “All Health is Connected” as follows:

Problem

Significant health disparities for black men exist.

Solution

Leveraging prenatal care settings can provide opportunities to redress these disparities.

Central Claim

Since men of color face significant health disparities, healthcare providers should consider how prenatal care settings might be leveraged to improve the health outcomes of black men.

Though breaking down the central claim according to the problem and solution it posits may seem a bit straightforward, doing so reminds us of the sheer breadth of each component.

To persuade her audience, the writer advancing this claim would first need to explain just what health disparities exist for black men. (The writer does indeed take on this task, discussing key health indicators, insurance coverage disparities, and the availability of care – among many other topics). Then, the writer would need to fully describe the solutions she is proposing, along with providing evidence that suggests these solutions would be successful. (The writer takes on this task too, discussing how during the perinatal period, expectant fathers are more mindful of their health, how targeted exercises in self-discovery related to health can benefit individuals, and how insurance processes might be improved – again, among many other things).

The line of reasoning of this twelve-page document then proceeds from the author’s central claim. Identifying your own central will be essential to your drafting process. (You may have already made a solid start in this regard in your topic proposal!) Importantly, this claim might change slightly as you continue your research, draft your document, and receive feedback from your professor and peers. For now, identify the most current version of central claim by completing the table below:

Problem

Solution(s)

Central Claim

Working Outline

With your central claim identified, you will next draft a concise working outline for your project. Since this is a working outline, you are not expected to identify and list each major idea or piece of supporting evidence that will be in your final draft of this project. Instead, you are expected to provide a map of the current state of your central line of reasoning. Your continued work on your project, along with feedback from your teacher and peers, will allow your line of reasoning to develop in terms of both sophistication and clarity.

Let’s examine “All Health is Connected” once more. In the previous section of this worksheet, we’ve identified the central claim and several core reasons that support this claim. Consider the second and third paragraph of the paper’s introduction:

In relation to the paper’s central claim, we might map the reasoning of these very short paragraphs as follows:

· Central Claim: Since men of color face significant health disparities, healthcare providers should consider how prenatal care settings might be leveraged to improve the health of black men.

· Reason One: Black men experience worse health outcomes.

· Evidence (A) for Reason One: Research shows higher levels of adverse health conditions compared to white men (Source: CDC, 2017)

· Evidence (B) for Reason One: Research shows that these disparities exist between black men and other groups as well (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, 2007)

There is, of course, much more of the paper’s line of reasoning. (Your instructor may invite you to map other parts of the paper’s line of reasoning during this unit’s class session!) But for now, we can see how the core logic of the white paper derives from its central claim.

For this part of the worksheet, draft a working outline of your white paper in the space below. Remember, your line of reasoning might not yet be fully developed. That’s okay. Write down your central claim, the main reasons you have identified related to it, and the evidence that you’ve discovered that supports these reasons.

You may also consider adding bullets to your outline that say “Need additional reason” or “No evidence for this yet.” Doing so will allow your peers and your teacher to see where you are at in your writing process.

[Insert Working Outline Here]

Draft Section

In the final part of this worksheet, you will now transition from the outlining to drafting. Select a portion of your outline and compose at least three paragraphs related to that portion. Compose those paragraphs in the space below.