The word "inquiry," in the academic sense, essentially means "to probe deeply into an issue in order to understand it completely." Your purpose for the inquiry essay is to do just that by seeing how three of the authors we've read address a similar issue, and then by seeing how their ideas on that issue relate to your own. Imagine the authors we've read sitting around a table, having a conversation. Your job for this essay is to eavesdrop on that conversation, isolate one of the key issues in the discussion, and report back to your readers on each author's point of view on that issue. Then, you'll actually sit down at the table, join the conversation, and add your own ideas to those of the authors.