Almost every essay on An Inspector Calls touches on responsibility, because the play is built around it. That familiarity is a trap for markers. When forty scripts all say that Priestley wants us to take responsibility for each other, the differences between them come down to precision.

Strong responsibility essays separate three ideas that weaker ones mash together: individual guilt, collective duty and social change. The Inspector's closing speech about being members of one body is often quoted, but rarely unpacked. Students who can explain why Priestley uses a socialist message in a play set before the First World War are already writing about purpose.

The marking question is not whether the essay mentions responsibility. It is whether the essay treats responsibility as an argument Priestley is making.

The sections below outline what to look for and how to write comments that help.

Three levels of response

At the lower end, students list the characters who contributed to Eva Smith's death and say each one is responsible. In the middle, they compare degrees of responsibility, noticing that Sheila and Eric accept it while Mr. and Mrs. Birling do not. At the top, they ask what the different reactions reveal about the writer's view of society and generations.

• Distinguishes between characters who accept blame and those who deflect it
• Explains why the Inspector chooses to reveal the connections one by one
• Links the structure of the interrogation to the idea of shared guilt
• Considers what the ending suggests about whether anyone has really changed
• Places the message in the aftermath of a war that showed the cost of ignoring others

Comments that move students forward

The most useful margin note on a responsibility essay is often a question. "Who benefits from the idea that only the Birlings are to blame?" or "What does Priestley do to stop the audience thinking this is only about one family?" pushes students to widen the argument. Short, pointed questions also take less time to write than paragraph-length comments.

If a student writes about blame without mentioning Eva Smith herself, ask them to explain what her anonymity suggests. The fact that the Inspector says there are millions like her turns one case into a social point.

Watch for the ending problem

Students often write confidently about the first two acts and lose focus at the phone call. The twist at the end is a major test of whether they have grasped the theme, because the older Birlings behave as if nothing has changed while their children do not. Ask whether the essay uses the ending as evidence or skips it.

A missing ending is one of the easiest gaps to identify across a class. Reading only the final paragraph of each script quickly shows who has the whole play in view.

Using consistent criteria across a class set

Because so many students write on this theme, consistency matters. A rubric with clear descriptors for argument, evidence and context lets you compare essays fairly, and AI tools such as GraideMind can apply the same descriptors to each script as a first pass so early and late essays are treated alike.

You still decide where the boundaries fall, but you spend less time re-deciding the basics every time.