Persuasive Research Paper on why we high schools should change core curriculum

Objectives
By the end of this unit, your Persuasive Research essay will be able to: 

Explore multiple perspectives of a controversial issue
Summarize fairly a resistant audience’s perspective on a controversial issue
Provide common ground between the writer’s views and the audience’s
Develop persuasive claims with reasons, warrants (assumptions), and backing
Identify, evaluate, and integrate credible research sources
Document and consistently cite research sources

Audience—Make sure that you identify an audience that is resistant to, or at the very least skeptical of, the claim you are making about a controversial issue. You may want to imagine that you are writing to an organization or community group that has something at stake with the issue you are raising so that you are able to hold a specific and vivid impression of them as you write. We’ll ask, too, that you list your resistant audience at the top of your researched essay submission.
Significance and Focus—Controversial topics are ones that present complex issues that hold more than a “yes” or “no,” or “right” or “wrong,” response, and ones whose outcomes matter deeply to your audience (and to you). You will need to narrow your issue, though, to an angle that is manageable for a short research paper. Huge topics, such as “American Foreign Policy” or “Technology,” are much too broad for the scope of this essay. However, finding a manageable angle to explore, like “America’s use of diplomacy in Iran” or “driverless cars and highway safety,” might work.
Rebuttal Strategies and Audience-Based Reasoning—Because your audience is resistant, you will need to work harder than in previous assignments to demonstrate that you understand their position, and to anticipate what their objections might be to your claim, reasons, warrants, and source use. You’ll need to make sure you’re using audience-based reasoning throughout your essay in order to most effectively persuade your resistant/skeptical reader.
Research and Documentation—Your outside sources will be important for building your own ethos and for helping to control the development of your argument. So, just as you have been doing in the previous essays, carefully evaluate the credibility of your sources and integrate them into your essay. You should be prepared to undergo an extensive research process since you’ll be working to understand your issue from many perspectives. While your instructor will set their own requirements about the number and type of sources, it’s hard to imagine being successful in this assignment with fewer than five credible outside sources; indeed, you might be required to include far more.