Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Literature · 4ET1 · Free · no account needed
An Inspector Calls — essay questions
56 original Incandio exam-style essay questions on An Inspector Calls, across 14 characters and themes, each worth 30 marks. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
Every stem here is a SHAPE, because the real paper's are: it names a character or an idea and asks how J. B. Priestley presents it, and it never names a scene, a speech or a device for you. That is the whole difficulty of the question, and it is why planning against a set of them is worth more than re-reading a set of notes. Pick one, plan it in ten minutes, then open the study behind it for the evidence. Completely free, no account needed.
How these questions are set and marked
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Literature (4ET1) — 4ET1 Component 2/3, Section A — Modern Drama (AO1, AO2; no context marks). Marked on AO1, AO2 together, in one best-fit judgement across five levels rather than objective by objective. There is no correct interpretation: a reading that differs from anyone else's reaches the top band if it is textually defensible and sustained.
The command words in this set are How is · How far · How does · Explore · In what ways · Discuss · Examine. They differ less than they look — each of them is asking you to argue a case about the whole text and to make the writer's methods part of that argument rather than a label beside it — and the one that genuinely changes the essay is How far, which requires a position and a concession, not a survey.
Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording. The band descriptors and the indicative content stay inside Incandio, where they belong to the marking rather than to the question.
The 56 questions
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(30)How is
How is Mr Arthur Birling presented in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Mr Birling is a character the play means an audience simply to dislike?
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(30)How does
How does Priestley present ideas about power in the play?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents Mr Birling's attitude to other people in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents social class in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How is
How is the Birlings' position in Brumley presented in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that the play attacks a system rather than a family?
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the Inspector's refusal to respect rank in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)How is
How is Eric Birling presented in the play?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents Eric's guilt in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Eric changes more than any other character in the play?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of the relationship between Eric and his parents in the play.
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(30)Explore
Explore the importance of Eva Smith in the play.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that it matters whether the five characters in the play are describing the same woman?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the significance of the two names the girl is given in the play.
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the five accounts of the girl in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents the position of women in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Priestley treats the men in the play more harshly than the women?
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(30)How does
How does Priestley present ideas about marriage in the play?
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the expectations placed on women in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents the difference between the older and the younger characters in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Priestley presents the older characters in the play as beyond hope?
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(30)Examine
Examine the ways in which Priestley presents Sheila's understanding in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of the younger generation in the play.
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(30)How is
How is Gerald Croft presented in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Gerald has learned nothing by the end of the play?
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(30)How does
How does Priestley present ideas about honesty in the play?
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present Gerald as an outsider in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents guilt in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How does
How does Priestley present ideas about judgement in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that the Inspector in the play judges the characters rather than allowing them to judge themselves?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of what is never said aloud in the play.
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(30)How is
How is Inspector Goole presented in the play?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the ways in which Priestley presents the Inspector's control of events in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the Inspector as unlike every other character in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)Explore
Explore the importance of the Inspector's message in the play.
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents reputation in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of public opinion in the play.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that the Inspector's only real weapon in the play is the threat of publicity?
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the difference between shame and exposure in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents responsibility in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Priestley gives the play's most persuasive argument to Mr Birling?
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(30)How does
How does Priestley present ideas about consequence in the play?
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(30)In what ways
In what ways does Priestley present the idea that responsibility cannot be escaped in An Inspector Calls?
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(30)How is
How is Sheila Birling presented in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Sheila is the most important character in the play?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of the relationship between Sheila and Gerald in the play.
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents the conflict between Sheila and her parents in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How is
How is Mrs Sybil Birling presented in the play?
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that Mrs Birling is the least sympathetic character in the play?
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents Mrs Birling's refusal to accept blame in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of Mrs Birling's charity work in the play.
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(30)Explore
Explore the ways in which Priestley presents time in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)Examine
Examine the ways in which Priestley presents the setting in An Inspector Calls.
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(30)How far
How far do you agree that the ending of the play suggests the whole evening is about to repeat?
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(30)Discuss
Discuss the importance of the order of events in the play.
Plan one, then defend the reading
An essay question is a claim waiting to be argued. On Incandio a text counts as mastered only once you have taught your reading and defended it — against J. B. Priestley.
- Grade 9 Notes — the exam layer: the characters, the themes, the quotations with their analysis, and full essay plans.
- Teach it — explain your reading to Ember, an AI pupil who has read the text and not decided what it means.
- Defend it — hold that reading against J. B. Priestley in a structured debate marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Everything else on An Inspector Calls
- An Inspector Calls — the hub: both resources and every character and theme study.
- The Complete Guide to An Inspector Calls — the text told properly, chapter by chapter.
- Incandio English Literature · The 4ET1 specification · Incandio Exam Practice