Most teachers mark the finished essay and ignore the plan. That is a missed opportunity, because a plan shows how the student is thinking before the writing gets in the way. It is also the fastest thing to mark.

In the exam, many An Inspector Calls questions arrive without a printed extract. Students must choose their own moments from across the play and build an argument from memory. That makes planning more valuable than it is in extract-based questions, where the text is already in front of them.

A plan that lists five or six quotations without a line of argument produces an essay that reads like a list. A plan that starts with a clear claim tends to produce an essay that develops.

Below are the features worth checking when you mark plans, along with quick ways to give feedback.

What a good plan contains

A strong plan is short, but it holds the whole shape of the essay. It states a response to the question in one sentence, then lists three or four points, each with a moment from the play and a note on the effect. It may also include a single line of context to weave in.

• A one-sentence answer to the question at the top
• Three or four points that build rather than repeat
• A quotation or moment from a different part of the play for each point
• A brief note on the writer's purpose for each point
• A line about context that can be attached to a specific example

Marking plans quickly

You can mark a plan in under a minute with a simple three-part check. Does it answer the question, cover more than one part of the play, and show a sense of purpose? A tick for each and a single comment is enough at this stage.

Plans are also a good place for peer review, since they are short and low-stakes. Students can swap and check each other's against the same three questions.

Comparing plan and essay

The most revealing exercise is to compare the plan to the finished essay. Where students abandon their plan, the essay often falls apart at the same point. That pattern is worth pointing out, because it teaches them to trust planning under time pressure.

Feedback can be as simple as "your best idea was in your plan and did not make it into the essay." Students remember that kind of comment.

Supporting this with technology

When you collect plans and essays together, comparing them by hand takes time. An AI feedback tool such as GraideMind can read both against your rubric and point out where the argument in the plan does not appear in the essay, which gives you a place to start a conversation with the student.

As always, the teacher decides what matters. The tool simply shortens the search for the mismatch.