Your introduction sets the trajectory for your entire essay, while your conclusion leaves the examiner with their final impression of your analytical depth. Too often, students treat these paragraphs as mere admin - either repeating the prompt or summarising points already made. In reality, a sharp, conceptual introduction and a reflective conclusion are vital tools for securing top-band marks across all exam boards and coursework syllabuses.
In this video, I share model introductions and conclusions to demonstrate exactly how to open and close your essays with authority. We’ll look at the true purpose behind these framing paragraphs, moving away from formulaic openings toward thesis-driven intros that immediately signal high-level insight. I’ll also break down how to craft conclusions that synthesize your argument and offer a final, perceptive judgment on Priestley’s overarching message.
Timestamp
0:00 What is the point of an introduction?
1:15 Model Introduction #1
5:11 Model Introduction #2
8:27 What is the point of a conclusion?
9:58 Model Conclusion #1
13:17 Model Conclusion #2
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There are also resources to help you in the Study Materials section:
An Inspector Calls Vocabulary Bank
The words in this vocabulary bank will help you to develop a more sophisticated and high level understanding of the key ideas and concepts in 'An Inspector Calls'.
As well as providing a range of words, their definitions and an example sentence, this book also suggests a number of activities that you can use to revise and put the vocabulary into practice.
Bonus - it's completely free!
An Inspector Calls AQA GCSE Model Answers (Coming soon!)
This resource will have model answers for multiple years of AQA past papers, giving you the ability to see what high grade essays look like for a range of essay questions.
An Inspector Calls Edexcel IGCSE Model Answers (Coming soon!)
This resource will have model answers for multiple years of Edexcel past papers, giving you the ability to see what high grade essays look like for a range of essay questions.
An Inspector Calls Flipped Learning (Coming soon!)
This resource is designed for teachers and students: it is a workbook designed to be completed alongside all of my An Inspector Calls videos. It is essentially a structured way for you to take notes and ensure that you are squeezing every ounce of advice my videos have to offer.
I fully intend to add more videos and study materials on this play. If there's something in particular you're looking for, then register and get in touch to let me know what would help you.
Lesson Transcript:
Now, this video is like an addition to my video on how to write a Grade 9 argument. You need to go and watch that video before you watch this one. I'm going to be focusing solely on how you can really start yourself off with getting rid of that awful blank page that we face in an exam, and getting yourself on a strong start with your introductions and also a strong finish with your conclusions too.
The first thing we have to remind ourselves is what the point of an introduction is. And the point of an introduction—or, as I call them, an overview—is that they establish what your argument is going to be. That's why I'm saying you need to have seen my argument video if you haven't already. You need to essentially lay out in two sentences, three sentences: here's my answer to the question. It's not for providing a plot summary of An Inspector Calls; it is not for empty phrases like: "In his play An Inspector Calls, J.B. Priestley uses a range of language and structural devices to engage the reader." Bleugh!
So if we first have a look at my first model introduction, I will show you how it helps with establishing your argument. Now, you can see the highlighted yellow bits—that's where you have to, like, plug in your actual ideas, because the introduction needs to change depending on the question that you're dealing with. But there are also some bits that can stay the same, because An Inspector Calls is a pretty simple play.
So the first model introduction reads:
"An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is arguably a product of its time, with [context of production] heavily influencing how [question keyword] is presented in the play. Throughout the play, [question keyword] is presented as [your argument]. Priestley's intention was to [Priestley's message]. In this sense, we can clearly see how Priestley uses [question keyword] as part of a wider argument on [Priestley's message]."
Again, the reason why I have you start off with that line—"is arguably a product of its time"—is because it's true. Like, can you imagine trying to write an essay about An Inspector Calls and never making any reference to British society, socialism, capitalism, the things that were going on between 1912 and 1945? Not possible. Not possible.
But in terms of why start an introduction that way: essentially, what you're signaling to the examiner is you are going to examine how the context—the real world—has influenced whatever the question is asking you about. And then in that first gap that you have to plug, you specify an aspect of the context that's really directly relevant to your question keyword. And the reason you have to plug that in is because there's obviously lots of different aspects of context of production. So things that were going on in the world that influenced Priestley—there's a lot of different things that you can choose. So you have to think about: of my question topic—whether it be gender, Sheila, class, Eva, Eric, social responsibility—what was going on in the real world that is most directly relevant to that question keyword?
The next thing you do is you essentially outline, you establish what your argument is. And that's what that second sentence is about: "Throughout the play, [question keyword] is presented as [this]." And I cannot plug that in because, obviously, I have no idea what the question is, so you have to plug in that part. And that is, again, see my video on how to write a Grade 9 argument if you don't know how to plug that gap.
The next bit I get you to do, though, is to come back to the writer's intentions. This is part of pushing your essay to the higher level, because you're starting off by trying to answer that question of why. What is the significance of why a character is presented a certain way? What was Priestley trying to say? What was his message? How is he using this character as a tool? Or, if the question is about a theme, why is he exploring that theme? What is it he wants us to take away on the topic of that theme? So you then fill in the key message on that.
Let me show you an example of this model in action. So the model question we've got is: "Explore the theme of guilt in An Inspector Calls." And here it is with the gaps filled in:
"An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is arguably a product of its time, with the rise of the Labour Party and changing attitudes towards the class system heavily influencing how the theme of guilt is presented in the play. Throughout the play, guilt is presented as an inevitable consequence of following capitalist ideologies and refusing to accept social responsibility. Priestley's intention was to show the audience how outdated and exclusive capitalist views were, making them think twice about their own values. In this sense, we can clearly see how Priestley uses the theme of guilt as part of a wider argument on the benefits of socialism and the cruel consequences of capitalism."
So in this model, you can see that by plugging in all the gaps, it's shown right from the very beginning a very clear understanding of the influence of context, a clear answer to the question on guilt, and also Priestley's intentions. And now, in the main body of the essay, I would have to prove all of that.
The second model introduction I've got for you is a bit more specific in that it really focuses on the socialism/capitalism aspect—the political aspect—of An Inspector Calls. That first one works for literally any kind of question because An Inspector Calls is a product of its time. This type of introduction only works if your argument is politics-focused, if it's focused on the socialism/capitalism area:
"An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is an unapologetically political play which criticizes the past while suggesting hope for the future. In the case of [question keyword], we see Priestley suggesting that [argument]. This is arguably part of his wider message that [Priestley's message], as he seeks to make the audience realize [context of reception]."
So here, what I'm saying in that opening sentence: it's an unapologetically political play; it's about socialism and capitalism; it criticizes the past—1912 capitalism—while suggesting hope for the future: Sheila and Eric, who are willing to change, the hope of the future of 1945, all that good stuff. Otherwise, it follows the same structure as the other one in that it outlines a little bit of context (it's a political play), it directly answers the question ("we see Priestley suggesting that..."), and then it comes back to Priestley's intention ("his wider message is this..."). And it's all done in three sentences, because your introduction really doesn't need to be very long.
So let's see how this introduction works in practice for that exact same question about guilt:
"An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is an unapologetically political play which criticizes the past while suggesting hope for the future. In the case of the theme of guilt, we see Priestley suggesting that it is one of the first signs of change and redemption in people as they begin to take social responsibility. This is arguably part of his wider message that we must realize the mistakes of our past and learn from them, as he seeks to make the audience realize the changes needed in themselves and wider British society around class and the economy."
Now, first of all, if you get marked in your Inspector Calls essay on your writing style, on your spelling, punctuation, grammar, the sophistication of how you express yourself—the other advantage to these model introductions is things like the fact that this uses a semicolon correctly. What it doesn't do is—I've got a couple of typos. For example, I've just spotted there is a comma after "social responsibility" rather than a full stop. So, you know, watch out for that! Do proofread me, because I might have a couple of mistakes in there typo-wise, but it can also be useful for that too.
Now, one of the things you can see in how I've plugged the gap here is that I have come back to that concept of criticizing the past while suggesting hope for the future. One of the big ways that I see students try and use this version of my introduction and not do it very well is that they don't engage with that concept at all in their argument: What's he criticizing in the past? What's his hope for the future? Your argument needs to address that in some way. And here it does, in that it talks about how we need to learn from the past and realize the changes needed. So that's the kind of criticizing the past, learning for the future. It does still have a political focus in its argument as well, with social responsibility and talking about class and the economy. So this introduction can be a great one to use too, just for slightly different circumstances than my first one.
We're now going to move on to the conclusions. Now, one of the most common questions I get asked is: number one, do I need a conclusion? And the answer to that, being completely honest, 99% of the time—especially in exam conditions—is no. You can just finish your answer when you finish your last paragraph and be done. That's the truth of it. At GCSE level, conclusions are not really expected and they're often not really necessary. Your examiner has already decided your mark by the time they reach the conclusion. They're not going to be like, "Okay, yeah, this is a 16 out of 30, 16 out of 30... Oh! The last two sentences of their essay have suddenly turned it into a 30 out of 30!" It's not going to happen.
If anything, what a conclusion can just potentially do is help bump you up a little bit, in that the point of a conclusion is to summarize the big picture of what you've been saying. So it comes back to the writer's intentions and the big messages we're supposed to be taking away from the text. So if you perhaps haven't done that much in your main paragraphs, but you maybe did in your introduction, coming back to it in your conclusion could help increase marks maybe like one or so. It can also help an examiner feel like, when they finish reading your work, "Huh, that was really nice. That all came together as a really complete piece of writing," and kind of, you know, impresses them in that way. However, it's not the end of the world if you don't have a conclusion; it's not something I would stress over. The main paragraphs are much more important.
So, to show you my model conclusions, I've again got two. Here's the first one:
"By the end of the play, the core message behind [question keyword] has become clear: [summary of argument]. It is also clear that Priestley sought his audience to carry this message with them beyond the theater to enact change in the real world: [context of production/reception or Priestley's intentions]. In this sense, An Inspector Calls is as much a call to arms as it is a play."
So you can see in that first sentence, we're returning to what you have said: what were you seeking to prove in your essay? What you don't want is the summary of your argument worded exactly the same in your introduction as it is in this conclusion. Can you imagine: you've just sat and read 2,000 words, and someone up here told you they were going to show you that Mr. Birling was a capitalist, and then down here they're like, "Great, so by the end of this essay, I've proven to you Mr. Birling is a capitalist." It does not take three and a half pages to prove Mr. Birling is a capitalist! What you want to have done is you want to have taken what you established in the beginning—the kind of brief introduction—and you have developed it. And so your conclusion is summarizing your development of your argument.
The second sentence: "It is also clear that Priestley sought his audience to carry this message with them beyond the theater to enact change in the real world: [context of production/reception or Priestley's intentions]." So again, the second sentence is coming back to Priestley's intentions—what he was trying to do for his audience—and you're building on what you've said already.
"In this sense, An Inspector Calls is as much a call to arms as it is a play." Now, this sentence doesn't have a plug-in because it is just true. A call to arms is like, "Come on, you should do this! Recycle more. Watch less television. Get off social media. Become a socialist!" So by ending on that line, you're essentially going to have plugged in the gap on that context of production or reception; you're essentially going to have, in some way, highlighted that Priestley was trying to change Britain. That's the key context you want in there. You don't want to plug that gap with "he thinks capitalism is a bad thing," because that's not highlighting what change he wants. What you plug into that gap has to be context of production or reception, or Priestley's intentions on what he wants to change, because that is what you've said you're going to look at: he wants to enact change, and in this sense An Inspector Calls is a call to arms.
Here's what it looks like still with that theme of guilt question when all the gaps are plugged in:
"By the end of the play, the core message behind the theme of guilt has become clear: it is a difficult but necessary emotion which signals your capacity for empathy and social responsibility. It is also clear that Priestley sought his audience to carry this message with them beyond the theater to enact change in the real world: Priestley wants his audience to recognize and feel the guilt of Britain's past, but to also use this guilt to fuel the push for change. In this sense, An Inspector Calls is as much a call to arms as it is a play."
Now, an important thing to note about this conclusion: for this to make sense, that is what I have to have actually talked about in the main body of my essay. If in the main body of my essay I didn't at all talk about guilt signaling your capacity for empathy and social responsibility—if I said nothing about that whatsoever and then I mention it in my conclusion—the examiner is like, "Wait, what? That isn't what you said. That isn't what you talked about." So you have to make sure that your plug-ins of the gap are what you actually talked about. Conclusions are not the place to be introducing brand-new ideas that you've never mentioned for the very first time; that's what your introduction is for.
Going now to my second model conclusion:
"The [question keyword] in An Inspector Calls leaves us in no doubt of the play's central message: [Priestley's message]. Through the [question keyword and argument summary], Priestley seeks to galvanize his audience to both a recognition of our past and hope for our future: [context]."
So this conclusion matches up with my "unapologetically political play"—I forgot to mention that earlier. The number one introduction and conclusion match up, and the number two introduction and conclusion match up with one another. So this is a similar thing in that it re-establishes Priestley's intentions, Priestley's message, and you re-summarize what your developed argument is. And it again concludes him galvanizing his audience. That just means that he's trying to get them to change; he's trying to get them to act. It's just phrasing the call to arms in a different way. And again, he's galvanizing them for a recognition of our past and hope for our future. So you'd have to have some context that looked at, you know, what's the recognition of our past, what's the hope for our future, to have that plug-in the gap there make a lot of sense.
So let's see how I plugged in the gap:
"The exploration of guilt in An Inspector Calls leaves us in no doubt of the play's central message: we must be empathetic and learn from our actions if we are to create a fairer society. Through the presentation of guilt as a sign of progress and redemption, Priestley seeks to galvanize his audience to both a recognition of our past and hope for our future: while Britain of 1912 was rife with rigid class hierarchies that hindered any hope of equality, the Britain of 1945 can learn from those mistakes to become a more equal, a more socialist society."
What you can do next is, if you want to comment below, you can have a go at writing an introduction and a conclusion using my models for any one or more of these three questions:
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I've got a character question of: "How is Mrs. Birling presented?"
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A theme question in: "How is the theme of social responsibility presented?"
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And a weird question taken from an actual AQA exam of: what is the—well, I think they worded it as: "What is the importance of / what is the significance of the ending of the play?"
Can you take the model introductions and conclusions I've created and adapt them to work for those different kinds of questions? If you comment yours below, I will give you some feedback on how you have done.
It is really important to remember that although an introduction and a conclusion give us a nice, neat way to start our essay strong, it's the main body that really matters. That includes not just in terms of the ideas being expressed, but the eloquence of it too. The introductions and conclusions I've written are very high level, not just because of how much they understand the point of an introduction and a conclusion, but in the eloquence and writing style that they use. If you're not able to maintain that in your main body, the examiner is going to notice, especially if it's a very big drop. It's kind of like going from "Forsooth, good sir, would you care to pass me the tea?" onto "Oi mate, give us the crumpets!" It's that kind of difference.
Don't be afraid to adapt those introductions and conclusions to make them more you. If you understand the spirit of what my introduction and conclusion is doing—the gist of bringing in context, the writer's intentions, and your idea—play with it. Make it your own. Don't feel like you have to stick rigidly to my wording and that's the only way it can be phrased to do well; not at all. Make sure it makes grammatical sense when you plug in the gaps, and make any edits that you feel are necessary so this is truly your work and your ideas being expressed.