The writer should be able to answer yes to both questions. The paper should develop a clear position . Avoid disconnected points that do not add up to an argument. Stake out a claim and make it clear. Please keep in mind that I read hundreds of papers per year.
Some topics are commonplace and some opinions are widely shared.
Here is a test. A paper with lots of belief statements and few supporting arguments is indeed a revelation, but weak. In my opinion, all student writing should reflect some reading. I like to think of sources as companion texts. Specific sentences should be tagged with specific page numbers, and your bibliography should have complete citations.