A writing as inquiry paper's purpose is to answer the unknown. A majority of the writing in your higher education experience will be this type of paper. The goal of the paper is to instruct your reader in a particular topic and, in the process, learn more about a subject through research and understanding.
This paper style is useful in learning basic research skills. By wanting to answer a question, you will learn valuable skills that can help you better analyze sources of information and present information in a clear and concise manner.
The key word in this paper type is "inquiry." You learn more about a topic in the process of research and writing a paper than you can by passively reading alone. Writing as inquiry papers allow you to take information from multiple sources and connect the dots to a single conclusion about a single topic.
If this is an assignment type, it is possible that your instructor wishes you to learn about a topic that is relevant to your coursework. It is also possible that they want you to exercise your ability to draw conclusions and connect separate works on a similar topic.