Research "Essay" not "paper"

Research paper. This is probably the two scariest and annoying words ever. In high school I absolutely dreaded research papers. The topics were always horrible. I have a really hard time displaying what I have learned by writing. It is very difficult for me to describe and say something without putting my voice in. I also get extremely bored when I am writing and researching about a topic that I am not interested in. After I read this article, I now have a different out look on research papers, or in the authors words, a research "essay." I agree when the author said how he used to think that research papers had to be very formal without voice. That's what I am used to writing. In high school my research papers were always very structured and very boring. I found it very helpful to read about what I must include in my research paper. For example I must answer a question and have a purpose. I also found it interesting to read about the differences between a formal paper and an informal paper. I did not know that we could actually state our opinion on the material. This should make it easier to right and of course more interesting to read. My question is are we allowed to include visual aids in our paper to make it more readable?