The best way to prepare for An Inspector Calls is to answer questions on it, not to reread it. These practice questions copy the AQA format, so you can rehearse the real skill: building a clear argument about a theme or character and supporting it from across the whole play, all from memory, since no extract is given.
How the AQA question works
An Inspector Calls is a modern text, answered in Section A of AQA English Literature Paper 2. You choose one question from a choice of two, and it will focus on a theme or a character. There is no printed extract, so you work from memory of the whole play. The response is worth 30 marks, with a further 4 marks for AO4 (spelling, punctuation and grammar), giving 34 in total, and most students spend around 45 minutes on it. Marks come from AO1, AO2 and AO3, and in this play AO3 context is especially important. Always check the exact wording and timing against the current AQA specification.
How to plan one in five minutes
Decide your argument in one sentence, your thesis, then plan three or four paragraphs, each making a point that develops across the play and includes a short quote and a line of context. Because there is no extract to lean on, a clear plan and well-learned quotes are what carry you.
Practice questions
- How does Priestley present ideas about social responsibility in the play?
- How does Priestley present Mr Birling as a character?
- How does Priestley present the theme of class in An Inspector Calls?
- How does Priestley present Sheila as a character who changes?
- How does Priestley use the Inspector to convey his message?
- How does Priestley explore the differences between the older and younger generations?
- How does Priestley present Mrs Birling and her attitudes?
- How does Priestley present ideas about gender and the treatment of women?
A worked example
Take the first: how does Priestley present ideas about social responsibility? Here is the five-minute plan.
- Thesis: Priestley uses the play to argue that we are all responsible for each other, defeating Birling's selfish individualism.
- Point 1: he sets up the opposing view first, Birling's 'look after himself and his own', so the play can dismantle it.
- Point 2: the Inspector states the message directly, 'we are members of one body', and the chain of guilt proves it.
- Point 3: the generational split shows who accepts responsibility, Sheila and Eric, and who denies it, the older Birlings.
- Context: Priestley, a socialist writing in 1945, is urging his post-war audience to build a fairer society.
Build your plans using the themes and character pages, see a full answer on the Grade 9 essays page, and learn your evidence on the key quotes page.