Inquiry Essay Outline
This is one way of presenting your inquiry report. Separate your report into the following sections. (Sections
4 and 5 will be the bulk of your report, several paragraphs long.) It should be a minimum of 700 words long
but should not exceed 1500 words. Try to stick to this limit!
SECTION 1 - THESIS OR BIG QUESTION(S)
Write a brief introduction to your topic and the aim and scope of your research. Why is this
topic interesting to you? List your questions.
SECTION 2 - BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO YOUR TOPIC
You may want to include the following details if they are relevant to your report: History,
Technical information (eg define any unusual vocabulary, discuss any special concepts),
Current information (eg recent research findings on your topic, recent news stories on your
topic)
SECTION 3 - METHODOLOGY AND DATA
How did you go about finding your information? What are the sources of your data? (places
you visited, people you spoke to, books, websites that were particularly useful). Why did you
choose these sources? Were there any difficulties in finding data?
SECTION 4 - LANGUAGE ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
What were your findings? How did you analyse them? (Did you collate similar information, did you highlight
and annotate information, did you do some sort of statistical analysis? What
facts and figures did you discover?)
SECTION 5 - CONCLUSION
This is where the bulk of your analysis is. How have these findings helped answer your big
question(s) or addressed the aims of your research? What conclusions can you draw about
the language used; what judgements can you make? What questions still remain to be
answered? Conclude with your philosophical ruminations about the question(s), what needs
to be done, and where we stand in terms of current understanding.
SECTION 6 REFERENCES (BIBLIOGRAPHY)
A bibliography MUST be included! Only include in your reference list material that is actually
in your paper—you should not cite anything in your paper not listed in your works cited page.
Cite any website, book, person, article that you have used to help you with your topic.
SECTION 7 APPENDICES (IF ANY)
Transcripts of speeches (with parts highlighted that you have used), extracts from other
research papers, graphs, etc.
NB: You need to proofread your report very carefully as writing conventions must be accurate
(ie correct spelling, grammar, punctuation…)