White paper examples: 9 annotated examples by type

If you are new to the form, start with what is a white paper. If you are ready to write, use how to write a white paper and the white paper format guide.

How to read a white paper example

Before you look at the examples, know what to look for. Read each one with these five questions:

1. What is the one problem? Can you state it in a sentence after reading the title and summary?
2. Where is the evidence? Are statistics sourced, and could you open those sources?
3. When does the product, policy or proposal appear? Early (a backgrounder) or only after the problem is established (a problem–solution paper)?
4. How are alternatives treated? Fairly, or as straw men?
5. What is the reader asked to do? Is the next step specific?

Technical white paper examples

1. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (Satoshi Nakamoto, 2008)

What it is. A nine-page paper that proposes a way to make online payments without a trusted third party. It is the most widely read white paper of the century and the model for thousands of project white papers.

What it does well.

• The problem is in the first paragraph. Online commerce relies on financial institutions as trusted third parties, and that brings costs and reversible transactions.
• One design, explained in order. Transactions, timestamp server, proof-of-work, network, incentive, and so on, each in a short numbered section.
• It shows its reasoning. A section calculates the probability that an attacker could catch up with the honest chain, rather than just asserting that the system is secure.
• No marketing. No adjectives about the future of money, no roadmap, no token sale.

What to borrow. Short numbered sections, one idea each. A calculation or worked example in place of a claim. A conclusion that restates what was proposed in a paragraph.

2. AWS Well-Architected Framework

What it is. A whitepaper from Amazon Web Services that sets out design principles for cloud systems, organised into pillars such as operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, cost optimisation and sustainability.

What it does well.

• Principles come before services. Each pillar opens with design principles that apply to any cloud, then lists questions an architect should ask, and only then points to specific services.
• Built for use, not only reading. Each pillar ends in concrete questions a team can work through, which makes the paper a checklist as well as an argument.
• Kept current. It is published as a living document with dated versions.

What to borrow. If your readers are engineers, give them questions to ask and decisions to make, not only descriptions. Put your own product after the principles that justify it. For a full layout, see the technical white paper template.

Business and marketing white paper examples

Company white papers are often behind a sign-up form and change often, so the three examples below are sample excerpts written for this article. Each shows the technique of one classic type.

3. Problem–solution white paper (company example)

Sample excerpt (written for this article; the company, product and figures are invented):

Title: Lost in the pipes: why mid-size water utilities cannot find a fifth of their water

Executive summary. Mid-size water utilities lose a large share of treated water before it reaches a meter [source]. Most still find leaks by acoustic survey, which covers each part of the network only every few years. This paper describes the cost of that gap, compares four approaches to finding leaks sooner, and sets out what a utility needs to start: pressure data it already collects, and a three-month pilot on one district.

What it does well. The title names the reader's problem, not the product. The summary gives the problem, the cost (with a source), the comparison and the first step in four sentences. The product does not appear until a short "About" section at the end.

What to borrow. Keep your product out of the problem, the evidence and the comparison sections. If the argument does not stand without it, the paper is a brochure.

4. Numbered-list white paper (marketing example)

Sample excerpt (written for this article):

7 questions to ask before you replace your clinical scheduling system

3. How will you measure no-shows before and after? Without a baseline from your current system, you cannot show that the new one worked. Export twelve months of appointments and no-show flags now, before migration changes how they are recorded.

What it does well. Each point is a heading the reader can scan, followed by the reason and a concrete action. It is useful even to a reader who never buys anything.

What to borrow. A numbered list works best early in a buying cycle and on social channels. Give each point one piece of evidence or one specific action, not just advice.

5. Backgrounder (company example)

Sample excerpt (written for this article; product and figures invented):

Feature	What it does	What the reader gains
District metering import	Reads existing pressure and flow logs	No new hardware for the pilot
Leak ranking	Orders districts by likely loss	Crews start where losses are highest

What it does well. A backgrounder explains one offering in depth to a buyer who is already comparing options. Tying each feature to an outcome turns a feature list into an argument.

What to borrow. Use a feature, function, benefit table, and keep evidence (cited studies) separate from your own results (with your method).

Scientific and research white paper examples

6. Astro2020 science white papers

What they are. For the 2020 US decadal survey on astronomy and astrophysics, the National Academies invited the research community to submit short science white papers making the case for scientific questions and facilities. Hundreds were submitted and published openly.

What they do well.

• One question per paper. Each states a scientific question, why now, and what observations or instruments would answer it.
• Short by design. A tight page limit forces authors to put the argument first and the detail in references.
• Written for a panel of other scientists outside the subfield. That is the white paper's usual reader: expert, but not in your niche.

What to borrow. If you are writing a research white paper for a funder, a consortium or an agency, keep it to one question, say why it matters now, and state what would change if it were answered.

7. State-of-the-evidence white paper (healthcare example)

Sample excerpt (written for this article; the studies are placeholders):

Remote monitoring after heart-failure discharge: what the evidence shows

Readmissions. Trials of structured telephone support and non-invasive telemonitoring report fewer heart-failure hospitalisations than usual care [S1, S3], but the effect varies widely between health systems and is smaller in recent trials [S4]. Strength of evidence: moderate. The trials were mostly in high-income settings, so results may not transfer to systems with fewer nurses per patient.

What it does well. Every finding has its source, and every section says how strong the evidence is and how far it transfers. This is what separates a scientific white paper from a marketing one: the reader can see the uncertainty.

What to borrow. Rate the strength of evidence for each finding, and add a short section on how the paper was prepared (which kinds of studies it draws on and its limits). A healthcare white paper should also say plainly that it is not clinical advice. For the full method, see our scientific white paper writer.

Policy and government white paper examples

8. White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (European Commission, 2020)

What it is. A white paper from the European Commission, "A European approach to excellence and trust", that set out policy options for AI in the EU and opened a public consultation. It preceded the EU's later AI legislation.

What it does well.

• Two aims, stated up front. An "ecosystem of excellence" and an "ecosystem of trust" organise the whole paper.
• Options, not only one answer. It discusses possible regulatory approaches, including a risk-based one, before setting out its preferred direction.
• It asks for responses. A consultation turns the white paper into the start of a policy process.

What to borrow. A policy white paper should show the options you considered and why you chose one, then invite responses. Use a table to compare the options. See the policy white paper template.

9. National government white papers

Governments in the UK, Australia and elsewhere publish white papers on defence, foreign policy, education and other areas. Australia's 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper and the UK's 2022 "Levelling Up the United Kingdom" white paper are examples that are easy to find and free to download.

What they do well. They pair a case for change, built on data, with a plan for implementation: objectives, specific commitments, who is responsible and how progress will be measured.

What to borrow. End with an implementation plan and measures, not only recommendations. A policy proposal without owners and timelines is hard to act on.

What every good example has in common

Turn an example into your own white paper

Reading examples gives you the shape. To write your own:

1. Pick the type that matches your reader's stage: problem–solution early, backgrounder late, numbered list for attention, scientific or policy for decisions.
2. Copy the section order from the white paper template, not the text of any example.
3. Gather the evidence before drafting. Every number needs a source.
4. Draft, then check every claim against its source.

If you want a first draft that already follows one of these structures, the White paper module in the AI for Research Writing Studio writes seven kinds: problem–solution, scientific or research, technical, policy or government, industry or market report, backgrounder and numbered list. It searches published research first and cites it, uses your own data exactly as you give it, and leaves a [placeholder] wherever a figure is missing instead of inventing one. A whole paper costs 15 credits and one section 3, and the Free plan has 45 credits a month. You can also try the free AI white paper generator without an account.

FAQ

What is a good example of a white paper?

The Bitcoin white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto (2008) is the most famous example: nine pages that state one problem, propose one design, and support it with a short analysis. For business white papers, look at the whitepaper libraries of large cloud and software companies. For policy, government white papers such as the European Commission's 2020 white paper on artificial intelligence show the options-and-proposals structure.

Where can I find white paper examples in PDF?

Most published white papers are free PDFs. Good places to look are government publication pages (search for the department name plus "white paper"), the whitepaper libraries of cloud, security and software companies, think tank and NGO report pages, and the websites of learned societies and research consortia. Some company white papers ask for an email address before the download.

What does a company white paper look like?

A company white paper usually has a branded cover with a title that names a problem, a one-page executive summary, four to six sections on the problem, current approaches, a better approach and the evidence, a short "about the company" section at the end and a reference list. It runs 6 to 12 pages, with a chart or table on most spreads.

What is an example of a research white paper?

Community science white papers are a clear example: in planning exercises such as the US astronomy decadal survey, groups of scientists submit short papers that make the case for a research question or instrument. Another kind is the state-of-the-evidence paper, in which a society or research group summarises the evidence on a question for policy makers and recommends priorities.

Can I copy a white paper example?

Copy the structure, not the text. Section order, the shape of an executive summary and the way evidence is presented are not protected, but the wording, charts and data of a published white paper belong to its publisher. Cite any figure you reuse, and check the licence before you reproduce a chart.

Next steps

• Understand the form: what is a white paper.
• Get the layout right: white paper format.
• Write it: how to write a white paper.
• Check you need a white paper at all: white paper vs research paper.

Sources

1. Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer electronic cash system. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
2. Amazon Web Services. AWS Well-Architected Framework. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/welcome.html
3. European Commission. (2020). White Paper on Artificial Intelligence: A European approach to excellence and trust. COM(2020) 65 final. https://commission.europa.eu/publications/white-paper-artificial-intelligence-european-approach-excellence-and-trust_en
4. Astro2020 science white papers. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 51(3). https://baas.aas.org/
5. Australian Government. (2017). 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper. https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/minisite/2017-foreign-policy-white-paper/
6. UK Government. (2022). Levelling Up the United Kingdom (white paper). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom