verdict

 

omparison Report: Proposed Examination Questions

An Inspector Calls

Question 2 – Hypocrisy

“Mrs Birling: ‘I’m very sorry. But I think she had only herself to blame.’ How does Priestley present the theme of hypocrisy in An Inspector Calls?”

This question is different from the published questions from 2018–2024. Hypocrisy has not been directly used as a main question.

There is some natural overlap with:

• 2024 – public image
• 2023 – appearance and reality
• 2020 – selfishness
• 2019 – responsibility
• 2022 – blame

However, the focus is different. The question asks students to examine the difference between what characters claim to believe and how they actually behave. The quotation from Mrs Birling gives a clear starting point and supports discussion of hypocrisy, class prejudice, responsibility and dramatic irony.

It meets:

• AO1: knowledge of characters, themes and events, with relevant evidence.
• AO2: analysis of language, form and structure, including contrast, dramatic irony and the development of hypocrisy.
• AO4: understanding of class, social responsibility and attitudes in Edwardian society.

Verdict: Very safe. Clearly different from the published questions.

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Question 3 – Inspector Goole

“Explore how Priestley uses Inspector Goole to challenge the Birling family’s attitudes towards responsibility in An Inspector Calls.”

This has some connection with the published 2021 question: “How does Priestley present the character of Inspector Goole in the play?” It also has some connection with the 2019 question comparing Birling and Goole and the 2018 question about the mystery surrounding Goole.

However, the proposed question is more specific. It is not asking students simply to describe or analyse Goole. It focuses on how he challenges the Birlings' attitudes towards responsibility.

It meets:

• AO1: Goole’s role and the different attitudes of the Birling family.
• AO2: questioning, dramatic irony, structure, stage directions and his final speech.
• AO4: Priestley’s ideas about social responsibility, class and society.

Verdict: Safe to use. There is some overlap with 2021, but the precise focus is different enough.

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Macbeth

Question 13 – Suffering

“The pursuit of power brings suffering to many characters in Macbeth.” Explore the theme of suffering in the play.

This is not a direct repeat of any published question from 2018–2024.

There are related published questions:

• 2024 – inner conflict
• 2022 – ambition
• 2022 – power
• 2022 – violence
• 2020 – guilt
• 2020 – madness
• 2018 – fear
• 2019 – death

However, suffering is a broader and different theme. Students can explore Macbeth’s guilt and fear, Lady Macbeth’s mental suffering, Macduff’s grief, the suffering of innocent people and the wider suffering caused by Macbeth’s rule.

It meets:

• AO1: a wide range of characters and events can be used.
• AO2: imagery, soliloquies, symbolism, contrast and structural development.
• AO4: Jacobean ideas about sin, regicide, Divine Right of Kings, guilt and consequences.

Verdict: Safe and sufficiently different.

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Question 14 – Lady Macbeth

“Lady Macbeth: ‘What beast was’t then / That made you break this enterprise to me?’ How does Shakespeare present Lady Macbeth’s influence over Macbeth?”

This has some subject overlap with:

• 2024 – relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
• 2021 – characters who influence Macbeth
• 2020 – Lady Macbeth as a powerful character
• 2019 – Lady Macbeth does not change

However, the proposed question has a clear and different focus: Lady Macbeth’s influence over Macbeth. It allows students to trace how she persuades him early in the play and how her influence decreases as Macbeth becomes increasingly independent and violent.

It meets:

• AO1: Lady Macbeth’s influence and its changing importance.
• AO2: rhetorical questions, imperatives, imagery, dialogue, soliloquies and structural contrast.
• AO4: Jacobean ideas about gender, masculinity, regicide, sin and the natural order.

Verdict: Very good. The quotation makes the question more specific and clearly distinguishes it from the broader published questions.

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Final Verdict

All four proposed questions are suitable for a term examination.

The questions do not copy the published questions from 2018–2024. There is some unavoidable overlap in characters, themes and evidence, but the specific focus and wording are different.

The strongest choices are:

• AIC Q2 – Hypocrisy: very clearly different.
• AIC Q3 – Goole and responsibility: different, although closest to the 2021 Goole question.
• Macbeth Q13 – Suffering: a new thematic focus, although students may use evidence connected with published themes such as guilt, fear and power.
• Macbeth Q14 – Lady Macbeth’s influence: a focused character question that is distinct from the published questions on her power, relationship and change.

Overall: 🟢 I would approve all four. They provide a good balance of character and theme questions and allow students to demonstrate AO1, AO2 and AO4 for both texts.

Short Report on Question Selection and Assessment Objectives

Selected Questions

Poetry – Question 1

Compare the ways the writers present societal expectations. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.

Poetry – Question 2

Compare the ways the writers present separation in Remember and one other poem from the anthology. You should make reference to language, form and structure. Support your answer with examples from the poems.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Question 5

Explore Jem’s changing understanding of justice in To Kill a Mockingbird. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer.

To Kill a Mockingbird – Question 1

Explore how Harper Lee presents the importance of empathy in To Kill a Mockingbird. You must consider the context of the novel in your answer.

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Why the questions are suitable

The four questions provide variety in focus and assessment skills and avoid repeating the previously used questions on themes such as prejudice, courage and innocence.

Poetry

The question on societal expectations provides a clear opportunity for students to compare how the poets present pressures created by society. It requires students to move beyond identifying themes and to analyse specific choices in language, form and structure. The comparative wording directly tests connections between the poems.

The question on separation offers a different focus. It allows students to explore physical, emotional or psychological separation and to compare how this is presented in Remember and another poem. The requirement to discuss language, form and structure ensures that the question directly addresses AO2, while selecting and comparing another poem directly tests AO3.

Therefore:

• AO2: Students analyse how poetic techniques create meaning and effects.
• AO3: Students must make clear comparisons and connections between two poems.
• The two questions test different thematic ideas, reducing repetition.

To Kill a Mockingbird

The question on Jem's changing understanding of justice is primarily a character-development question. It allows students to demonstrate detailed knowledge of Jem's development, particularly through the events surrounding Tom Robinson's trial and its aftermath in Chapters 21–25. Students can explore Jem's changing beliefs about fairness, the law and racial prejudice.

The empathy question provides a deliberately different route. Rather than concentrating on one character's development, students can consider how empathy operates through Atticus, Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson, Mayella, Mrs Dubose and other characters. It therefore tests students' understanding of the novel as a whole within the material studied up to Chapter 25.

For both questions:

• AO1: Students must select relevant textual evidence and demonstrate close knowledge and understanding of the novel.
• AO4: Students can connect the events and characters to the 1930s setting, racial inequality, social class, segregation and the wider historical context.
• The questions require different approaches: character development in the justice question and theme/idea in the empathy question.

Overall assessment validity

The four questions provide a useful balance:

Text	Question focus	Main assessment skills
Poetry	Societal expectations	AO2 + AO3
Poetry	Separation	AO2 + AO3
To Kill a Mockingbird	Jem's changing understanding of justice	AO1 + AO4
To Kill a Mockingbird	Importance of empathy	AO1 + AO4

Overall, the questions are distinct, appropriately challenging and suitable for the stated assessment objectives. They encourage students to use specific textual evidence rather than prepared thematic responses, while giving them sufficient scope to demonstrate analysis, comparison, contextual understanding and personal engagement. They also provide a reasonable spread of theme, character, development and comparison, without repeating the previously assessed areas of prejudice, courage and innocence.