Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Literature · specification 4ET1 · Component 2 | Section A: Modern Drama · Free · no account needed
An Inspector Calls — J B Priestley (4ET1 specification)
Priestley's 1945 morality play, set in 1912, in which an inspector who may not be an inspector dismantles a prosperous family one confession at a time.
Learn it on Incandio
The Incandio page that teaches this — each explained in full, then proved in marked questions, taught back to an AI pupil and defended in a debate. Completely free.
- An Inspector Calls — J. B. Priestley — Grade 9 Notes, the Complete Guide and every character and theme study.
Specification coverage
Component 2, Section A — Modern Drama (or Component 3, Assignment A)
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO2. Suggested learning time: 240 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The whole play — Component 2 questions can come from anywhere in it
- The double time frame: written 1945, set spring 1912
- The structure of the confessions, and the order Priestley chose to put them in
- The final telephone call and what it does to everything before it
Required skills
- Demonstrate a close understanding of the drama text
- Maintain a critical style and present an informed personal engagement
- Analyse how the writer uses language, form and structure to create effects
- Use appropriate literary terminology, including dramatic terminology
How it is examined
- One 30-mark essay from a choice of two — typically one character-led and one theme-led
Common mistakes
- Writing a paragraph of 1945 context. Section A gives it no marks on this specification.
- Treating the Inspector as a real police officer. The play's own ending makes that reading untenable.
- Retelling the confessions in order. The examiner has read the play; what they want is why Priestley put them in that order.
- Using revision material written for a different board without checking the assessment objectives. The play is the same; the exam is not.
This page maps the specification. The pages above teach it, and the set-text notes and guides hold the whole course — completely free.