An inquiry essay is a form of paper that looks into subjects you don't know about but wish to learn more about. The term "inquire" indicates to seek information or to try to obtain answers to questions you don't yet know the answers to. An inquiry essay is more than merely repeating information from your investigation. You must give your own interpretation of what you have learned during the process of investigating a subject. These essays often involve reading all or part of the text body with each question being answered by further researching the topic. Textbooks are often used as sources for inquiry papers because they provide detailed information about various topics within the field. In addition to textbooks, other helpful resources include previous investigations (or others' investigations) into the same or related subjects, including lab reports and essays written by others. You should also follow up on any new information that comes out after writing a first draft of your paper. That way you can add it to your inquiry without completely changing the original theme or tone required for an inquiry paper. Finally, use your judgment when deciding how much detail to include in an inquiry paper. Some inquiries may only require a brief summary while others may call for an extensive analysis of one aspect of the topic. The main goal of an inquiry paper is to explore a broad range of issues surrounding one particular topic rather than focusing on a single aspect of the subject. This type of paper requires substantial research effort and creativity.