Inspector Calls Essay help - A* Paragraphs

Essay writing tips: An Inspector Calls

Example question: How effective is the ending of An Inspector Calls?
A helpful paragraph structure is:
Opening Sentence: 1. What technique is being used? + Why?                                                                          
The writer
Priestley
uses characterisation
-          stage directions
-          dramatic irony
-          contrast
-          biblical imagery
-          a coup de        theatre
to emphasise
            highlight
            stress
            convey




                           
           his own political agenda for social equality
            the theme of collective responsibility
            how the 1912 world of the play and the modern world are not as different as we might first believe
            involve the audience
            prompt the audience to question their own value system and actions

Body sentences:
2. What evidence (juicy quotation) can you unpack in detail from the text?
3. How does this example link to other big ideas/themes/techniques through the novel?
Example paragraph

Priestley uses a dramatic twist (coup de theatre) at the end of the play to involve the audience.
After having breathed a sigh of relief that the Inspector’s identity and Eva’s death were fake, the audience learn along with the Birlings and Gerald that “A girl has just died – on her way to the Infirmary – after swallowing some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions -----.” This double coup de theatre may leave the audience in the same position as the characters, “guilty” and “dumbfounded” as we wonder the extent to which our assumptions may be wrong, like the characters. Removing the sense of distance that previously existed between us and the characters, this technique drives home the key theme of collective responsibility. 


Remember:

-      Do not tell the story!

-          Focus on Priestley and his craft (language techniques, setting, characterisation, dramatic irony, contrast between characters, coup de theatre, twist, timing, lighting)
-          Refer to the key words from the question as often as you can (or similar words) – e.g. ending, effective
-          Remember different audience members will respond in different ways…

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