1. An Inspector Calls J. B. Priestley
You can decorate the front cover as you please using key signs, symbols and images from the text.
An Inspector Calls J. B. Priestley
GCSE English Literature
Paper 2
Name: _____________________________
Class: ______________________________

2. The basics: Key words: Assessment Objectives (AOs)
What am I being assessed on?
(Re-write the assessment objectives in your own words in the speech bubbles)
Assessment Objectives (AOs)
All specifications in English Literature must require candidates to demonstrate their ability to:
AO1
Read, understand and respond to texts.
Students should be able to:
• maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response
• use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.
AO2
Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.
AO3
Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.
AO4
Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. 12
marks 12
marks 6
marks 4
marks
45 mins
30 marks
4 marks for SPaG
Key words:
Add your own as we read the through the play.
Bourgeoisie
Upper class
Capitalist
A business person
Collectivist
Someone who believes we are all part of one group/ team
Conscience
A sense of right and wrong
Conservative (right wing)
Someone who believes in individual freedom e.g. The Birlings
Hierarchy
A society which is unequal
Individualistic
Someone who believes we are all solely responsible for ourselves
Industrialist
A business person who is a manufacturer (maker) of goods for sale
Materialistic
Someone who is money-orientated
Microcosm
A smaller version of a bigger thing
Misogynistic
Extremely sexist
Omniscient
All-knowing e.g. the Inspector
Patriarchy
A male-dominated hierarchy
Proletariat
The working class e.g. Eva Smith
Social class
The way a society is divided by money and occupation
Social responsibility
The idea that we are responsible for the more vulnerable members of society
Socialist (left-wing)
Someone who believes in social responsibility e.g. Inspector Goole and Priestly
Society
The culture or group we live in
Superficial
To be shallow, artificial or insincere
Unionisation
To organise yourself into a group e.g. workers’ unions
Didactic
A moral message or lesson for the audience

3. 1945
When ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written and performed.
Plot key historical events that happened in between the years below.
Context timeline:
When ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set.
1912

4. Plot summary Act 3 Act 2 Act 1
Update this page with a brief summary of each act. You might want to add important quotes, which characters were present, what key events take place in the act and so on.
Act 2
Plot summary
Act 1

5. PLOT the tension levels throughout the play:
Include quotes and explanations where possible.
(Act number along the bottom)
PLOT the tension levels throughout the play:
High tension
Low tension

6. Key Characters: Mr Arthur Birling Adjectives to describe Mr Birling:
Fill this page with key quotes on the character.
Try to keep your notes chronological and note down page numbers!
Character presentation
(stage directions used)
Political viewpoint:
Adjectives to describe Mr Birling:
Role within the play as a whole:

7. Key Characters: Mrs Sybil Birling Adjectives to describe Mrs Birling:
Fill this page with key quotes on the character.
Try to keep your notes chronological and note down page numbers!
Character presentation
(stage directions used)
Political viewpoint:
Adjectives to describe Mrs Birling:
Role within the play as a whole:

8. Key Characters: Miss Sheila Birling Adjectives to describe Sheila:
Fill this page with key quotes on the character.
Try to keep your notes chronological and note down page numbers!
Character presentation
(stage directions used)
Political viewpoint:
Adjectives to describe Sheila:
Role within the play as a whole:

9. Key Characters: Inspector Goole Adjectives to describe the inspector:
Fill this page with key quotes on the character.
Try to keep your notes chronological and note down page numbers!
Character presentation
(stage directions used)
Political viewpoint:
Adjectives to describe the inspector:
Role within the play as a whole:

10. Key Characters: Eva Smith Daisy Renton
Fill this page with key quotes on the character.
Try to keep your notes chronological and note down page numbers!
Adjectives to describe Eva/Daisy:
Role within the play as a whole:

11. Gerald Croft Eric Birling
Key Characters:
Gerald Croft
Who is he?
Eric Birling
Who is he?

12. Key Themes: Responsibility
Fill this page with key quotes on the different themes that appear throughout the text. Remember page references and a brief explanation.

13. Key Themes: Gender Age Older generation Younger generation
Fill this page with key quotes on the different themes that appear throughout the text. Remember page references and a brief explanation.
Age
Older generation
Younger generation

14. Key Themes: Secrets Reputation Older generation Younger generation
Fill this page with key quotes on the different themes that appear throughout the text. Remember page references and a brief explanation.
Reputation
Older generation
Younger generation

15. Key Themes: Social Class Upper Class Middle Class Working Class
Fill this page with key quotes on the different themes that appear throughout the text. Remember page references and a brief explanation.
Upper Class
Middle Class
Working Class

16. Power
Honesty and truth

17. Wealth
Poverty

18. The Birling’s dining room
Setting
The Birling’s dining room

19. Past Paper Qs EXAM TIPS:
How do you respond to Gerald in An Inspector Calls? How does Priestley make you respond as you do by the ways he writes?
An Inspector Calls has been called ‘a play of contrasts’.
Write about how Priestley presents some of the contrasts in the play.
How does Priestley show that tension is at the heart of the Birling family?
Priestley criticises the selfishness of people like the Birlings. What methods does he use to present this selfishness?
How does the relationship between Gerald and Shelia change in An Inspector Calls and how does Priestley show the changes?
How does Priestley present conflict in An Inspector Calls?
Arthur Birling describes himself a ‘a hard-headed, practical man of business’. How does Priestley present this and other views of Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls?
Have a go at making a detailed plan for some of the questions.
Using the past questions as a guide have a go at creating your own.
Useful phrases for language analysis:
The playwright uses the dramatic device of…… to…
The connotations of the noun/ verb/ adjective….
This evokes/ creates a feeling of…
Metaphorically/ symbolically this implies…
Priestley’s choice of syntax/ lexis here presents … as…