An inspector calls

Hi
An Inspector Calls is in fact a play, so a drama piece for the English literature exam. Although you should revise both themes and characters, character questions are more often than not the easier choice, so perhaps focus on revising them?
For character questions, you can answer them in a few different ways:
By characteristic (which i personally think is the easiest, and what I will be doing).
By scene

So the characters in the play are:
Mr Birling - an ambitious businessman and the father of Sheila and Eric.
Mrs Birling - the mother of Sheila and Eric.
Sheila - the daughter of Mr and Mrs Birling. A young girl in her early twenties, engaged to Gerald.
Eric - the son of Mr and Mrs Birling. Again, a young man in his twenties.
Gerald - A man in his thirties, who is engaged to Sheila. He is also the son of the Crofts, who own a larger company than Mr B.
(All of the above are in the Upper Class, although Gerald is slightly higher in ranking than the Birlings).
Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton - a working class girl girl who supposedly died because of the above's actions.
Inspector Goole - a mysterious Inspector who in turn interrogates each of the characters regarding their part in Eva's death.

Ok so before you try to make close analysis, I think it is worth reading the information BBC Bitesize has on an Inspector Calls, just to get a general understanding of the characters and themes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramainspectorcalls/
They also have videos on there which sum everything up pretty well.

After you've done that, perhaps re read the text and pick out quotations for each of the characters and try to match them with possible characteristics.
I've attached some I've done for Mr Birling and Sheila

Also, check out grade saver, as that has some pretty useful information as well.

Since exams are pretty close, it's not worth wasting time on characters/themes which have been done really recently.
I've also attached a table which has all the past questions for An Inspector Calls (and Of Mice and Men) on it.
However it is missing last years paper, which I did for mocks. The questions for that were on Eric and the theme of social class.
Therefore it is extremely unlikely that they will come up this year.
Characters which are also unlikely to come up are Sheila (she's been done three times in total), Gerald, and Inspector Goole (he's been done twice).
However, this isn't definite so I would still revise these characters a bit.
Characters that are likely to come up are Mr & Mrs Birling and Eva Smith.

I also forgot to add that the exam board I'm doing is Edexcel, therefore the character predictions are based on past papers from this exam board.

If you would like more notes, there are plenty on TSR:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/g/resources?q=&level_id%5B%5D=gcse&subject_id%5B%5D=english_literature&topic%5B%5D=An+Inspector+Calls

Hope this helps

Yep sure, I've just attached them
They cover:
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
I haven't done Eva or the Inspector yet but I'll upload those once I have.

Personally, I think it'd be likely for Mr or Mrs Birling to come up , although saying that the Inspector hasn't come up in a while. In terms of themes, I think responsibility or age might come up. Bear in mind though that there are minor themes that might also come up, such as truth, conscience, and social duty.
However, I wouldn't put too much hope in predictions, simply because last year's character question for OMAM was Curley, and NOBODY was expecting that as he's such a minor character.

Out of interest, are you more likely to do a theme or character question?

In terms of structure, it's practice that counts. Some people like to do a plan beforehand (rough bullet points) but I don't do this, simply because I'm a slow writer, so wouldn't have enough time, and don't find it particularly useful.

I have attached two essays I've written on OMAM, one on theme (the American dream) and one on character (Curley's wife).
I couldn't find any I've done on An Inspector Calls, but these sort of demonstrate the structure. I have to say, the structure and wording I have used is more complex than is needed (I got 29/30 in one and 30/30 in the other) but to get high marks, the structure can be really simple, it's just the content and perceptions that count.

So tips for structure:

You need an introduction and a conclusion. They can be very brief, perhaps only a couple of lines. An introduction aims to introduce your argument, and a conclusion summarizes the points that you've made.

Considering you've got to write two essays in 1 hour 45 mins, you have around 52 mins for each essay.
For me personally, that's enough for an intro, 4/5 well developed points, and a conclusion.
You should aim to write a point per paragraph, as long as it has been well explained.

One thing that examiners really like is clear signposting. This means at the start of each paragraph, you reiterate the question.
E.g The question is: How does Priestley present the character of Mr Birling?
You would start of your first paragraph (after intro) saying:
"A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as (characteristic)"
It seems obvious, but clear signposting helps the examiner to easily navigate your essay.
This makes it easier to mark, and they're probably more inclined to give you a higher mark.

Another thing which you must do is use lots of quotations. I don't know exactly what it is , but my teacher said that there's a maximum mark they can give you if you don't use quotations. Therefore, go overboard with quotations. They're a pain to memorize but will top up your marks.

I'll write a demo paragraph you so you see what I mean:
A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as self-important. At the start of the play, Mr Birling is described as a "rather portentous man" , yet also "rather provincial in his speech". This implies that Mr Birling has a regional accent, hence suggests that he is not from an upper class background.
Having written it, I realize this paragraph is pretty short, but I hope you get the idea.

Hopefully you've found some of this useful

Yep sure, I've just attached them
They cover:
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
I haven't done Eva or the Inspector yet but I'll upload those once I have.

Personally, I think it'd be likely for Mr or Mrs Birling to come up , although saying that the Inspector hasn't come up in a while. In terms of themes, I think responsibility or age might come up. Bear in mind though that there are minor themes that might also come up, such as truth, conscience, and social duty.
However, I wouldn't put too much hope in predictions, simply because last year's character question for OMAM was Curley, and NOBODY was expecting that as he's such a minor character.

Out of interest, are you more likely to do a theme or character question?

In terms of structure, it's practice that counts. Some people like to do a plan beforehand (rough bullet points) but I don't do this, simply because I'm a slow writer, so wouldn't have enough time, and don't find it particularly useful.

I have attached two essays I've written on OMAM, one on theme (the American dream) and one on character (Curley's wife).
I couldn't find any I've done on An Inspector Calls, but these sort of demonstrate the structure. I have to say, the structure and wording I have used is more complex than is needed (I got 29/30 in one and 30/30 in the other) but to get high marks, the structure can be really simple, it's just the content and perceptions that count.

So tips for structure:

You need an introduction and a conclusion. They can be very brief, perhaps only a couple of lines. An introduction aims to introduce your argument, and a conclusion summarizes the points that you've made.

Considering you've got to write two essays in 1 hour 45 mins, you have around 52 mins for each essay.
For me personally, that's enough for an intro, 4/5 well developed points, and a conclusion.
You should aim to write a point per paragraph, as long as it has been well explained.

One thing that examiners really like is clear signposting. This means at the start of each paragraph, you reiterate the question.
E.g The question is: How does Priestley present the character of Mr Birling?
You would start of your first paragraph (after intro) saying:
"A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as (characteristic)"
It seems obvious, but clear signposting helps the examiner to easily navigate your essay.
This makes it easier to mark, and they're probably more inclined to give you a higher mark.

Another thing which you must do is use lots of quotations. I don't know exactly what it is , but my teacher said that there's a maximum mark they can give you if you don't use quotations. Therefore, go overboard with quotations. They're a pain to memorize but will top up your marks.

I'll write a demo paragraph you so you see what I mean:
A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as self-important. At the start of the play, Mr Birling is described as a "rather portentous man" , yet also "rather provincial in his speech". This implies that Mr Birling has a regional accent, hence suggests that he is not from an upper class background.
Having written it, I realize this paragraph is pretty short, but I hope you get the idea.

Hopefully you've found some of this useful

Yep sure, I've just attached them
They cover:
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
I haven't done Eva or the Inspector yet but I'll upload those once I have.

Personally, I think it'd be likely for Mr or Mrs Birling to come up , although saying that the Inspector hasn't come up in a while. In terms of themes, I think responsibility or age might come up. Bear in mind though that there are minor themes that might also come up, such as truth, conscience, and social duty.
However, I wouldn't put too much hope in predictions, simply because last year's character question for OMAM was Curley, and NOBODY was expecting that as he's such a minor character.

Out of interest, are you more likely to do a theme or character question?

In terms of structure, it's practice that counts. Some people like to do a plan beforehand (rough bullet points) but I don't do this, simply because I'm a slow writer, so wouldn't have enough time, and don't find it particularly useful.

I have attached two essays I've written on OMAM, one on theme (the American dream) and one on character (Curley's wife).
I couldn't find any I've done on An Inspector Calls, but these sort of demonstrate the structure. I have to say, the structure and wording I have used is more complex than is needed (I got 29/30 in one and 30/30 in the other) but to get high marks, the structure can be really simple, it's just the content and perceptions that count.

So tips for structure:

You need an introduction and a conclusion. They can be very brief, perhaps only a couple of lines. An introduction aims to introduce your argument, and a conclusion summarizes the points that you've made.

Considering you've got to write two essays in 1 hour 45 mins, you have around 52 mins for each essay.
For me personally, that's enough for an intro, 4/5 well developed points, and a conclusion.
You should aim to write a point per paragraph, as long as it has been well explained.

One thing that examiners really like is clear signposting. This means at the start of each paragraph, you reiterate the question.
E.g The question is: How does Priestley present the character of Mr Birling?
You would start of your first paragraph (after intro) saying:
"A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as (characteristic)"
It seems obvious, but clear signposting helps the examiner to easily navigate your essay.
This makes it easier to mark, and they're probably more inclined to give you a higher mark.

Another thing which you must do is use lots of quotations. I don't know exactly what it is , but my teacher said that there's a maximum mark they can give you if you don't use quotations. Therefore, go overboard with quotations. They're a pain to memorize but will top up your marks.

I'll write a demo paragraph you so you see what I mean:
A way in which the character of Mr Birling has been presented by Priestly is as self-important. At the start of the play, Mr Birling is described as a "rather portentous man" , yet also "rather provincial in his speech". This implies that Mr Birling has a regional accent, hence suggests that he is not from an upper class background.
Having written it, I realize this paragraph is pretty short, but I hope you get the idea.

Hopefully you've found some of this useful

Hi. How are you revising for IGCSE Edexcel AIC? It's just I am struggling

For AIC I made a massive list of quotes over the entire play for each character (from which I can acquire theme) and then for each character and theme I, on each side of a cue card, wrote the character or theme and ~10 quotes. Each one I numbered, always starting with the character's physical description, so I can go 'Sheila 4' and be able to immediately recite the quote ('I must obviously be a vindictive, selfish creature'. Numbering them allows me to far more easily recite and learn each quote rather than learning a collection of quotes just associated with no order. It's far easier. Though 10 is quite a lot, so learn as many as you want.

For the anthology texts I'm making little cards with brief analysis of texts on them. My teacher predicts for Section A it will be 'A Passage to Africa' or one of the two Climate Change texts; Section B will likely by 'A Hero', 'The Necklace' or 'Refugee Blues', and my teacher thinks the most likely is the last one as it's topical and this is the last time they're doing this specification with these texts. I'm learning all Section C texts.

To answer the creative writing question, my teacher put together this sheet with the mark scheme on, and I'd made a few notes here and there around it and highlighted important parts