Inquiry Essays
This guide on inquiry essays will help you learn how you can improve your writing. Writing an inquiry essay is not merely reporting ideas from articles and books or making descriptions of your observations. Your thoughts, voice, and process of discovery must be included in the essay. You must make a connection to the knowledge you have gained by discussing what informed the discovery, the process that led you there, and how the knowledge has impacted you.
Follow this guide to learn the purpose and the step-by-step process of creating an exciting inquiry essay.
What is an Inquiry Essay?
The word inquiry comes from inquiring, which means investigating something you don't yet know or seeking information or answers to questions whose answers you do not know. Inquiry is the act of asking for or investigating information in search of answers.
An inquiry essay is not a traditional research paper. Its purpose is to investigate a question and share findings with the reader. When writing an inquiry essay, the goal is not to find a definite answer. The journey of inquiry is the top priority
The first person stance is used when writing an inquiry essay, which allows you to state your opinion about the inquiry and the findings.
Writing an Inquiry Essay
The first step in creating an inquiry essay is asking a question before proceeding to present evidence, facts, or examples that support your assertion. Following the sequence below should help you write a clear and concise paper.
1. Pick a topic
You need to come up with an inquiry essay topic if your professor has not assigned one. Brainstorm a list of essay topics to find one that interests you and is a perfect fit for the assignment.
2. Ask a question
After you've picked a topic, the next step is to ask a question. The question does not have to be a hypothesis or scientific inquiry. It can be a specific question.
3. Research and sources
Formulate your thesis statement from the question. The thesis statement should provide a roadmap for the reader. Give your position with regard to the thesis statement and give the reader a reason to care about it.
Collect information to answer your question and support your thesis. Source your information from authoritative documents like academic journal articles, websites authored by experts, and textbooks. Your position on the thesis may change as you gather information during your research.
4. Explore and expand
Make a well-structured outline and fill each section with content. Explore your views on the topic. Integrate authoritative sources through in-text citations. Add a bibliography at the end of the essay that lists every source you have used in the essay. Wrap up your inquiry essay with results, discussion, or conclusion section.
Your inquiry essay's formatting style depends on your discipline, reasons for writing, and the requirements. Your teacher will likely stipulate. APA style is generally used for writing social sciences papers, MLA is used for arts or literature focus, and Chicago style is used for history, arts, and social sciences
Inquiry Essay Structure
An inquiry essay typically has five sections. These are:
1. Introduction
The introduction section of your essay should provide the reader with your opinion about the topic. It should highlight what you know, assume, or imagine about the topic before conducting research. Explain what you predict or hope to find out about the topic after your research.
The introduction should also contain a strong thesis statement. The thesis statement outlines your goals for the essay. You will have to provide personal examples, arguments, and research information in the body of your essay to support your thesis. In the conclusion, you should restate your essay and either provide a summary of how you have validated it or show why you have changed your position.
2. Research Process
Use this section to tell the story of your research. In an inquiry essay, you don't merely write down facts from your research. You hate to write a narrative of how you researched, what questions guided your research, and how it gave you a better understanding of the subject matter. You do not have to tell the reader everything. Only highlight the information that was crucial to your research and your understanding of the information.
3. Results
This section should document your research findings and how they relate to your research questions.
Try answering the following questions:
- What sources did you find?
- What arguments do these sources make?
- What are the value and limitations of these sources' arguments?
- What is the relevance of these sources to your research questions?
- How do these sources answer your research questions?
4. Applications of the research
This section should provide the implications of your research. You should explain how the information obtained from the research can be used. If there are lingering questions, suggest additional research that needs to be conducted on the topic.
5. Reflection
In this section, you should reflect on the discoveries you've made from your research. Were your findings of the topic or yourself surprising? Did the research experience have an impact on you or your future? Reflect also on the questions that remain unsolved.
Final Thoughts
In a conventional research paper, the writer takes an objective and detached stance. In an inquiry essay, the writer is allowed to take an active role in research by creating a record of his or her inquiry path. The essay ends up teaching both the writer and reader a valuable lesson about the research and discovery.
Writing inquiry essays is enjoyable since one can write about everything they find and provide their opinion.
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