TOK essay advice

Basics
● 1600 words max (1200 min) + the TOK Planning and Progress form (TK PPF) (this
form will be completed on ManageBac)
● Final version: double spaced, simple font size 12, no diagrams, no name
● Written about one of the prescribed titles from the IB
● Marked out of 10. Assessment rubric broken down by strand.

The essay is 2/3 of the mark (so double to out of 20 max), and the exhibition is 1/3 of the
final grade (10 max). A-E grade from 0-30 score.

Extended essay and TOK give bonus points:

Role of the teacher (from the guide)

● to encourage and support the student in the writing of the essay
● to provide the student with advice on, and guidance about, the skills needed
● to ensure that the essay is the student’s own work.

We meet 3 times and each time you complete a section of the TOK Planning and progress
form
1. after the review of the titles, when you decide which title you are going to write
2. after a few weeks to see your plan before you start writing
 3. to return your draft

Instructions to candidates (from Prescribed Titles doc)

● Your essay will be marked according to the assessment criteria published in the
Theory of Knowledge guide (below).
● Each PT is presented in the form of a question. Your essay should focus on
presenting cogent arguments in response to that question with critical
consideration of perspectives/points of view.
● Where appropriate, refer to other parts of your IB programme and to your
experiences as a knower.
● Always justify your statements and provide relevant examples to illustrate your
arguments.
● Pay attention to the implications of your arguments, and remember to consider
what can be said against them (counter arguments).
● If you use external sources, cite them according to a recognized convention.
How to write the essay + timeframe
Choose title → brainstorm/mind map → plan → draft → polish → upload →
celebrate!
● Week 1 Review all 6 titles – work out what they could be about. Choose one title
that you are interested in and that you have good examples for. [meeting 1 with
teacher]

● Week 2 Plan your essay step by step [meeting 2 with teacher]

● Week 3 Write your essay, then hand in a draft on the

● Week 4 Completed Draft / Finishing touches & final interaction [meeting 3 with
teacher]

● Week 5 Final essay submission

Steps in the essay after you choose the title

Example title to show the steps:

“Without evidence, there can be no certainty”. To what extent do you agree with this
statement?
1. Extract the knowledge claim out of the question.
o Without evidence, there can be no certainty

2. Exploration – Do this as a mind-map/on various sheets of paper

Like you did for the exhibition, look at: the TOK Concepts; type of knowledge
(i.e. knowledge framework/areas of knowledge)
List ideas and knowledge claims that are in the main claim – then go through a
second time and try to think up counter-claims (CC)

o Look at the TOK concepts:

▪ evidence, certainty, truth, interpretation, power, justification,
explanation, objectivity, perspective, culture, values, and responsibility

o Look at the communities of knowers:

▪ Experts vs Non-Experts: what counts as evidence?
▪ What are the relevant perspectives regarding the nature of
knowledge?

o Look at the Core theme: Knowledge and the knower

▪ How do I distinguish between claims that are contestable and those
that are not?
▪ What resources do I have as a knower to help me navigate the world?
▪ Where do my values come from?
▪ What shapes my perspective as a knower?
▪ How am I influenced by the different communities of knowers I belong
to?

o Look at AOKs/Knowledge Framework

▪ Natural sciences
● Scientific method requires experimental evidence
● Evidence is objective (measurement)
o CC Evidence only as good as the
experiment/experimenter
▪ Mathematics
● Method requires proof as evidence
● Proof is using the same rules (axioms) as the Maths it is trying
to make certain
 o CC May be certain mathematically, but may not be true
in the ‘real world’ so is it certain?
▪ Arts
● Evidence required to justify claims – eg awarding prizes
o CC some say no evidence required as any interpretation
is valid
● Is certainty is subjective, objective or both?
● Critics provide evidence to support their conclusions
o CC critics disagree so can we ever be certain of good
theatre/film/music….

3. From your exploration, make (‘mini’) possible knowledge claims that you
could present as arguments in your essay.
o What does evidence ‘look’ like in the different AOKs?
o What does certainty ‘look’ like in the different AOKs?
o Does all certainty require evidence or are there other ways to justify
knowledge?
o Why does different evidence carry different weight?
o Why do we believe some evidence and not other? Why do different people
believe different evidence?
o Why is some evidence more intuitive/emotionally ‘welcome’ than other?
o Is an emotional response a valid source of knowledge?
o How do we gain faith in the certainty of evidence?
o How do we know when we are certain?
o Can an evidence base legal system ever be fair?
o Is evidence ever pure and without bias?
o Is unreliable evidence a useful way of finding our way to certainty?
o Does the evidence provided by experts make their knowledge claims more
reliable?
o When evidence is shared does its level of certainty change?
o Is our use of evidence limited by our understanding of the knowledge it
applies to?
o Can we ever have enough evidence to be completely certain of knowledge?
o Etc……

4. Pick the 2-3 knowledge claims that interest you most.

5. Plan the essay

o Decide your overall thesis of the whole essay
▪ What is your basic/outline answer to the Title that you are going to
explain in the essay?
● I agree with the knowledge claim but with reservations. When
certainty is to do with non-emotional knowledge – eg Nat sci and
Maths and some Hu sci, evidence is more generally accepted (if it
is understood and not bias). But knowledge appears less certain
 when emotion changes our belief – eg Arts and some History

o Break your overall essay thesis into a progression of key ideas – these will be
your paragraphs. In EACH PARAGRAPH you should aim for the following:

o The paragraph's own thesis – the idea of the paragraph

▪ One 1-2 lines that tell us what will be in the paragraph.
● “On the face of it, the scientific method used in the natural
sciences is closely associated with many people’s ideas of what
concrete, air-tight evidence looks like, forming the basis of
knowledge about almost everything.”

o Development
▪ Explain your thesis.
● “This would seem to be the case for a number of reasons, mainly
because evidence in science comes from measurable,
cross-checked and repeatable experiments. This is further shown
by the real-life applications that come from the claims made by
science and are based on this method.”
o Evidence
▪ Find evidence – real-life situations from your life and the world that
prove your thesis and its development.
● “The fact that my computer’s hard drive is saving information as
I type is based on the principles of electromagnetism, which I can
see is functioning exactly as claimed by the scientists. I can see in
front of me the evidence that science claims are valid and that
directly increases my faith in the certainty of the knowledge
claims of science. This is true for most people because they use a
computer without getting into a panic because their experience
is that it usually works.”
o Balance
▪ What alternative perspectives exist?
● “If we try to apply the same idea to another area of knowledge,
for example the arts, is the same conclusion possible? When I
look at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and I, like many other people
extract meanings of hope and happiness out of it, do we need
measurement and cross-checking to have certainty of the validity
of my claim? My personal emotional response feels like enough.”
o Analysis
▪ What has this paragraph told you about the Title? What could not be
resolved? Why?
● “So perhaps the nature of evidence is different in the different
areas of knowledge, with sciences producing a bias within us
because it is more easy to prove objectively. There are different
ways to be certain, depending on the knowledge involved.”
● Write the essay draft
o Put all the paragraphs together
o Write the conclusion – 1-2 brief sentences to summarise what you have said.
o Write the introduction
▪ Explain the question
▪ Perhaps use examples
● “It seems obvious that we cannot believe anything with certainty
without evidence, otherwise nobody would step on an airplane,
but when bidders in auction all ‘agree’ that a painting is worth
$100 million what evidence do they all have?
▪ If you use definitions do not use dictionary – show the words in the
context you will be using them.
▪ Try to give the reader some ‘signposts’ that indicate the direction the
essay will take them.
● “To try and understand the necessity of evidence I will look at the
way different areas of knowledge use evidence and how they
decide they are certain of knowledge, then I will…”

6. Put a works cited list at the end with any sources in MLA format

7. Leave alone for a few days – then re-read and check it makes sense and reads
as ONE essay and not just a list of ideas.

8. Hand in draft

9. Polish

10.Upload

11.Smile a lot
TOK Essay Assessment Instrument