an inspector calls how to write an essay

An Inspector Calls: A* / L9 Example Intro + Paragraph

Here are some samples of an essay on An Inspector Calls, on the theme of responsibility. I wrote these myself as a teacher to show students an example of the standard required to get a high level at GCSE. I’ve also broken down the structure below so you can see what to put into each paragraph and how to organise all of your ideas – this is the most important thing for getting a high level in an essay !

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How does Priestley explore the theme of responsibility in the play?  

EXAMPLE INTRO: 

Responsibility is a very important theme in An Inspector Calls, as the Inspector reveals one by one that all the Birling family are partly responsible for Eva’s death. Eva represents the lower classes, and Priestley uses the tragic ending of her character to spread his message about social responsibility, a message which is delivered by the Inspector himself, who acts as a mouthpiece for Priestley’s own views on socialism and equality. Overall, the audience realizes that their actions affect other people’s lives, so they are responsible for looking after and caring for everyone in society. 

An Inspector Calls: Character Revision

EXAMPLE MIDDLE PARAGRAPH: 

• Point (one sentence that answers part of the question, your idea)
• Evidence (quotes/references that prove your point) 
• The technique (language features/dramatic features/structure features)
• Explanation (analysis – how/why the evidence proves the point)
• Development (context/alternative interpretations)
• Link (linking back to the argument/thesis in the Intro)

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Responsibility

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An Inspector Calls

Royal Central School of Speech & Drama - MA Performance Practice & Research

Experienced English Tutor and Professional Playwright and Poet.

Notes || Exam Prep || Character Profiles || Themes || Additional Reading & Videos

This topic is included in  Paper 2 . You can find notes and guides for it below.

• Overview and Key Scenes
• Glossary of Key Terms
• Definitions Flashcards
• Guide to Paper 2
• How to plan and write a top mark essay
• Question Bank - Characters
• Question Bank - Relationships
• Question Bank - Themes

Additional Reading & Videos:

• An Inspector Calls (2017 film version)
• An Inspector Calls (1982 film version)
• An Introduction to An Inspector Calls

Character Profiles

• Eric Birling
• Gerald Croft
• Mrs Birling
• Sheila Birling
• The Inspector
• Capitalism vs Socialism
• Exploitation
• Generations Young vs Old
• Social Class
• Social Responsibility
• Wealth and Materialism

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — An Inspector Calls — How Guilt is Presented in “An Inspector Calls”

How Guilt is Presented in "An Inspector Calls"

• Categories: An Inspector Calls Guilt

About this sample

Words: 595 |

Published: Sep 7, 2023

Words: 595 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

The manifestation of guilt, effects of guilt on characters, the theme of collective guilt, symbolism of eva smith.

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J.B. Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls" delves into the complexities of societal attitudes and generational differences. The interplay between the older and younger characters serves as a lens through which themes of class, [...]

Mr. Arthur Birling, a prominent character in J.B. Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls," is a complex individual whose perspectives and actions offer insight into the prevailing attitudes of his time. This essay delves into the [...]

Some individuals possess greater authority than others. The possession of authority is beneficial and makes life more pleasant but although it brings so much ease to life, it can easily be abused to bring harm to others. In the [...]

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How is Gerald presented in An Inspector Calls? To start the essay, the character of Gerald Croft is extremely significant, as he is the only perpetrator not to be a part of the Birling household. He is also the character who [...]

Priestley, J. B. (1945). An Inspector Calls. Heinemann.Brown, G. (1998). J.B. Priestley: An Inspector Calls and Other Plays. Cambridge University Press.Sutherland, J. (1973). J. B. Priestley: Playwright and Novelist. Routledge & [...]

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An inspector calls - An introduction

An inspector calls

The play “An Inspector calls” was written by J.B. Priestly in 1945. It was set in a Midland Industrial town in 1912. The plot of this dramatic play is based around a visit by an inspector to an apparently normal and well-respected family. All the characters are affected by the death of Eva Smith, but Sheila Birling shows the greatest remorse and changes the most. In this essay, I will discuss how Sheila changes during the play and her role in the death of Eva Smith. I am also going to briefly discuss about the other characters.

  In the play “An Inspector calls”, each character reacts differently. Mr Birling, Sheila’s father is arrogant and outspoken about his self-centred beliefs of the world “a man has to mind his own business and look after his own.” He is less vocal as the inspector starts questioning them and appears somehow ashamed as the story develops. His involvement

In Eva Smiths’ case is that he sacked her from a job she needed dearly. The inspector mentions that this plays a part in her suicide. However at the end, when the inspector departs he returns to his old self, choosing to ignore the inspector’s lesson. He puts it aside stating the fact that Goole was a “hoax”.  He is only concerned on how it might have

Affected his knighthood.

  Lady Birling, is the most reluctant to admit her guilt in the girl’s

Death. She is portrayed as determined but narrow minded, out of touch with what really happens. Her involvement in the case was that she rejected Eva at a time of need. This was the final straw before her suicide. The most Mrs Birling bends towards sympathy is to say: “ I’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end”. She still remains untouched by the inspector’s questioning and refuses to see how her actions could have lead to Eva Smith’s death. “I accept no blame for it all”. After the inspector leaves, she returns to her old self. When the inspector is discovered to be a hoax, she states: “He certainly didn’t make me confess”. She refuses to allow the ordeal any value in her life.

This is a preview of the whole essay

  Gerald, Sheila’s fiancé is also involved in this case of Eva Smith. He had an affair with her the summer before. Gerald had thought his involvement with Eva Smith was “all over and done with last summer” but generally comes to recognise that his actions have had lasting consequences. When inspector Goole reveals the death of Eva Smith, he responds with the phrase: “My God”.  Priestly shows Gerald in a more sympathetic light. Gerald is the one to reveal to the others the fact that Goole is a hoax. He is described as smiling as he says, “everything is alright now”. Although he helped Eva Smith, he fails to understand that whether or not he has actually driven a girl to suicide; he is just as guilty of selfishness and hypocrisy. His guilt seems to evaporate after the inspector leaves.

  Eric, the son of Mr Birling is shown to have the honesty the others lack. He is the only one to respond spontaneously to details of the girl’s death. He had slept with Eva Smith and caused her to become pregnant. When he found out, he offered her money stolen from his father’s account, but Eva refuses to accept it. Although Eric is not a particularly pleasant character, he is still sincerely ashamed of his behaviour and is capable of changing for the better. After the inspector has gone, him and Sheila are the only ones that seem to have learnt a lesson from the incident.

  In this play “An Inspector calls”, Sheila is shown to be the most affected by this ordeal. In the start of the play she is described as a “pretty girl” who is very “pleased with life”. Later however, her prettiness is revealed as vanity and her happiness selfishness, bought Eva Smith her job. At first Sheila’s reaction is superficial, she seems upset her evening has been spoilt, “and I have been so happy tonight”. But unlike her parents, Sheila quickly realises her part in Eva Smith’s death. She comes to see Eva as an individual. “These girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people”. As the story is revealed, Sheila immediately learns about Eva’s unfair dismissal from Mr Birling’s factory, she is critical of her father. Sheila is readier than the others to admit her guilt and express her regret to her actions. She makes minimal effort to excuse herself from her behaviour. Her reaction is very different from her father’s. She denounces the act for what it was “I think it was cruel”. She also admits she behaved badly and that she is “ashamed of it”. She feels deep remorse while the inspector is there. After the inspector leaves she still remembers the story and still feels sorrow. She is concerned at the rate that her parents recover. She is amazed they haven’t learned anything from it. Even though the inspector was a hoax, she still thinks they all behaved in an unsuitable manner. She learns to be responsible even to those less fortunate than her.

  Sheila has a very important role in the play. She represents Priestley’s point of view. After the inspector leaves she states:  “It doesn’t make any real difference if he was a real inspector or not” because in her own opinion the inspector has fulfilled his purpose. She acts as the conscience in this play. Hers is the voice that challenges the older generation and the great moral divide between people. She helps the inspector during his questioning. Her bond with the inspector is shown in her echoing of his words when she says to Gerald: “we haven’t much time”. The inspector is always aware of the lack of time and everything controlled by it. Both Sheila and Eric represent the younger generation and they seem to stand up against the older generation. Priestly also shows the audience the contrast between Sheila and Eva Smith. They are both approximately the same ages yet are shown to live completely differently lives.

  In the production of “An Inspector Calls”, how Sheila changes could be illustrated in different ways. At the beginning of the play when celebrating her engagement, she would speak in a light-hearted, jovial tone to show how contented with life she is. However in the final act, her tone of voice would be more serious and this would show the audience, that she is much more mature and more serious about life. She could also be shown moving from an enclosed life into a real world, by moving into the inspector’s light. This would show her being enlightened by the truth of Eva’s death. To reveal Sheila’s growing concern for others in the society, the director could have the actress change costumes. When she runs out of the room in Act 1, she could return wearing a simple dress.

This would suggest to the audience she has began to feel regret for her actions and is becoming more serious minded.

  In many ways the engagement ring symbolises Sheila’s transformation. When Gerald gives her the ring in Act 1, before the inspector arrives, she accepts it happily. In Act 2 she returns the ring to him after hearing of his involvement with Eva. Finally in Act 3, after the inspector leaves and is discovered to be a hoax, Gerald tries to persuade her to

accept the ring again but she reacts by saying “No, because I remember what he said”. This shows she has not just put the matter aside and she is still shaken by it.

  Priestly expresses his views about the society in 1912. He is inviting the audience to examine the great moral divide between the rich and poor. He sets the play in 1912 before the Titanic and the two world wars, so the audience can see how the characters values and attitudes are very different to theirs. In the play Mr Birling states “ The Titanic, unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. The irony in this sentence is that the audience know the Titanic sinks, but the characters do not. Irony is also used when Mr Birling states, “There isn’t a chance of war”. Two years later a war broke out. Priestly uses this to show how capitalist caused the war.

  Sheila’s language changes at different points of the play. In the beginning of the play she quite childlike and uses the word “mummy” to her mother Mrs Birling. As the play progresses the word “mummy” changes to “mother” after she realises all that has happened and different people’s attitude to things. She also becomes much more inquisitive and evaluates each member of her family and their actions. She helps the investigation in many ways, to bring out the truth. She is willing to learn from her

Mistakes and tries to encourage the others to learn as well. Sheila’s changes reflect the political idea that we need to take responsibility towards others less fortunate. Priestly uses Sheila to encourage socialism and equality, he discourages capitalism. The fact that she questions the values and attitudes of her parents, reflect the changing attitudes of the younger generation and increase in women’s independence.  The only other person that shares her attitude is Eric. This shows that the younger generations are more open-minded and are able to learn from their mistakes and change. The older generation is being forced to learn appropriate values of life by the younger generation. Priestly uses Sheila and Eric to represent socialists who can bring hope to the future.

  To sum it all up, Sheila changes the most in “An Inspector Calls”. She helps the inspector in bringing out and questioning different people’s views of life. Priestly uses Sheila to express his views about capitalism. He uses Sheila to show the audience that there is room for change to bring about a better future for all.

Document Details

• Word Count 1698
• Page Count 3
• Subject English

Related Essays

An Inspector Calls

Miss Huttlestone's GCSE English

Because a whole class of wonderful minds are better than just one!

How to crack the ‘An Inspector Calls’ essay: a suggested structure

Happy easter year 10 and 11. i do hope you’re channeling your energy into some purposeful literature revision and that re-reading ‘an inspector calls’ is an integral element of this process. you see, swatting up on the literature texts means knowing the texts inside out , upside down (impressive) and front to back; it’s not enough to have read the texts once with me in class, the examiners can tell a mile off a student who knows the texts from those who have merely regurgitated what their teacher has told them about it., so in leaving the knowing of the text up to you and your independence now, i thought i’d put together a one stop shop for how to structure a top band ‘an inspector calls’ essay in exam conditions – this i can help with. here goes….

STEP ONE: The Introduction In your introduction, you need to set up the parameters for debate – your big bossy idea that will be constantly referred back to in the main body of your essay. This means you need to outline your argument and show that you know exactly what the question is asking you. You will also need to show how you are going to focus your answer.

If you are asked about a character, you should provide an overview of this character’s importance to the play and his/her function . if you are writing about a theme, you should talk about how that theme pervades the play and the reason you find it important. if you are asked about the opening or ending of the play, you should ensure you open by talking about its significance to the play as a whole., here’s an example of a meaningful, purposeful introduction:, what is the function of sheila in an inspector calls sheila has been celebrated as the most dynamic character in the play by many readers and viewers of ‘an inspector calls’. this is because she is deliberately crafted as a mouthpiece for priestley as well as being a physical representative of the younger generation – a generation that has the potential power to aid the socialist progression of society. whilst she has been raised as a member of the upper middle class, she is able to shake off her capitalist views in favour of a more socialist perspective, encouraging her family to recognise the importance of looking after those in less privileged positions. sheila, by the end of the play, is indeed the very portrait of change priestley sought in a post ww2 context. .

Step two: The main body of your essay for a character based essay:

As my highly scientific diagram of a veggie burger above suggests, the main body of your essay is the most essential – it carries the sustenance, the weight to the ideas posed in your introduction. for character questions you might want to break it down like this:, section 1: how the character is presented before the inspector’s arrival – contrast with another character e.g. sheila vs her mother, section 2: how the character is presented when they hear news of eva smith or daisy renton – compare and contrast with other characters;, section 3: how the character is presented during their interrogation – compare or contrast with another character and also discuss how the inspector treats them., section 4: how the character is presented at the end of the play once the inspector leaves – compare and contrast with other characters., for each of the sections identified above, you need to do the following: – provide a clear topic sentence, e.g. when we are first introduced to sheila, we feel…..; – provide at least one piece of evidence from the play, ideally 2-3; – analyse the evidence (the language) and provide inferences about the character, using analytical verbs from your word bank; – contrast or compare with another character; –  explain how priestley may want us to feel about the character and how this connects to his ideas., for some of the sections, you need to also: – discuss a dramatic device used at this point in the play e.g. stage directions. entrances and exits, props etc. – introduce contextual information to develop your interpretation of character. , approaching a theme based question:, a typical question might appear like this:, how does priestley present the theme of conflict in an inspector calls, the structure for an essay on themes is fairly straightforward. you need to decide on 3-4 ways in which the theme is presented and then examine each of these in turn. try to have something unusual up your sleeve for your final paragraph. remember, that for each section of your essay, you need to follow the same rules as above also., here are two visual examples of how you can approach themes:.

Essays on structure / specific scenes

Sometimes, you will be offered a question which is a little unusual so expect the unexpected. it may ask you to consider a part of the play and its relationship to a whole, or it may draw your attention to a structural device. these questions can be more challenging in terms of how to organise your response., an example: how is the opening of an inspector calls effective in setting up the events and ideas in the play, in order to tackle this, you will need to decide on four key aspects of the opening scene to explore, but you will still need to talk about the play as a whole since the question asks about the scene’s importance to the events and ideas presented later. here is an example plan for tackling this question:, 1. the use of lighting – the mood created and how this changes later in the play; 2. the use of props – how atmosphere is created and what these props symbolise, linking to ideas later in the play and context of edwardian era; 3. the stage directions and what we learn about each character merely from first impressions – how these are then demonstrated later in the play; 4. edna – her voice and lack thereof; 5. birling’s big, bold speeches; 6. the sharp ring of the doorbell – how it provokes a change in events, mood, ideas, and how it links to what happens at the end of the play; 7. any early foreshadowing..

The Tricky Conclusion If in doubt, leave it out! A conclusion is important in drawing your ideas together, but  there is little worse than a bad conclusion! If you are simply going to waffle and repeat  yourself, stick to a very brief and compelling single sentence to round off your essay.

If,  however, you wish to gain access to the higher levels of the mark scheme, you need to  develop a carefully crafted conclusion to your debate. you should draw together your  ideas to formulate your overall view on the theme or character, and ideally say something compelling to leave your essay on a high. the conclusion is to give your essay a sense of completeness and let your readers know that they have come to the end of your argument. it might restate the thesis in different words, summarise the main points you have made, or make a relevant comment about the literary work you are analysing, but from a different perspective. do not introduce a new topic in your conclusion., example conclusion:, what is the function of sheila in an inspector calls by the time we reach the final moments of the play, sheila has fallen silent, along with the rest of her family. however, this is not the silence of guilt; it is the telling silence of defeat: she has tried desperately to convince her family to “learn something” and reproaches them like a parent when she exclaims “it frightens me the way you talk”, but all of her efforts have been in vain. we see her as a reformed character and recognise priestley’s cry for help from his audience – we are all left wanting to help sheila in her quest to change the stagnant dangerous attitudes of the upper middle class – attitudes that repress the lower class citizens of society. therefore, we can see that sheila’s function is not merely to teach simple lessons about looking  after thy neighbour, but political lessons: we need to learn from the mistakes of our past, which led to two harrowing world wars, and seek to create a more caring and inclusive society., so you see, in the end all essays have a process and a logic behind them. just make sure you’re saying something passionate and telling throughout. never forget that the play is a construction and serves a political purpose. the characters aren’t real people but serve metaphorical and allegorical functions. your essay must be well structured sure, but it must also be a display of your passion for the text itself – let this shine through the formalities.  .

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gcseenglishwithmisshuttlestone

Secondary English teacher in Herts. View all posts by gcseenglishwithmisshuttlestone

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AQA An Inspector Calls 2024 Walking Talking Mock (WTM) with student booklet & teacher power point

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

9 April 2024

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A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays to the ‘An Inspector Calls’ question.

Power point (40 slides) and student work booklet included.

This resource focuses on helping students to:

• plan their response
• consider the text chronologically
• embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
• consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
• create thesis statements
• consider the texts as a construct

Exam questions used in this resource: Selfishness & Sheila as a character who learns lessons

Model answers included.

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