tok essay titles 2023 ib

IB ToK Essay Titles and Topics: May 2023

Here are links to ideas and suggestions relating to the the six May 2023 IB ToK Essay topics:

• Topic 1. Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• Topic 2. For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.
• Topic 3. Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• Topic 4. Do you agree that it is "astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power" (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• Topic 5. Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.
• Topic 6. To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

Title 1: Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 1 include:

• the distinction between necessary and sufficient requirements
• the relation between replicability and objectivity
• the relation between replicability and sharable perspectives

These thoughts, and others, will be developed here shortly: come back soon!

Title 2: For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.

Thoughts to consider with essay 2 include:

• the relation between explicability and effability
• the limits of language and expressibility
• the relation between explanation, understanding and knowledge

Title 3: Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 3 include:

• can there be purely subjective knowledge?
• can there be purely objective knowledge?
• what is required to share another's perspective?

Title 4: Do you agree that it is "astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power" (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 4 include:

• the varieties or types of power
• is knowledge always inversely proportional to power
• could one have power without any knowledge?

Title 5: Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.

Thoughts to consider with essay 5 include:

• the relevance of truth to representation
• the distinction between practical and theoretical knowledge
• is written language a visual representation?

Title 6: To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 6 include:

• the difference between a method and a methodology
• can any knowledge be unmethodically?
• must a methodology be consciously deployed?
• 1. Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• 2. For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.
• 3. Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• 4. Do you agree that it is "astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power" (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• 5. Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.
• 6. To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.
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• Jul 10, 2023
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November 2023 TOK Essay Titles Explained with Examples

The prescribed titles for the November 2023 TOK Essay has been released! Here are all the titles with detailed explanation and examples to get you started:

Are facts alone enough to prove a claim? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

If "the mathematician's patterns, like the painter's and the poet's, must be beautiful" (G.H. Hardy), how might this impact the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and the arts.

In the acquisition of knowledge, is following experts unquestioningly as dangerous as ignoring them completely? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Is it problematic that knowledge is so often shaped by the values of those who produce it? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

Is it always the case that "the world isn't just the way I is, it is how we understand it - and in understanding something, we bring something to it" (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.

Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Below are the explanations. If you need help with TOK concepts and how to write a good essay, check out the resources in the TOK subject page!

While an initially simple prompt, sometimes the simplest statements are also the hardest to prove. I definitely feel that this is the case here. This prompt hinges on how you would personally define facts. In the TOK course, we know that knowledge is produced when someone proposes a knowledge claim, which is subsequently justified or disproven by suitable evidence. This title essentially asks of you to decide whether "facts" by themselves are sufficient evidence for us to prove a claim to be true, and hence consider it knowledge.

You may think that you have a good understanding of what 'facts' are. You have seen quick facts, cold facts, fun facts, etc... all pointing to little nuggets of information which we consider true. The question is though, how did they become true in the first place? In some areas of knowledge, 'facts' are pretty obvious. 1 + 1 = 2 is a true fact within the area of Mathematics. A Helium atom has 2 protons is a fact within the Natural Sciences. However, what constitutes facts in the Arts, History or Human Sciences?

Every single AOK has a different way of producing and dealing with 'facts'. Mathematics has their foundational axioms, the most basic set of facts that sets out how the whole AOK itself works so that things like 1 + 2 = 2 + 1 is true without us having to prove it. From there, mathematical knowledge builds upon these axioms and into a variety of sub disciplines within the AOK, developing into things like the Pythagoras Theorem or the triangle inequality, etc. Natural Science research nowadays builds upon the research done in the past. So knowledge we know to be true from before is applied to further what is to be known within the AOK to verify new claims. So it seems that perhaps facts play an important role at least in some AOKs, but is it the only requirement to produce new knowledge and justify claims? We know that in natural sciences, we tend to experiment and observe to ultimately prove or disprove a hypothesis. Without experimentation, and only using the facts we already know, it seems a bit tricky to further what we know!

I encourage you to revisit the TOK 101 page and find out more about the different stages of knowledge. Consider how facts are important in each stage of knowledge, but focusing primarily on how knowledge is produced in each AOK. How does knowledge evolve in each AOK? Can it develop organically solely from the facts we have now or does it require some additional input from other types of evidence?

The title is very specific, requiring discussion of mathematics and arts inline with the quote. It seems to propose that mathematics shares similar artistic properties with the arts (with examples such as paintings and poetry). You may have heard of the saying that Mathematics is a beautiful language or something to that effect. There have been discussions on the internet that beyond high school mathematics, mathematics can develop into quite a creative and artistic discipline. Mathematics has been used to creatively construct art! One obvious example (thus one that you probably shouldn't use in your essay) is fractals :

You can read more about the mathematical patterns behind fractals, but it is one artistic representation of mathematics.

While this prompt seems quite abstract at first, it does raise a good question about the intentions of producing knowledge in each AOK. Is it the purpose of the Arts to 'look pretty' and make us go "WOW that's so beautiful"? Conversely, is mathematics meant to be function first, form second or vice versa?

There are plenty of examples where art isn't meant to be pretty. There is a famous photograph of the chaos and brutality of the Vietnam war that is pretty infamous (do a quick google search!). Even if it isn't beautiful in the traditional sense, can it be considered beautiful in another perspective, especially considering the intention of why this was produced and what knowledge this produced? Similarly, mathematics tends to have the association that it is practical to real life and helps us solve some problems. Does mathematics have value if mathematical knowledge is produced without an immediate benefit or application? This is the world that pure mathematicians live in. While applied mathematicians can directly show their relevance and practicality of produced knowledge, it might not always be 'beautiful' in the artistic sense, but it can be 'beautiful' in its ability to capture the complex world. At the same time, if mathematics is purely beautiful in a satisfying sense (think when you factorise a quadratic and how it simplifies down to something solvable), but with no immediate practicality, is it still worth producing?

The key to this prompt is not to dispute the notion of the given quote. Yes, I know it's probably not the best quote, but think about the variations of how you can interpret the quote, rather than being either for or against the quote.

This title might be very appealing to students. I'm sure we have all experienced the importance of good scientific communication from trusted experts during the pandemic. We based our behaviour on them. When they told us to stay home, we (mostly) did, and we followed advice to get vaccinated, etc. At the other end of the spectrum, there are some that are completely ignorant of expert advice, calling this pandemic a hoax, and the vaccine a conspiracy. While there is common consensus that this ignorance is very dangerous, this prompt is quite interesting in prompting us to think about whether we should be trusting these experts completely, especially when the stakes are so high!

Experts often get things wrong, and when they do, we hope they will admit it readily even if it hurts their credibility. Credibility is key for us to accept expert advice. So this raises an important point - what makes an expert? Is it truly a person with the most knowledge about a topic or who is PERCEIVED to be so? Ideally, experts fit both of those criteria, but sometimes it is one or the other. At the same time, are experts immune from bias and other common human failures? NO! Then again, even if they have their failings, we can think about what is our level of tolerance for expert opinions and 'going at it alone' by not trusting them at all.

The prescribed AOK of human sciences is quite interesting. As you know, we are some complex people. Economists are either praised or blasted for their predictions about the economy all the time! Do you listen to economists about their market predictions? There is a joke that there will always be an economist somewhere in the world saying a recession is imminent no matter how the actual economy is doing. Can we really capture something as complex as humanity and let some experts give us advice that we trust to be 100%, unfailingly true? That doesn't seem to be wise. At the same time, it also doesn't seem wise that when 99% of economists warn us that inflation is getting out of hand for us to do nothing about it. So is it a numbers game? As more 'experts' say the same thing, and corroborate each other, we have a confidence to trust them unquestionably?

Ultimately, the conclusion seems pretty clear from the get go for this prompt. It is almost always unwise to just trust something or someone 100% and also unwise to go to the other extreme. While we can be tempted to do so, it is important we maintain a critical lens. If you are tackling this title, focus on the nuance between these two extremes presented, and show that both share common flaws in their approach to how knowledge is considered and acquired.

This prompt starts with the assumption that knowledge is produced according to the values of the producers. To what extent this is a problem is the issue here at hand here. First think of how knowledge is influenced by values. There was once a time when slavery was considered acceptable, and if you look all literary works around that time, it wouldn't be unusual to see examples of such and the use of what we now consider inappropriate language when referring to African-Americans, for example. Social values do change over time, examples including gay marriage, sexualisation and nudity of the body, dealing with minorities and racism, and even climate change. In some AOKs, this may be more apparent (i.e. History and the Arts) but what of something like mathematics? Can societal values influence them too?

When discussing whether this is problematic, other than considering the extent that values influence knowledge, also consider the implications this has on the perspectives of knowledge that are made available. Who determines these values is also of contention. This brings to mind propaganda and the various ways the 'values' of some power behind knowledge creation can greatly distort the knowledge that is produced. You may have some ideas on the problems that arise when we bring our values into the knowledge we produce, but to some extent this is inevitable. After all, the knowledge we produce simply reflects what we are interested in learning about, and willing to discover more of. The question is, how does each AOK handle changing values over time?

Every AOK has a different way of handling changing values. Long ago, we believed that we were the centre of the earth. How did the Natural Sciences overcome this long held belief? Conversely, how do we ensure that history remains accurate and isolated from the potential bias that could be introduced due to the values of the people that first wrote it? In History, revisionism describes the process of how we reevaluate history consistently to ensure that we always have the most accurate depiction of the past according to our current lens. There will be a time when our lens becomes outdated in the future, so what is the role of the Historian? Remember, knowledge is rarely ever fixed or 'done'. There is always more to know and more to discover, so how WE view knowledge in the past, and how someone in the future views the knowledge we make now will have large implications on the approach we take when producing knowledge. How can you ensure that someone interpreting knowledge in the future won't misconstrue what we are trying to say now? Could having differing interpretations according to different values be a benefit?

For some AOKs, the issue of values isn't that prominent. Why is that the case? It is good to explore in this title, the reasoning behind why values often influence the knowledge we produce, how we decide to mitigate or deal with this reality and how these approaches to do so differ between AOKs according to the nature that the knowledge is initially produced and then now consumed.

Is it always the case that "the world isn't just the way it is, it is how we understand it - and in understanding something, we bring something to it" (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.

In some less convoluted English, this prompt essentially asks whether we colour the knowledge we acquire and bring our own perspectives and interpretation to knowledge. If you think this is quite abstract, think about this example: you have likely done a book report before. It will almost always ask you what you thought of the book and people will have different thoughts. This demonstrates the essence of this title! We all have our own thoughts and ideas about the knowledge we acquire. When we learn new things, we might put our own spin to it, and try and explain it to ourselves and our friends in our own unique way. So, it is likely that there are some cases where this idea of us bringing our own ideas into the knowledge we acquire is valid, but there maybe other times that this doesn't happen. As with most things in TOK, there is a spectrum of the extent in which we 'bring something' to the things we learn.

Some AOKs actively encourage this sort of self-inquisition. While artists probably created their art to have a specific meaning, you are often encouraged to come up with your own interpretation of the art, as it may mean something very personal to you according to your background and life experiences. No one person would interpret a work the same way as you, and that is how the AOK of Art intends it. So clearly, some AOKs encourage this sort of interpretation, why might they do so? On the other hand, some AOKs require some very exact and objective interpretation of evidence and knowledge, so it might be that this sort of malleability when we acquire it is undesired. What issues do you foresee might arise when we bring our own interpretation to knowledge acquired? How each AOK deals with the idea of bring our own perspectives into acquired knowledge speaks a lot about its intention and purpose.

The prompt also asks us to consider whether we are really getting the knowledge of the 'true world as it is' or just the way we perceive the world. This is most prominent in the natural sciences where we try to observe the natural world by attempting to minimise our effects on it. We are effective at doing so to various extents, but can we ever really observe something as they are? Similarly, and perhaps even more difficult for the Human Sciences, how can you observe a human being's behaviour knowing that they are being watched, or that they are participating in an experiment? Does this invalidate any findings within the human sciences because we know we might be involved in it? In most cases, knowledge is generated from the lens of humanity - individuals like us! And for the most part, it is consumed by individuals like us as well. Can we ever have knowledge that is independent of humanity so that we are really watching the world as it is, rather than having our own input on it?

Big data and data science is a hot field right now because of exactly this problem - we have too much data and we don't really know how to handle it! You might have experienced this personally during your studies in the IB. Out of a 500 page textbook, what will you choose to learn? You likely won't know every exact detail within that textbook for your exams, but you will understand the key points as it pertains to the syllabus and the key techniques that you need to answer exam problems. In a similar way, people select knowledge they wish to acquire all the time. With the advent of search engines and wikipedias, there are limitless amounts of knowledge to be known, but only so much that we want to know. So it makes sense to ask ourselves, what criteria do we use to select what information we choose to get, what knowledge to acquire? That is the essence of the title.

When we choose some knowledge and leave out others, does this create any risk? What if we were missing out on some important perspectives? We must all have experienced a familiar feeling of thinking we are prepared for an exam, but it turns out that we missed a crucial part of the topic and subsequently bombed the exam. Now imagine this effect magnified to more important applications - in the medical context, how can medical professionals make the most informed decision for their patients? It is not like they can consider all possible available scenarios and knowledge about their condition! Again, it goes to what we consider to be important for us to acquire and so let's think deeply about why we learn some things over other things. Is it interest that is driving us? Practicality?

Finally, one last thing to consider for this topic is what is the point of having more knowledge if most are going to be selected away?

So hopefully these explanations have helped you in deconstructing what initially might appear to be some intimidating prompts! Before you write your essay, make sure you plan it out and select good examples to back up your points. Check out some 10/10 TOK essay examples and identify their strengths will help a lot as well!

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• May 20, 2023

Unpacking the 2023 November TOK Titles: A Comprehensive IB Solved Guide

The November 2023 titles for the IB Theory of Knowledge Essay have been released! Let's face it – the TOK essay can be very intimidating. With so many topics to choose from and so many ideas bouncing around, it can be hard to know where to begin. That's where we come in. In this post, we'll take a closer look at each of the titles and give you some tips for approaching them.

General Tips to Unpacking a Title

Whenever we approach a prompt, we always want to think in terms of perspectives and counter-perspectives (for those who are familiar with the old syllabus, these were previously known as claims and counterclaims). This allows us to structure the essay within the two selected AOKs, creating four paragraphs directly addressing the title and with consideration of varying perspectives on the title. While the final conclusion that we draw will likely lie somewhere in the middle, or argue that each perspective is more/less correct in different circumstances, it is often helpful to think of the two extremes first before trying to come up with a more nuanced conclusion.

So let’s get into unpacking them – here is everything you need to know about each of the November 2023 TOK Essay titles:

Title 1: Are facts alone enough to prove a claim? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

Recommended AOKs: Natural Sciences, Human Sciences, History

For this title, the perspective and counter-perspective are straightforward – either facts alone are enough to prove a claim, or they are not.

Some ideas to think about which support the first perspective:

Facts are objective – By providing objective evidence for a claim, facts can be a highly reliable form of evidence to support claims made by knowers. This objectivity allows for the same claim to be proven across time, in different cultures and by unique knowers.

Facts allow for conclusions to be drawn through logic – By combining an array of established facts, deductive reasoning can be utilised to draw conclusions about the world and produce new knowledge. Often facts form the premises from which knowledge claims can be made, allowing a knower to prove a claim by first establishing a series of interconnected facts.

Facts can be tested – This is particularly important for science-based AOKs which rely upon falsification as an important method of producing new knowledge. Since facts can be tested, the veracity of a knower’s claim is always available to be disproven by empirical evidence.

For your counter-perspective, you have a far greater degree of freedom in your discussion. This is where you can really differentiate your essay from others, as it is your job to decide which other important elements beyond facts alone may be necessary to prove a claim. Some ideas from us:

Opinions – Whilst opinions lack the objectivity of facts, they are often important to proving knowledge claims, as these claims are often unable to be proven by facts alone. Rather inferences must be drawn to create meaning from facts. This can be illustrated through a very simple claim: Imagine for instance that we were trying to prove the claim that Germany were responsible for World War I. Whilst we could drawn upon facts, such as the fact that they issued a blank cheque to Austria-Hungary or the fact that they invaded Belgium in August 1914, ultimately we rely upon the opinions of historians in making a judgement on how important this was in the context of the war.

Personal Experience – Whilst personal experiences only provide anecdotal evidence and cannot allow us to draw broader conclusions, they may be necessary to prove a claim which involves emotion or personal beliefs.

Creativity – Creative thinking may be necessary to prove claims, particularly in the sciences, where facts alone are insufficient. For instance, scientific theories, whilst based in fact, are often dependent on analogies, comparisons and metaphor to explain abstract concepts for which there may not yet be any measurable or empirical evidence.

Title 2: If “the mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s and the poet’s, must be beautiful” (G.H. Hardy), how might this impact the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and the arts.

This title is far more intricate than the others, relying heavily upon the definitions you impose upon key terms. The concept of the “mathematician’s patterns” and the term “beautiful” must be defined in the opening of the essay, as this will restrict the scope of your knowledge exploration. The way in which we would recommend splitting up this topic would be to first discuss the impact upon the production of knowledge in mathematics and then within the Arts. Some ideas for the perspectives and counter-perspectives which you may explore include:

Beauty in Mathematics – You will want to consider the importance of beauty in Mathematics. This is not referring to beauty in the traditional sense but perhaps considering other ways in which Mathematics may be considered beautiful such as in its way of transforming complex real-world problems into simple symbols which can be solved. This can impact the production of knowledge as mathematicians may choose to ignore solutions which are complex and rough – in other words, ‘mathematically ugly’.

Beauty in Art – In discussing this AOK, you may consider the debate between aestheticism and purpose within the Arts – In other words, is Art merely supposed to ‘look good’ or does it have a greater purpose, and how does this relate to the production of knowledge in and through the Arts.

Title 3: In the acquisition of knowledge, is following experts unquestioningly as dangerous as ignoring them completely? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Recommended AOKs: Human Sciences and Natural Sciences/History/Math

This title presents a very contemporary issue which is the questioning of experts and trust in the knowledge produced by experts. Nonetheless, there is a clear perspective and counter-perspective presented by this title – it is either more dangerous to follow experts unquestioningly or more dangerous to ignore them completely.

Some ideas relevant to the first perspective:

Evidence over Experts – By following experts unquestioningly, rather than examining the quality of their evidence and research methods, we fall into the trap of making arguments from authority without confirming that their conclusions are actually correct.

Subjective Experiences – While experts are helpful in drawing general conclusions/findings about the world, they do not account for subjective, individual experiences. This is particularly relevant in the Human Sciences, as theories and claims of human behaviour may not apply to all people due to the uniqueness of humans.

Lack of Progress – It is only by questioning established paradigms and claims made by existing experts that we are able to progress and acquire new knowledge. If all experts are followed unquestioningly, there can be no overhaul of existing knowledge when necessary.

Some ideas relevant to the counter-perspective:

Established Research Systems – Experts are trained in effective research methodologies and have systems to maximise the reliability of the claims they make. By ignoring experts, we are instead relying upon knowledge of laypeople whose claims have not been rigorously assessed for their veracity.

Manipulation and Logical Fallacies – By ignoring the claims of experts and instead acquiring knowledge through prominent figures such as celebrities and the media, we expose ourselves to manipulation and the array of logical fallacies employed by these individuals who have their own agenda beyond the dissemination of knowledge.

Knowledge Framework – Experts develop knowledge frameworks which can guide the production of new knowledge. By ignoring experts, we are often left to deal with problems on a case-by-case basis which can lead to a lack of consistency and structure within the knowledge which is acquired.

Title 4: Is it problematic that knowledge is so often shaped by the values of those who produce it? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

Recommended AOKs: History, Arts, Human Sciences

This title has a focus on context and values, integral elements of the knowledge framework within the new syllabus. It also has two clear perspectives to be explored – the claim that it is problematic or the claim that it is not, keeping in mind that across both perspectives, it must be specified how knowledge is shaped by individual values.

Some ideas for the first perspective:

Bias – The shaping of knowledge by one’s individual values can create bias which may impede the reliability of knowledge produced through the lens of these values.

Subjectivity – If subjective beliefs founded in one’s values are imported into the production of knowledge which should be based on facts and evidence, this can be problematic for this knowledge.

Lack of Diversity/One-Sided Knowledge – When entire banks of knowledge are produced by individuals from the same background, culture, beliefs or school of thought, this can lead to the omission of other perspectives on an issue, which can limit the knowledge which is produced.

Individual Perspective are Important – It is often important for a knower to incorporate their own personal perspective in the production of knowledge as this is ultimately the only way in which interpretations and opinions beyond mere facts can be drawn.

Knowledge about the Knower – We can often learn more about a knower, their values and the social norms of their time when evaluating knowledge claims which are shaped by individual values, providing a second layer of ‘knowledge within knowledge’.

Specific Knowledge – Whilst not broadly applicable to people or contexts with different values, knowledge produced by those with particular individual values can be more specific and applicable to knowers within the same value system. This form of ‘insider knowledge’ may be shaped by the personal experiences of an individual, which is an asset to the production of knowledge rather than a hinderance.

Title 5: Is it always the case that “the world isn’t just the way it is, it is how we understand it – and in understanding something, we bring something to it” (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.

This title touches upon the debate between objective and relativistic views of knowledge and the world. The phrase ‘is it always the case’ allows us to derive two perspectives to explore – it either is always the case or it is not. The first perspective requires arguments which explain why this may always be the case, whereas the second only requires you to provide some exceptions/circumstances in which this would not be the case.

Interpretation creates Meaning – It may be argued that all elements of the world must be interpreted and doing so involves the unique lens of each individual knower. In this way, what we bring to the production of knowledge is our own distinct interpretation of the world around us.

Questioning creates Meaning – We could also consider how the questions which knowers ask are unique and based upon our own individual understanding of the world. This means that something new is created each time a new knower attempts to understand the world, as the questions asked and curiosity of each individual provides a distinct approach to knowledge.

Some ideas for the counter-perspective:

Objectivity Exists – It may be argued that there are some elements of the world which are fixed, unquestionable and objective. These components of knowledge are not dependent upon the interpretation of the individual, as there should be objective standards from which everyone should draw the same conclusion.

Repeatability – Particularly in the Natural Sciences, there are some elements of knowledge which are repeatable and not reliant upon the interpretation of the individual knower. This concept of repeatability is a foundational tenet of the sciences and the production of new knowledge of the world around us.

Title 6: Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Recommended AOKs: Natural Sciences and Human Sciences/History/Arts

This title questions the way in which we determine whether a piece of information is significant for knowledge. Since this is a ‘how’ question, there are many perspectives which can be explored, rather than a clear binary of perspectives. Some ideas from us:

Selection through Merit – This concept is particularly relevant to the Natural Sciences, as the theories which are ultimately deemed as significant are those which are not falsified. This merit-based approach pits scientific theories against each other to determine which are significant for the acquisition of knowledge.

Selection through Structure and Processes – By establishing set systems and procedures for filtering the vast amount of information available within an AOK, we can make selections as to which knowledge is significant.

Selection through Applicability – When judging what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge, a knower may have to consider the vast amount of information and decipher which piece of information is most applicable to their context, values or specific circumstances.

So there you have it! By now, you should have a better idea about which TOK essay title stands out the most to you and maybe even a few ideas about what to write. But where do you begin? Don't worry, we understand that writing a Theory of Knowledge essay can be a daunting task, but with the help of our expert IB tutors, you'll be on your way to success in no time. Plus, with online IB tutoring available, you can get the help you need from anywhere in the world. Don't let the TOK essay stress you out – contact us today to learn more about our IB tutoring services and how we can help you succeed in your IB studies.

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The Secrets to Success in the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) Essay

How To Write A ToK Essay - Updated 2023

Ace your ToK Essay with our expert tips & tricks! Get the latest and greatest techniques on "How To Write A ToK Essay" and impress the IB examiners.📝💡

Table of content

• Introduction

Purpose Of ToK

Assessment of tok, the game plan, execution of the gameplan, planning for tok essay, structure of tok essay, conclusions, bibliography.

Introduce your topic accurately and state your thesis statement for the essay carefully.  A thesis statement is like a teaser to your entire essay wherein you define your key terms and introduce your interpretation of the question. Make sure that you do not reword the prescribed title in your thesis. Instead, it needs to, as the word says, INTRODUCE your readers to what your essay is about. A strong introduction allows the reader to deduce what knowledge question(s) you are trying to answer.

So, in a nutshell

• Write interesting things about the given TOK essay title .
• Define key terms
• Narrow in on the particularly interesting aspect
• State your thesis statement . This will be your short answer to your given title if you don't know how to write a killer thesis statement check out this blog from SparkNotes .
• State your Roadmap. This will help the readers in understanding the direction of your essay.

How to write a TOK Essay? 

To answer that, you must familiarise yourself with what a TOK Essay is about.

Before you start reading this article,  Amanda  has some excellent TOK tips for you!

Theory of Knowledge is one of the most meta subjects that IB offers. Despite its complexity, TOK helps in providing a base for holistic learning and allows students to have a multidisciplinary experience. 

To understand TOK is to understand the essence of IB, a task that most people consider unattainable.

But not for you! 

Thank your lucky stars who made you land on Nail IB. How exactly will Nail IB help you? 

Well, nailing International Baccalaureate is something we will discuss later. 

Let's focus on cracking your TOK essay, shall we?

TOK demonstrates how students  can apply their knowledge  with  greater awareness  and  credibility .

Big words, huh? 

Now that we know that we cannot just slide through the Theory of Knowledge, let's understand how we can conquer this battle all guns blazing.

ToK essay’s primary objective is to answer the  why  behind our studies. 

It makes one aware of the real-life implications of their subjects. The students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions and appreciate the diversity of different perspectives. It helps the students find their unique perception, a prerequisite for excelling in the IB TOK essays.

Before we dive into our gameplan, let’s overview the rules of the game.

There are two assessment tasks in the TOK: an essay and a presentation . While a presentation encourages students to explore a real-life situation through the lens of TOK, an essay is written on the basis of the various questions provided by the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

• The presentation is to assess a student’s ability to apply TOK thinking to a real-life situation whereas IB TOK essay is more conceptual.
• The essay is externally assessed by IB and must be on any one of the prescribed TOK essay titles issued by the IB for each examination session.
• Word limit of a TOK essay is 1600 words ( excludes extended notes, footnotes, bibliography).

Now that we have unleashed the game, let’s move ahead towards the gameplan of acing both, your presentation and your essay.

One of the fundamental tasks of TOK is to examine different areas of knowledge and find out their similarities and differences.

The TOK essay requires the students to investigate two Areas of Knowledge (AOK)  and two Ways of Knowing   (WOK) . AOKs and WOKs are investigated via questions such as:

• How do we know what we know? (WOK)
• What counts as evidence for X? (AOK)
• How do we judge which is the best model of Y? (WOK)
• What does theory Z mean in the real world? (AOK + WOK)

The aforementioned are  Knowledge Questions  which help combine the Areas of Knowledge and the Ways of Knowing that they are using. This eliminates the superficial way of learning and makes an individual sensitive to the nature of the information.   Our acquisition of Knowledge can be broadly divided into Shared Knowledge and Personal Knowledge.

Shared knowledge: What WE know It is the product of more than one individual. Although individuals contribute to it, shared knowledge does not solely depend upon the contributions of a particular individual—there are possibilities for others to check and amend individual contributions and add to the body of knowledge that already exists.

Personal knowledge: What I know It is essentially dependent on the experiences of a particular individual. Also known as procedural knowledge, it is gained through experience, practice and personal involvement and is intimately bound up with the particular local circumstances of the individual such as biography, interests, values, and so on.

The best hack to ace TOK essay is to develop a habit of making connections between the construction of knowledge, its acquisition and its relevance in the real world. 

After that one needs to develop an interest in understanding the difference between diversity and cultural perspectives and personal assumptions.

One also needs to critically reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions, leading to more thoughtful, responsible and purposeful lives.

Yes, this is what you signed up for. It may sound a little intimidating but once you get the hang of it you will be able to see the matrix and understand this beautiful world a little better.

Understand that to provide the best version of your writing, it will take you more than one or two drafts. First and foremost, you need to pick your essay topic diligently. Try to choose an essay topic that best interests you. The topic should also allow you to explore the Areas of Knowledge towards which you are naturally inclined. Here are a few sample questions:

a) 'Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments.' To what extend do you agree with this statement?

b) With reference to two areas of knowledge discuss the way in which shared knowledge can shape their personal knowledge.

c) How can we know if knowledge is produced more through 'Passive Observation' or 'Active-Experiment' within the Human and Natural-sciences under a Mathematical-Perspective?

d) "The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning and purpose in our personal lives". Assess the validity of this statement.

Great things take time. It took me more than a couple of weeks to finalize this TOK essay guide. It is completely okay if the first few drafts may not look pleasing or award-winning to you. You will require sharpening your perspective towards the topic each time you polish your draft. Your writing journey from a dull draft to a masterpiece will be a whole process that you will have to be patient with. Have faith in yourself and proceed stepwise.

You need to consider the opinions of others who have devoted hours of research and a lifetime of dedicated studying the topic that surrounds your writing. Unravelling the realms of your mind palace is so Sherlock but let’s not deny the fact that at times, Watson is the one whose expertise helps Sherlock through pretty difficult times. I mean even Batman needs a Robin. In support of my awesome sauce examples, the point I am trying to make is that  finding support for our claims and counterclaims through research is a good thing .

Use real-life examples to support your claims and counterclaims. These examples need to be documented researched examples like studies, experiments, articles, presentations by well-known people, etc. Examples that stem from your diploma subjects are highly encouraged, but those will need to be supported by research as well.   

It is suggested that you choose a title, stick to it, tackle it and not be afraid. Do not change your mind unless there is a good reason. Also, try choosing Areas of knowledge that you truly enjoy. You know slaying a known devil is much easier than an unknown one. Allot a TIMELINE to your essay. Start with creating an outline of your essay. This will help you to track your progress and accomplish your goals

You can use tools like  Trello  to organize your ideas and plan your TOK essay.

Areas of Knowledge (AOKs): TOK distinguishes between eight areas of knowledge. They are mathematics, the natural sciences, the human sciences, the arts, history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and indigenous knowledge systems. It is suggested that students study and explore six of these eight.

Ways of knowing (WOKs): TOK identifies eight specific WOKs- language, sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory. It is suggested that studying four of these eight in-depth would be appropriate. WOKs underlie the methodology of the areas of knowledge and provide a basis for personal knowledge.

Moving ahead, let us discuss the structure of your TOK essay.

Your essay will consist of 4 broad segregations

Before breaking down further on the pillars, keep the following in mind

• Please note what the TOK essay title is asking you. (Read it a couple of times. We highly recommend that you brainstorm ideas with your TOK coordinator)
• Make sure you understand the command term and the question it is asking.
• What kind of knowledge is being elicited?
• When choosing your areas of knowledge (AoK) and ways of knowing (WoK) make sure that you are able to draw contrasts and comparisons, that is, you are able to find evidence that supports as well as challenges your claims.
• Identify key terms in your TOK essay title. Make sure you define them. Your essay will gravitate around them. Key terms/words in your titles are your essay anchors. Your response should be built around them.
• Your writing skills come in handy while you work on your IB TOK essay. Like any other essay make sure you have proper thesis statements and topic sentences to guide the evaluator through your work.
• Respect the TOK essay title. Rephrasing the topic is not encouraged . Your main job is to address the title.

The body can be mainly divided into 3 segments.

Body (1st Segment)

• AoK Claim:  Here you investigate your first Area of Knowledge and draw parallels between your AoK and the question. This is done by stating your claim. Claims can be general in nature and need not reference a particular area of knowledge. They help you shape your essay and investigate the question further. 
• Evidence: Example of a real-life situation, describe thoroughly and accurately, which supports your stated claim. (AoK)
• Counter-Claim: State your counter-claim: like claims, those can be general and need not reference a particular area of knowledge. Counterclaim helps you show the other side the coin and gives your essay a holistic nature. 
• Evidence: A referenced real-life situation/example. Describe thoroughly and accurately, show how this supports your counterclaim (AoK ).
• Don’t forget to weave in your WoKs:  You need to take into account the source of your knowledge. Here you can also investigate if your nature of acquiring the knowledge has, in any way, affected it. It is good practice to question if your knowledge would be different had it been acquired through a different source/method
• Mini-conclusion: Here you analyze your examples in reference to your claims and counterclaims. You must connect to your thesis statement and the prescribed title. How does your proposed argument, in this particular part of the body, connect to the prescribed title and the knowledge questions you are trying to answer?

Body (2): Follow the above process for your second AOK.

• Use this part of your essay to compare and contrast your varying AoKs. You need to connect them to your thesis and your prescribed title clearly showing how your arguments respond to the PT.

Your conclusion section will make your essay come together. It is the glue that will make your essay stick together. Herein, you need to

• Reiterate your thesis (initial response).
• Use your mini conclusions to write a final conclusion.
• Tell the reader what the significance is for knowing what we know in this particular PT.
• Discuss implications as well.
• Offer another perspective, how will the perspective of a different person affect the claims/counterclaims you make in the essay?
• Don’t forget to make the end strong.

We recommend all the ib students use the  citation machine  (It's FREE) to organize or generate a bibliography for your TOK essay. Please go through this extensive guide provided by the IB before you start working on your citations.

If you are still struggling heaps with your TOK essay feel free to subscribe to our tok notes bundles or get access to more than 500+ IBDP notes and past papers here .

Nail IB is your virtual companion that helps you hustle through your diploma and provide you with the right resources at the right time. To know more about acing IB, click  here .

I hope this article will become the foundation for figuring out how to write a TOK Essay.

Remember to have faith in yourself.

I hope you NAIL your TOK essay!

Quoting the great Napolean Hill

"Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

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ToK Essay Prompts Demystified: Interpreting and Tackling 2023's Questions

Navigating the complex web of ToK essay prompts can feel like trying to decipher an ancient manuscript – it's challenging, yet deeply rewarding. Every year, the IB presents students with fresh, thought-provoking questions that aren’t just about showcasing your knowledge but also your ability to reason, reflect, and engage in intellectual play.

Now, 2023's prompts have landed, and you might be wondering: "How do I even begin to approach these?" Relax. It's normal to feel overwhelmed. However, understanding your prompt is the first (and perhaps most crucial) step towards crafting an essay that stands out. A well-interpreted prompt can be the foundation of a stellar essay, and that's what we're diving into today.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clearer vision of what these questions are really asking and how you can tackle them with confidence and creativity. Ready? Let’s demystify these prompts together!

The ABCs of ToK Essay Prompts

Understanding ToK essay prompts isn't just about reading the words. It's about delving deep into their meaning, intent, and the broader context they inhabit. Think of each prompt as a puzzle. At first glance, it might seem daunting, but each piece holds a clue to the bigger picture.

Why These Questions? The Intent Behind the Prompt

Every ToK essay prompt is meticulously crafted. The questions are designed to push you to reflect, reason, and develop an individual perspective on knowledge and how it interacts with the world. Remember, it's not just about answering the question but also about showcasing how you think and perceive the world of knowledge.

The Layers of a Prompt: Surface and Depth

On the surface, a ToK essay question may seem straightforward. But scratch a little deeper, and you'll uncover layers of meaning. Each prompt comes with its set of nuances, undertones, and subtleties. It's your job to unearth these layers, interpret them, and mold your essay around your unique understanding.

Flexing Your Interpretative Muscles

Interpreting a ToK prompt isn't much different from analyzing a poem or a piece of art. There's no singular 'correct' way to approach it. Multiple interpretations can coexist, and your perspective is just as valid as any other, provided it's well-reasoned and backed by thoughtful reflection. Remember, the IB isn't looking for a 'right answer' but rather, they want to witness the journey of your thought process.

2023's ToK Essay Prompts: A Closer Look

Alright, champions of knowledge! The much-awaited 2023 ToK essay questions are here. Let's unpack these thought-provoking challenges that await your intellectual prowess:

The Role of Replicability : Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Dive into the depths of this question, referencing two areas of knowledge and unveiling the significance of reproducibility in our understanding of the world.

Artists vs. Natural Scientists : For artists and natural scientists, which is more crucial: what can be explained or what cannot be? Delve into the contrasting yet intertwined worlds of arts and the natural sciences. How do explanation and mystery influence these fields?

Knowledge in Bubbles : Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded? Explore the implications and consequences of receiving knowledge in isolated silos. What do we gain, and what might we be missing out on?

The Paradox of Power : Do you agree with Bertrand Russell's assertion that it is "astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power"? Dive into the dynamic realm of the natural sciences and another area of knowledge to reflect upon the immense power that even a sliver of understanding can bestow upon us.

The Visual Aid Dilemma : Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Challenge or defend the use of visuals in the expansive territories of the human sciences and mathematics. How do visuals shape, aid, or potentially hinder our understanding?

Methodologies and Outcomes : To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Take a journey through history and another area of knowledge to discern the profound influence of methodologies on our comprehension of the past and the world around us.

Phew! Talk about a brainstorming marathon! Remember, while these prompts may initially seem dense, each one is a golden opportunity to showcase your unique perspective on knowledge. The journey might be challenging, but the rewards – oh, they're worth every ounce of effort.

Delving Deeper into Select Prompts

While all of the 2023 ToK essay prompts are a treasure trove of intellectual exploration, let's zoom in and dissect a few of them a bit more, shall we? This deep dive will provide a clearer understanding, perhaps sparking that ‘aha’ moment for your own essay.

The Role of Replicability in Knowledge Production

Overview : This topic challenges us to reflect on the importance of replicability in research and knowledge generation. But why is it significant? Think of scientific experiments. If a result can be consistently replicated, it bolsters its credibility.

Possible Angle : Contrast the natural sciences, where replicability is often a cornerstone, with another area of knowledge where it might not hold as much weight. For instance, in the arts, is a replicated piece as valuable as an original?

Knowledge in Bubbles - A Double-Edged Sword?

Overview : The modern age, with its vast array of information platforms, often sees us in echo chambers, where we hear opinions and facts that align with our own views. But what's the consequence of such selective knowledge acquisition?

Possible Angle : Evaluate the pros and cons. For instance, while these bubbles can strengthen community ties and provide tailored knowledge, are they also breeding grounds for misinformation or limiting broader understanding?

The Paradox of Power in Knowledge

Overview : Bertrand Russell's assertion highlights a profound observation – sometimes, even a little knowledge can yield immense power. But is this always a good thing?

Possible Angle : Reflect on historical instances where limited knowledge led to significant consequences, both positive and negative. Additionally, ponder on the ethical implications when wielding such power.

Remember, these prompts are meant to stimulate your thinking, not restrict it. Let your creativity flow. Dive deep, challenge assumptions, and most importantly, enjoy the intellectual journey. If at any point you find yourself hitting a roadblock, revisit our previous guide on mastering the ToK essay for some inspiration and direction.

General Strategies for Approaching ToK Essay Prompts

Alright, young scholars, having taken a closer look at a few of the prompts, it’s time to arm you with some universal strategies to tackle any ToK essay topic. Whether you’re addressing the role of replicability or diving into knowledge bubbles, these strategies are your trusted companions:

Begin with an Open Mind : Before taking a stance, allow yourself to explore both sides of the argument. This not only provides depth to your essay but showcases your ability to evaluate diverse perspectives.

Connect to Real-Life Situations : Anecdotes and real-world examples make your essay relatable and tangible. They serve as evidence of your claims and breathe life into abstract ideas.

Interlink Areas of Knowledge (AoK) : While the prompt may specify certain AoKs, don’t be afraid to draw connections to others if relevant. This showcases your holistic understanding and makes for an enriched argument.

Mind the WoKs (Ways of Knowing) : Whether it’s perception, emotion, reason, or language, remember that WoKs can offer unique angles and insights into your essay topic. Weave them in where appropriate.

Engage with Counterclaims : A well-rounded essay isn't just about asserting your perspective but recognizing and addressing counterarguments. This not only strengthens your position but exhibits critical thinking.

Stay Structured : While the ToK essay encourages deep thinking, remember that clarity is crucial. Use a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Organize your thoughts systematically to guide the reader seamlessly through your arguments.

Personalize Your Insights : Remember, the ToK essay is a reflection of your intellectual journey. While you'll rely on experts and sources, don’t forget to interject with your personal insights, experiences, and reflections.

Revisit and Revise : First drafts are called 'first' for a reason. Once you've penned down your initial thoughts, take a break, return with fresh eyes, and refine your essay. This iterative process can be a game-changer in elevating the quality of your piece.

Now, with these strategies in hand, you're better equipped to face the ToK essay head-on. Remember, it's as much about the journey of exploration as it is about the final piece. Enjoy the process, relish the challenges, and if ever in doubt, our earlier guide is just a click away for some quick wisdom.

Final Tips for Tackling the ToK Essay Head-On

Alright, we've traversed the vast landscape of ToK essay prompts, delved deep into some of them, discussed strategies, and even looked into multimedia resources. But before you embark on your essay-writing journey, here are a few last-minute nuggets of wisdom to carry with you:

Stay Original : While it's great to gather insights and understand the general perspective on topics, always ensure your voice shines through. Adjudicators value originality and authenticity.

Seek Feedback : It's always a good idea to have someone else, be it a peer, teacher, or mentor, take a look at your essay. They might offer a perspective or insight that you hadn't considered.

Stay Within the Word Limit : It might seem challenging, but condensing your thoughts and being concise is key. Straying far from the word limit might make your essay seem unfocused.

Relax and Trust Yourself: Believe in your capabilities. Remember, this essay is as much about the journey of exploration as it is about the end product.

The Theory of Knowledge essay can indeed seem like a mammoth task. With multiple layers of interpretation and areas of knowledge to consider, the process can be daunting. But with the right strategies, resources, and mindset, it's a challenge you can certainly overcome.

And hey, if ever the waters seem too rough, remember you're not alone. Whether you need to go back to the basics with writing ToK essay or require hands-on assistance, there's always help at hand with IB writing service .

Last edit at Aug 15 2023

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With over a decade in the educational realm, Henrik has guided countless IB students towards academic excellence. Combining a deep understanding of the IB curriculum with practical strategies, Henrik is committed to making challenging subjects approachable and essays memorable.

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May 2023 TOK essay prescribed titles

The prescribed titles for the May 2023 TOK essay have been released. Check with your TOK coordinator / teacher for the official document.

Resources for the May 2023 TOK essay prescribed titles will be published shortly.

• Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• For artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.
• Does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• Do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (Bertrand Russell)? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• Are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics.
• To what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

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November 2023 TOK Essay Prompts Explained + SAMPLES

Table of contents

• Writing Metier

The TOK essay prescribed titles for November 2023 are finally out. Since many students struggle with TOK essays, it’s quite good news that IB students have a lot of time to check those TOK prompts.

Psssss…it’s time to check November 2024 TOK essay titles .

No more general words, and dry theory, I’m sharing a list of the TOK titles. I will start with a general list and move further to detailed explanations of each and give you examples. This can help you understand which one you will go for.

Moreover, I believe this can help you get started so that you know what exactly is required of you to work. 

November 2023 ToK essay titles list

• Are facts alone enough to prove a claim? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.
• If “the mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s and the poet’s, must be beautiful” (G.H. Hardy), how might this impact the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and the arts.
• In the acquisition of knowledge, is following experts unquestioningly as dangerous as ignoring them completely? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• Is it problematic that knowledge is so often shaped by the values of those who produce it? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.
• Is it always the case that “the world isn’t just the way I is, it is how we understand it – and in understanding something, we bring something to it” (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.
• Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

If you need assistance with your IB ToK essay , press on the picture above and order your paper. Now let’s move to the explanation part.

Title 1: Are facts alone enough to prove a claim? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

This seems to be one of the easiest prompts to work on. But in some cases, when things seem too simple, there is a lot that has to go behind that. The keyword in this case is ‘facts.’ The title asks if facts alone are enough to help prove a claim. Another word that also needs to be focused on is ‘alone.’ The idea is to explore if only facts can help you prove a claim or if there are other factors that are needed as well. 

 A lot of us think that we know what ‘facts’ stand for. In some fields of interest, like math, it is very easy to chalk out what facts are. Say one plus one is two, is a fact in mathematics. But how does one decide what facts are in areas of knowledge like arts and human sciences?

These areas of knowledge are subjective in nature, which means that it can be very hard to differentiate facts in these areas of knowledge. Every area of knowledge that we talk about has a different way of classifying facts.

For example, when we talk about math, we can see that the Pythagorean theorem is based on hard facts, where we talk about how the summation of the square of the base and the perpendicular equals to the sum of the hypotenuse. So we can see that while facts are indeed sufficient in some areas of knowledge , there is indeed more probing needed in other areas of knowledge to help understand things better.

Sample of November 2023 TOK Essay Title 1

Below you can find an example of the November 2023 TOK essay sample on Prompt 1: Are facts alone enough to prove a claim?

To understand this better, it is highly advised that you also go through the different stages of knowledge that exist to help you understand how knowledge is produced here. Does it come solely from facts, or do you also need other types of evidence to help you reach a reasonable conclusion about things? 

Title 2: If “the mathematician’s patterns, like the painter’s and the poet’s, must be beautiful” (G.H. Hardy), how might this impact the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and the arts.

This title is very specific. Actually, I’m finding it super confusing and I guess it will be one of the less-selected November 2023 TOK prompts. Agree? Leave your comments below 😉

It is one that talks about the importance of math and how contrary to popular belief, it shares characteristics that are very similar to arts. Many a time, you must have heard that math is a very creative discipline on the whole. The idea behind this concept is that while the subject is highly objective, it does take into account many different factors, and all of these factors are ones that need to be taken into consideration when we talk about this.

One interesting example that we can see here is the concept of fractals. If you read up more about this, then you will find out that this has a lot to do with the artistic representation of mathematics. This raises a very valid question, which is whether art has only to do with how beautiful something is or is there more to it as well. 

On the contrary, we can also see that there is a lot of evidence that shows that art is not all about being pretty. There is a lot more to it as well. An example can be seen in terms of the paintings and photographs that depict famous wars that happened in the world. While these aren’t pretty pictures, they are pretty much valid and prevalent, and they really help us understand more about different situations in terms of what we think or believe about them.

So the idea is to explore that does mathematics really have any value is the knowledge is produced but does not add any value? So if you go for this prompt, then you have to dispute the notion of this quote, giving your own two cents to the situation to actually explore what this is all about and how you can work your way toward things in the best possible way. 

Title 3: In the acquisition of knowledge, is following experts unquestioningly as dangerous as ignoring them completely? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Many students would find this title very appealing. The idea here is to explore to what extent exactly can we trust experts in any field to give us information about things so that we can base our behavior on them. The best way we can look at this is with the help of the Coronavirus pandemic that took the world over by storm.

Health experts told us that we have to get ourselves vaccinated and stay at home for our own safety and the safety of our loved ones. We did exactly so because we realized that this was the best thing to do for people because we trust experts in terms of the knowledge that they have and the advice that they give us about things. 

But what is also important to note here is that experts are not always right. They can also go wrong based on what they think and also have it in them to make mistakes. So this raises a very important question, which is what makes an expert?

So the idea is to explore this in a lot of detail. It would be very interesting to explore this with reference to human sciences, because the nature of the subject is highly subjective, which means that it can help understand what all it constitutes. You can explore this better by looking at what economists have to say about different situations and how that seems to be wise or not.

This is a very interesting prompt if you choose to go about it wisely and have sound examples to support your viewpoint about things. 

Title 4: Is it problematic that knowledge is so often shaped by the values of those who produce it? Discuss with reference to any two areas of knowledge.

This is a very interesting prompt to work on if you take into account the fact that knowledge is produced according to the values of producers. We need to work toward understanding what the main problem is and how knowledge is influenced by different values.

Let’s look at this with the example of slavery. There was a point in time when people didn’t see anything wrong with slavery. They knew that slavery is prevalent and at that time, it was also very common to have slaves. But if we look at how problematic this is today, then you can see that no one takes into account slavery today. In fact, it is looked upon as something that is extremely bad.

So what we can see here is that the knowledge that we have is greatly influenced by different thought processes that make us understand things a certain way. The value system that we rely on here is something very important that we have to take into account if we wish to work a certain way. 

At the end of the day, the knowledge that you have is dependent on what all you have learned so far and what this has taught you. Your lens might become outdated in the future,  but the idea is to help you understand all of this in a much better way. An accurate depiction of things can only happen when you take all of that into account and try to understand things for the better. For some areas of knowledge, the issue of values is not very prominent, while for others, that is not the case.

So it depends entirely on what you choose to work with and how you think that affects the way that you think and work toward things. 

Title 5: Is it always the case that “the world isn’t just the way it is, it is how we understand it – and in understanding something, we bring something to it” (adapted from Life of Pi by Yann Martel)? Discuss with reference to history and the natural sciences.

While this prompt may seem to be a little complicated at first, it is not really that hard to understand. In simple words, you are expected to work toward bringing your own perspective and interpretation of knowledge. It asks you how you understand things and how your interpretation of things makes you add value to the world. The idea here is that all of us have our own thoughts and ideas about things. The knowledge that we acquire is very different, and our value systems are very different as well. So this is something that we have to explore and try to understand in all ways. There is also a very wide spectrum that makes you understand what it means to bring something to the things that you learn. 

With some areas of knowledge, this can be very easy to explain. Say if you talk about art, you can see how artists have their own thought processes when they paint a picture. Even if we talk about an abstract painting, we can see that there is a lot that goes behind all of that, and the main reason for that is that they have a specific thought process that they follow. But how we interpret that painting depends entirely on what our lookout toward things is.

So this is what we need to understand very well. So basically, how well you explore this prompt depends on the type of examples that you come through with and what all you help explain in the best way. So this is something that is very important and is something that you need to pay a lot of attention to, when working. 

Title 6: Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

This title basically talks about big data and how there is so much information in the world that we actually find very hard to understand. You might have experienced a lot of this in your entire student life. When there is too much that you have to understand and study, it becomes really hard for you to retain all of that.

So the idea is to understand what information you will actually understand and retain, and what you will not. The idea is to know that some information is more valuable than others, so you have to be very mindful about what you think and do in this situation. 

Similarly, in the real work, there is a lot of information that we have in front of us. It depends entirely on us what we choose to pick out as more important, depending on what our world view is and what we think is important for the acquisition of knowledge. Search engines have also given us access to so much information that it actually becomes very hard for us to pick and choose what we want to pay the most attention to.

TOK Essay Title 6 Example

Below you will find a link to the November 2023 TOK essay prompt 6 – Faced with a vast amount of information, how do we select what is significant for the acquisition of knowledge?

When we choose some knowledge, and we miss out on some other, it gives us a feeling of whether we are missing out on something important. So the idea is to understand this best and think about what interests us the most so that we can pick and choose very wisely. 

Other TOK essay prompts from previous years with samples

In case you have overlooked any of the past TOK essay titles, along with their examples or topics from previous years, I am providing the links below.

The year 2023:

• May 2023 TOK essay titles

The year 2022:

• November 2022 TOK essay prompts
• May 2022 ToK essay titles

Previous years’ prompts:

• November 2021 ToK Essay titles
• May 2021 Theory of Knowledge essay prompts

Ready to select your 2023 November TOK essay prompt?

With a better idea of what you have to touch upon in each of these, it will become much easier for you to choose things so that you understand all of it better and make a very wise choice. 

You can always count on our service if you need assistance writing your TOK essay. Simply get in touch with our support team or place your order directly to buy TOK essay using our online order form.

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IB ToK Essay Prompts for November 2022

Every year, students who started IBDP are waiting for IB to share the list of specific prescribed titles for Theory of Knowledge essays. Like in all the previous years, IB opened a list of six topics for TOK essays for the next semester.

May 2023 TOK Essay Prompts + SAMPLES and Suggestions

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Real-Life Situation in IB TOK Essay | Choosing a RLS

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IB TOK Essay examples

Type a search phrase to find the most relevant TOK Essay examples for you

Not sure what to search for? You can always look through our example Theory of Knowledge coursework below for inspiration.

All TOK Essay Examples

Filter exemplars, to what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use discuss with reference to history and one area of knowledge., does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., want to get full marks for your tok essay allow us to review it for you 🎯, is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., for artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences., are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics., fast track your coursework with mark schemes moderated by ib examiners. upgrade now 🚀, tok essay: 5. “how can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge”, 如果我们是在排除某些信息和声音的“信息同温层”里获取知识，这有关系吗请参考两个知识领域展开你的应答。, does it matter if our knowledge acquisition happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge, do you agree that it is “astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power” (bertrand russell) discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge., does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in “bubbles” where some information and voices are excluded discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., to what extent is the knowledge weproduce determined by the methodologieswe use, for artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained discuss with reference to the arts and natural science., êtes-vous d'accord qu'il est "étonnant que si peu de connaissance puissent nous donner autant de pouvoir" (bertrand russell) - discutez cette question en faisant référence aux sciences naturelles et à un autre domaine de la connaissance, est-il important que notre acquisition des connaissances se fasse dans des « bulles » où certaines informations et certaines voix sont exclues discutez cette question en faisant référence à deux domaines de la connaissance., to what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge., is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to two area of knowledge, are visual representations always helpful in communicating knowledge discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics., are visual representations always useful in communication of knowledge discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics., for artists and natural scientists which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained, do you agree that it is "astonishing that so little knowledge can give us so much power" (bertrand russell) discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge., is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge, is replication necessary in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to two aoks..

EXPLAINED: May 2024 TOK Essay Prescribed Titles

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Looking for November 2024 Session TOK Essay titles? Click here.

TOK Essay Titles – May 2024 Examination Session

The titles for May 2024 are released! Here they are below:

Make sure to bookmark this page as I explain and provide examples for each of these titles in depth! UPDATE: Title 1, 2, 5 and 6 are now available. Stay tuned for more! For general guidance on how to write a good TOK essay, check out my TOK Essay advice collection .

Is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history? Discuss with reference to the arts and history.

How can we reconcile the opposing demands for specialization and generalization in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

Nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Do we underestimate the challenges of taking knowledge out of its original context and transferring it to a different context? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Do we need custodians of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

This title attempts to challenge students on the main school of thought that you learn over the TOK course. The gist of your TOK teaching on both of these AOKs probably boiled down to something like: everything is art and it’s just whatever the artist wants to create, while history is always biased because the winners always write all of history. However, this eliminates much of the nuance in each of these AOKs that are worth exploring. That’s what makes this prompt interesting.

Is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts? I will be honest, I never thought we really ‘celebrated’ subjectivity. It just, was. Inherently, art is a subjective exercise – you can think about this point a little further. You will find some heated discussion on whether art is subjective or could it be objective on the internet and I won’t delve into that here, because it isn’t the point of this title. The key here is to focus on the EXTENT of subjectivity and is it to the detriment of the area of knowledge itself. Then, we have to consider, whose subjectivity are we talking about: is it the artist’s subjectivity, or the audience’s subjectivity. For example, the Mona Lisa wasn’t that well known when it was first painted. I’m sure the Da Vinci thought it was quite a nice piece, but it seems like we didn’t really celebrate his subjectivity. It wasn’t until a certain audience found it subjectively good, that we accepted it as one of the greatest pieces of art in the world! That is an example of how subjectivity is relevant in the dissemination of artistic knowledge. For a more modern example, what about your favourite YouTuber? Do they truly make what they want? NO! They are often beholden to sponsors, and you – the audience! What you want to see, is what they will make! So it is YOUR subjectivity that drives their decision to produce art, not necessarily purely their subjectivity. Subjectivity by definition is just a person’s opinions, emotions, thoughts. This connects well with the TOK concept of values. What VALUES and WHOSE values are determining what art is created (in a variety of contexts), how art is perceived, and how art changes in its reception over time? These are all good questions to ponder. For more unconventional examples about art, think about how museums choose what art to display, what constitutes good art for prizes like the Nobel Prize for Literature, or why some art is considered more expensive than others? Are there systematic ways to think about our subjectivity and how we apply it to art? Is it really overly celebrating subjectivity or simply a necessity to make sense of the abundance of artistic knowledge in a sea of information today?

History gets a bad rep in the TOK classroom. Students like to trash on History calling it biased and unreliable. In this prompt, I don’t want you to refute these claims, but just think about how they aren’t necessarily catastrophic as we might think. We aren’t denying that biases in history could be problematic. I would be suspicious too, if the only accounts of the Rohingya Genocide came from the Myanmar military. However, the word condemned in the title suggests that we might be too harsh on historians when they get things wrong. We should focus on how the historical method recovers itself from failures in biases from its sources. Yes, it might be biased, but is it better than no history? Furthermore, does subjectivity actually ADD value to the way we produce, and interpret historical knowledge? While I’m sure a completely objective, news story like report of what happened in 1886 would be a historian’s dream, that isn’t the case! No matter how objective we try to be, we colour the events we experience by our own opinions, feelings and emotions. But isn’t that history in itself? In an almost cliched way, history’s subjectivity tells us more about what happened in the past and their beliefs and values more than words could ever say.

In both the historical and artistic discussions, you should focus more on the methodologies of these AOKs and how they achieve their AOK’s purpose. Subjectivity manifests in different ways in these AOKs and their methodology reflects that. In the overt awareness of subjectivity in the Arts, its method to produce knowledge is characteristically defined by subjectivity. In History, the method is to identify the covert influences of subjectivity, then to produce the most truthful knowledge possible. You can see that the goals of these two are different, and hence they deal with subjectivity differently. Don’t fall in the trap of focusing your discussion too much on your examples, but generalise to the patterns of how subjectivity manifest in your AOKs and whether their treatment of it is problematic.

It is crucial, when writing the essay for this prompt, to clearly define in your introduction what specialisation and generalisation means. DO NOT use the dictionary definitions here – since this is a TOK Essay, you want to make a TOK version of specialisation and generalisation, in terms of how these two things differ in the production of knowledge. Clearly defining the two in this way will form a solid foundation for you to have a nuanced discussion on this process of reconciliation between the two. The prompt hints at the competing demands on knowledge of specialisation and generalisation – i.e. you might not be able to produce knowledge in the same way if you were aiming for specialisation versus generalisation. So, this provides a point of contrast for you to choose examples and frame your discussion. Remember, the idea of competing demands is an ASSUMPTION, not an argument posed by the question. You should focus on how your chosen examples demonstrate a way to balance the interests of both and reach a ‘middle-ground’ rather than arguing that specialisation or generalisation are compatible with each other. TLDR: Don’t challenge the assumption.

For the first AOK of Mathematics, you should have encountered many personal examples just from your study of IB Maths. Most of your learning has been on generalisation, and the application of such generalisations. For instance, you learn about Calculus, a general topic within Mathematics, and then apply it in various contexts. Mathematicians love generalisations – that Calculus you learned? Well, the definition of a derivative generalised for all functions could be summarised by the first principles of derivatives function that HL AA students learn. You would have less interaction with specialisation of Mathematical knowledge. In a broader sense, the specific components of mathematics, cannot be separated from the general. You can’t solve calculus problems without the fundamental theorem of calculus. However, you could argue that the fundamental theorem of calculus didn’t need calculus problems to exist. Thus, an interesting dilemma arises in Mathematics – the generalisation could be produced, without a particular need for specialisation, but specialisation often calls for generalisation to first exist.

Looking at the latest mathematics research, you will find that applied mathematics is most common. Rarely do you see people get excited by new discoveries of solutions to elliptical curves, but more do when you tell them a new mathematical model to improve our prediction of the weather. We may place greater value on specialisation of knowledge, because we could see its usefulness more immediately, but, the Area of Knowledge does not require such specialisation to produce knowledge. So, do we encourage people to produce knowledge with the goal of specialisation in mind, or do we tell them to produce whatever theoretical generalised mathematical knowledge they can? Look to how mathematics is applied to Quantitative Finance, Econometrics, and Actuarial Science. They specialise mathematical knowledge and provide for some of the most lucrative careers. Does that speak to our preference and demand for specialised knowledge? But then again, what of the interdependence between generalisation and specialisation? How do we balance the two and how does the methodologies of the AOK contribute to this balancing act?

For the second, complimentary AOK, you could have discussions with all of the AOKs. For the Sciences, you could present a similar argument about needing to have some general theories before you could specialise. The scientific method is essentially one big generalisation process – you take specific observations and you make inferences so that you can generalise about some natural process. However, the knowledge that produces need not be general, it can still be specific. If we take specialisation as the goal, then we could pose narrow hypotheses to test. If we take generalisation as the goal, then we might need multiple of these narrow hypotheses to form a full picture, testing each individual case. Thus, specialisation could lead to specialisation alone, but more often, generalisation is the result of many specialisations.

One last question you might want to consider and attempt to answer in your essay is, do you want to know something about everything or everything about something? The answer to that will depend on your AOK. While we want to know about everything on everything, that is simply not reality. So, what trade offs do we make in each AOK, and how does each AOK decide on what we need to know more on?

You might be able to appreciate how long it takes ideas to actually be implemented in reality by looking at the recent Nobel Prize winners for Economic Sciences. The winner of the 2017 prize was Richard H. Thaler, for his contributions to behavioural economics. He explored the impacts of limited rationality, social preferences and the lack of individual self-control on economic decision making on an individual and market level. He started these findings from the 1980s, but it is only recently, in the 2022 revision of the IB syllabus that Economics students learn about the field of Behavioural economics in any detail! So why is it so?

To some extent, it is hard to criticise things for moving slowly. After all, new discoveries like behavioural economics represents a fundamental paradigm shift towards the way research is conducted in the particular AOK. Often times, fresh ideas are left to “ferment” so that their truthfulness can be tested with time. Nothing is more embarrassing than going down a rabbit hole only to find that your assumptions turned out to be monumentally incorrect. Even if we are making a big shift in light of new ideas towards the way we produce knowledge, doing so takes time! For many years and still now, we rely on strong assumptions of rationality to make economic models function. While the psychology of such behaviours are well researched, applying them to an Economic setting may not be. That is to say, it is important to consider how these new ideas arise, and what effect it has on existing knowledge, and the way we produce future knowledge. New ideas is simply new knowledge, but with the added implication that it has some effect on the existing knowledge within an AOK. It could potentially change how we view current knowledge, or how we conduct research given a particular discovery.

In the AOK of the human sciences, which broadly follows the scientific method, you could drawn some inspiration from the philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s view of scientific progress. He argues that within a period of “normal science” where we make incremental progress under the assumption of an overarching model, but there comes a point where we notice accumulation of imperfections with such a model that leads to new paradigms – new ideas, that fundamentally change how we do science. Then we undergo a sort of scientific revolution, where there are debates and decisions made over what sort of model we need to follow, until everyone eventually accepts the new paradigm and returns to a normal science period so that continual small improvements are made to knowledge, until another paradigm shift happens again. While you are not expected to demonstrate such strong philosophy knowledge within the TOK Essay, it is helpful to consider how each AOK handles such ‘revolutions’. For instance, it is harder to irrefutably find falsities in human sciences given the difficulty in replicability and corroborative studies compared to natural sciences.

As for complimentary AOKs, any would suit here, as each AOK has a very different way to handle new ideas. Many factors influence the way new ideas is accepted. For this title, we need to take the assumption that their acceptance is slow, not argue with it. Instead, you should consider what factors influence this slowness, and how different AOKs have different factors in mind when deciding how to accept new ideas. This relates to the nature of the AOK (what is its purpose) and the methodology guiding knowledge production in them.

Have you ever said something that sounds very weird out of context? That might have just been something silly with no real consequences, but in the realm of knowledge, we need to be careful about the consequences of knowledge taken out of their original context. This article highlights how the context of medical treatment matters a lot! As you can imagine, something that works in one field, doesn’t always apply in a straightforward manner to another. This is why there are whole research teams dedicated to what we call “translational research”. That is, trying to “translate” what you get from something like a lab setting, into actual products, like life-saving medications.

The obvious links to AOKs here are the Natural and Human Sciences. For Natural Sciences, we often start off knowledge production in a lab setting, or in a controlled environment. However, the application of such knowledge is rarely as controlled! So an interesting point to consider is how natural scientists have to account for the fact that their findings won’t ever be used in as perfect a setting as their research. Sure, you might have developed bullet proof wood , but how is that going to work in practically when it comes to mass manufacturing it for the army or the police? This is one of the biggest challenges that natural scientists face. It’s not that we aren’t trying to produce exciting knowledge, but that the application of such knowledge in a practical and appreciable context is often very difficult. Something like the mRNA technology (which recently was awarded a Nobel) took a long time to be developed into actual vaccines. The question then is, do we underestimate this process? Often it depends on the goal of the scientist. If the knowledge producer set out with an idea to commercialise in mind, then they would often consider the practical implications of findings. However, people studying theoretical physics for example, would struggle to immediately find very accessible real life implications. That doesn’t mean the knowledge is worthless, but certainly, the challenges are there.

What about non-scientific disciplines? Recently, I went to an art exhibition that trend Van Gough’s paintings into a 3D digital display. There was a Banksy exhibition that took the original murals he painted on the street, into this museum environment. Does changing the context of how art work is shown, and the manipulation of artistic knowledge change its meaning? What is the goal of transforming art into a different context? There are many reasons. Sometimes, it is to create satire (have a look at the parodies of the Mona Lisa), bringing old art onto a new audience (like VR exhibitions of Da Vinci), or simply making it more accessible to people (by making art works digitally available). The producers of these adapted forms of knowledge take great care in considering how this impacts the meaning of the art in its changed form. When artwork is so subjective, the context of art is often required to understand the artist’s meaning and intention, to ‘interpret’ works accordingly. At the same time, as we know art is quite subjective, is a ‘correct interpretation’ always required? If we are to remain artistic purists, then many of the joys of art could be lost! Imagine if you were admonished for listening to Taylor Swift through Spotify on your AirPods because it isn’t the original uncompressed music file with all the details, and you aren’t listening to it on the exact set of thousand dollar speakers it was created with? It would be ludicrous to assume that artistic knowledge is always going to be disseminated in the same context. Thus, this must be a consideration of artists. Is this consideration more or less difficult for different types of art? How is this consideration different to science considering there is no ‘right’ answer to interpreting art?

When thinking about this title, we aren’t arguing whether it is difficult. I think we all agree it is. However, it is about whether we underestimate just how difficult it is! Center your focus on how each AOK’s methodology highlights the consideration of being able to change contexts, and whether that affects the interpretation of the knowledge in question.

The term ‘custodians of knowledge’ is not something TOK students have likely heard of before, but this concept is relatively simple to understand. If you think positively about it, it could be protectors of knowledge, people who preserve knowledge, keeping it for generations to come – for example, some people might consider the Indigenous Peoples’ in Australia to be custodians of their unique cultural knowledge and what they call dreamtime stories. In this way, they keep culture alive, even if most people nowadays speak English and don’t readily tell their history. However, thought about negatively, it could also mean “gatekeepers’ (pardon the Gen Z language) of knowledge. The idealogical “protection” of knowledge could also be seen as a way to prevent some forms of knowledge from becoming knowledge in the first place. Talk to any university academic, and they will tell you how many times their research papers have been rejected. That’s why there is a bias towards statistically significant results, while research that showed that nothing significant has happened doesn’t often get published. Thus, these two contrasts provide for interesting discussion, particularly when considering how each AOK has different forms of custodians of knowledge and how they “gatekeep” or “protect” knowledge in different ways.

Take the AOK of the arts as an example. The career of artists are laughed upon because it is so hard to “break in” to the fine world of art. Many artists aren’t acclaimed until they are long dead. Perhaps most famously, the Mona Lisa wasn’t very well known until several hundred years after it was made. Thus, artists are often at the mercy of custodians of artistic knowledge like art curators and critics, who decide what merits acknowledgement as knowledge. After all, knowledge is only knowledge when there is consensus it is. And if the big wigs in the art industry doesn’t think it’s worth a mention, your art, however brilliant it seems to you, would not reach the consensus required to be considered knowledge. Of course, there are debates on the necessity of custodians in such a subjective AOK. After all, there were many times I questioned how some “artworks” even made it into the modern art museum when it’s literally splashes of paint on a canvas. I digress. However, there is something to be said about maintaining some form of standard to art. We judge whether some art is good or bad, but not in a very rigorous way. Custodians of knowledge supposedly have a framework to make such judgement in a way which preserves the nature of the AOK, and the knowledge within it. Therefore, discussion about the necessity of the custodians should focus on how they contribute to the purpose of the AOK, and whether it is compatible with the nature and methodologies of the AOK.

To further illustrate what I mean, you could see that Natural Sciences might present a stronger argument to the necessity of such custodians. We implicitly “trust” science, for better or for worse, because we know that there is a level of credibility imbued by the scientific method. It is the custodians’ role to maintain the standard of adherence to the scientific method that keeps this credibility alive. This is why, when flat earthers argue that they can’t see the curvature of the earth from the horizon, that it doesn’t get published in a scientific journal as fact! This is why, when research emerges that denies the existence of climate change, custodians have a responsibility to retract such research . However, at the same time, it also places much pressure on producers of such knowledge to create something worthy in the eyes of custodians. You might have heard of the data manipulation scandal that forced Stanford’s president to resign. Thus, custodians do appear quite important in this AOK, when we value the truthfulness of knowledge so much, but that isn’t without its consequences.

I recommend picking two contrasting AOKs that value much different things when writing the essay. While comparison is not a requirement for the essay, it gives you a more nuanced understanding of the question and thus a more reflective piece. For instance, we have just demonstrated that art is relatively subjective, while the sciences are less so. Thus, this influences the role which custodians need to play in each AOK.

The framework to answering this title for many students will follow a similar structure: an example of when novel evidence was accepted and had groundbreaking impacts, and another example where such evidence was problematic and disputed. Repeat this for the second AOK you choose and you’ll have 4 contrasting examples. This is not the only way to approach this title, but is my personal preference considering the structure I suggest to most students that ensures firstly, you will pass the basic criteria of a TOK Essay, and secondly, you will have a strong foundation to succeed. However, since everyone will have a similar style and collection of examples, it is even more important for this title, that you tease out the meaning and the effect on each area of knowledge, and knowledge in general, that your examples represent.

To demonstrate what I mean, let’s focus on two natural sciences examples. First, consider the case of “Cold Fusion”, a theory that you could supposedly have nuclear fusion at room temperature, discovered and subsequently debunked in 1989. A contrasting example, could be recent Nobel Prize winner of Medicine and Physiology, for the research on mRNA vaccines. Immediately, it is obvious that one shows where recent evidence isn’t the strongest, while the latter shows that it could be. But the focus should be on are we TOO QUICK in assuming so, not whether we should or not. Well, what are the reactions and timelines for each example? While Cold Fusion was met with excitement from the general public for the potential it holds for energy production, I wouldn’t say we ‘assumed’ it to be strong. Looking at the news reports from that time, you can see that there was great anticipation about the discovery, leading to lots of sudden funding and interest to investigate it and replicate it. As for mRNA, that discovery took a long time! First the technology, and the getting it to not appear foreign to the human body was very tricky. Even after it was discovered, we waited quite a while, with many people’s first experience with mRNA to be their COVID 19 vaccine. What you need to draw from these two examples is the methodological similarities and differences which reflect the NATURE of Science, and thus, the purpose of science. You see in both how there is an emphasis on replication which corroborates or falsifies, and only after doing so for a long time do we accept it to be true, otherwise it is debunked. So yes, there are moments where Natural Sciences provides strong compelling evidence that ends up false, there are many hurdles with in the methodology of the Natural Science that prevents us from being TOO QUICK to assume it to be true.

For this prompt, it is too easy to fall into the debate of why something was true or why something was false and tricked the population. This is not the point of the essay. You should avoid talking about the specifics of your examples at length. You need to demonstrate how your examples reflect the wider methodologies of the Natural Sciences (and similarly, for your second AOK) that either encourages or discourages our assumptions that novel evidence is always best. As you can see from my examples above, I focused on how such assumption does not happen too quickly because there are many ways we verify scientific knowledge to be true. I don’t discuss the specifics of the actual science behind Cold Fusion or mRNA as that isn’t required. You are better off focusing on the methodologies behind the AOKs themselves and answering the question.

Some interesting complements to the Natural Science AOK could be History (particularly focusing on revisionism and how historical events could be interpreted differently over time), Mathematics (how could the methodologies differ and are there ‘mistakes’ in Maths), or even Human Sciences (replication is a bit more difficult with that!).

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20 responses to “explained: may 2024 tok essay prescribed titles”.

Hi, when will you deconstruct #6? Much appreciated.

I just did! Hope it helps.

Thank you so much!

hello! when will you deconstruct #2? would really really appreciate it !!!

Just posted!

Hi when will you deconstruct No. 5? Much appreciated.

Could you please deconstruct no5. ?

Check it out!

Please Please deconstruct 5 ASAP, first draft due in 5 days!!!! Thanks!

I just did! It’s a very interesting title.

Hi, when will you deconstruct #3? Much appreciated.

I have just posted this. Thanks!

Hi, when will you deconstruct #4? Thanks!

Just updated!

Hi, is there more in depth analysis of title 4 coming?

Sorry it took a while, but it’s here now!

I have a question, for PT3, so what will be our possible counterclaim? is it another factor that will make it slow? or find another RLS that show sometimes fresh ideas can be adopted fast ?

I would reread the prescribe title. The title is asking you “why”. So all you need to do is propose different sorts of reasons as to why this slowness occurs. You don’t need to challenge the assumption within the title that it is slow. Accept that it is slow, and propose various ideas for why that is the case according to the properties of your chosen AOK.

Could you explain how you would format number One. Would I only be talking about two examples one for each AOK and what about them? Introduction, aok 1 and aok2 and conclusions

For sure! You should refer to my article on structuring for TOK Essay for more details. In general though, you can approach this prompt with two examples for each AOK, with one example about subjectivity being overly celebrated, and one not in the arts, while for history, it would be one where it is condemned unfairly vs not.

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Theory of Knowledge: An Alternative Approach

Why is an alternative approach necessary?

The November 2024 TOK Essay Prescribed Titles

A few notes of warning and guidance before we begin:

The TOK essay provides  you  with an opportunity to become engaged in thinking and reflection. What are outlined below are strategies and suggestions, questions and possible responses only, for deconstructing the TOK titles as they have been given. They should be used alongside the discussions that you will carry out with your peers and teachers during the process of constructing your essay.

The notes here are intended to guide you towards a thoughtful, personal response to the prescribed titles posed.  They are not to be considered as  the  answer and they should only be used to help provide you with another perspective to the ones given to you in the titles and from your own TOK class discussions. You need to remember that most of your examiners have been educated in the logical positivist schools of Anglo-America and this education pre-determines their predilection to view the world as they do and to understand the concepts as they do. The TOK course itself is a product of this logical positivism.

There is no substitute for your own personal thought and reflection, and these notes are not intended as a cut and paste substitute to the hard work that thinking requires. Some of the comments on one title may be useful to you in the approach you are taking in the title that you have personally chosen, so it may be useful to read all the comments and give them some reflection.

My experience has been that candidates whose examples match those to be found on TOK “help” sites (and this is  another  of those TOK help sites) struggle to demonstrate a mastery of the knowledge claims and knowledge questions contained in the examples.  The best essays carry a trace of a struggle that is the journey on the path to thinking. Many examiners state that in the very best essays they read, they can visualize the individual who has thought through them sitting opposite to them. To reflect this struggle in your essay is your goal.

Remember to include sufficient TOK content in your essay. When you have completed your essay, ask yourself if it could have been written by someone who had not participated in the TOK course (such as Chat GPI, for instance). If the answer to that question is “yes”, then you do not have sufficient TOK content in your essay. Personal and shared knowledge, the knowledge framework, the ways of knowing and the areas of knowledge are terms that will be useful to you in your discussions.

Here is a link to a PowerPoint that contains recommendations and a flow chart outlining the steps to writing a TOK essay. Some of you may need to get your network administrator to make a few tweaks in order for you to access it. Comments, observations and discussions are most welcome. Contact me at  [email protected]  or directly through this website.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-8nWwYRUyV6bDdXZ01POFFqVlU

A  sine qua non : the opinions expressed here are entirely my own and do not represent any organization or collective of any kind. Now to business…

1. Does our responsibility to acquire knowledge vary according to the area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to history and one other area of knowledge.

Title #1 has four key concepts involved in it: 1. responsibility; 2. to acquire, acquiring; to take possession of; 3. knowledge; 4. vary. You are asked to relate these four key concepts to history and one other area of knowledge.

When we say that we have a responsibility to acquire knowledge to ensure that we construct an accurate record of the past we ask ourselves “why?”. What is the end of an “accurate” account of the past whether it be our own or that of others? For what end is it our responsibility to know our History and learn from the past? Why do we not allow ourselves to remain ‘intentionally ignorant’ of the past if its learning is not convenient for us in the present?

“Responsibility” is inherently an ethical concept for it involves a being-with-others and a sense of otherness itself, something beyond ourselves. It implies a directive for ‘right’ action, an “I should do this” as the ‘ability’ to ‘respond’. The ability to respond was called dynamis by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. The ability to respond with moderation and wise judgement is what was known as ‘virtue’ to the ancients, what we understand as ‘human excellence’ today. The ability to respond involves the deeper question of justice since the sense of responsibility derives from the sense of a ‘debt owed’ to someone or something. To whom? to what? for what end?

At the moment, many of you are probably experiencing the “responsibility” to acquire knowledge from the “debt” you feel you owe to your parents for making your education possible. It is ‘right’ that you should do your best in your studies and take actions that will contribute toward that end. You have a ‘duty’ because you are ‘indebted’ to your parents. Or you may feel no sense of ‘indebtedness’ to anyone or anything. Or you may feel an indebtedness to yourself in that you do not want to be perceived as a moron and wish to achieve some social prestige through attempting to be the best that you can be in your studies. This desire is from our relations in our being-with-others. Stupidity is a moral phenomenon, not an intellectual one, and this is the essence of this question.

If stupidity is a moral phenomenon, then human beings have an obligation to acquire and take possession of knowledge. An obligation is a course of action that someone is required to take, whether that action be due to the legal or moral consequences or constraints inherent in the outcomes of the action or the not taking action. An obligation is an act of making oneself responsible for doing something. Human beings are under an obligation to think; we are not fully human if we do not do so. Obligations are constraints; they limit freedom. The obligation to think as the essence of human being is contrary to the notion that the essence of human being is freedom. Truth itself and its revealing is a constraint upon our freedom.

Those who are limited and intolerant in their thinking view knowledge of their History as limited by “subjectivity” and that it is only composed of the opinions that have become the “collective memory” of the society of which, by chance, they happen to be a member. Because of these subjective elements, they find that it is not essential to acquire knowledge of their past in order to build what they hope will be a “successful” future; self-knowledge is not essential to their happiness nor to their success. This is the ‘ignorance is bliss’ position where they believe their own empowerment will be the foundation of their future happiness; and their own goals and principles are decidedly short-term and entirely mutable depending upon the circumstances in which they find themselves. The lack of self-knowledge and the lack of a moral compass are one and the same thing.

As there are various types of human beings and various ways of thinking, there are also various areas of knowledge. In the IB, they have been identified as six areas of knowledge with further sub-divisions within each i.e. the Natural Sciences are sub-divided into Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. The ancients called these areas of knowledge the Seven Pillars of Wisdom for they made up a ‘knowledge of the whole’; wisdom is knowledge of the whole. The ancients arranged these pillars in a hierarchy; and while we do not speak of a hierarchy, it is easy to see that we hold knowledge in the sciences and mathematics and their applications as the most important areas of study in what we call the acquisition of knowledge today. Any analysis of IB enrollment statistics will demonstrate this.

The sense of “responsibility” for acquiring knowledge in the sciences may be based on the belief that such knowledge will contribute to the continual development of human beings and continue to lead them toward “human excellence” or what the ancients once called ‘virtue’. It is an interesting irony in the history of the West that what was once considered the ‘masculinity’ of a man became the ‘chastity’ of a woman. This belief developed in that period of History known as the Renaissance. It is one of the foundations of what we call “humanism”, and from it flowered that way of being-in-the-world that we call “technology”. The relief of human beings’ estate through technology was a key to an understanding of justice. We felt, and still feel, an obligation and a responsibility to be just.

Our being-with-others is what is studied in the area of knowledge we call the Human Sciences. The Human Sciences, however, are unable to give us an account of what is the best manner or way of our being-with-others. This is due to the fact/value distinction that dominates their theoretical viewing of the world. They are incapable of answering this question, the ancient question of “what is the good life and how do you lead it?” since our sense of responsibility or duty is a ‘value’ that we have chosen or created and it has no ‘reality’ or validity in the world of ‘facts’. One manner of living or choice is equal to another; we call them ‘lifestyles’. The concept of ‘lifestyles’ is from the German philosopher Nietzsche. A pre-requisite for knowledge and success in the Human Sciences is moral obtuseness.

History is an account or narrative, the collective memory, of the significant actions that other human beings have taken and that have occurred over time in our being-with-others. It is more properly called ‘historiography’ (written history) as opposed to an understanding of ‘time as history’. The outcomes of those past actions have contributed to how we have come to understand and interpret, to have acquired and taken possession of, the meaning of those past actions and how they have impacted our understanding of ourselves. For example, who cannot be grateful for the stupidity of the Nazis which led them to understand Einstein’s and Heisenberg’s physics as ‘Jewish science’ and prevented them from funding research into the building of atomic weapons during WWII? Such stupidity was providential in that it prevented the Nazis from taking the ‘responsibility to acquire knowledge’ and it also prevented them from acquiring world domination.

Both History and the Human Sciences today are determined in their seeing by the ‘fact/value’ distinction where statements of fact regarding human actions are distinct from the ‘values’ that are the result of those actions. “Values” are what are subjective. In this perception, they are driven by what has been chosen to be the most highly ‘valued’ form of ‘knowledge’ which is to be found in the objective stance of the Natural Sciences. My statement above regarding the Nazis is a ‘value judgement’, a subjective statement. That I approve that it was good that the Nazis did not achieve world domination is a value judgement.

With the introduction of the word ‘good’ a whole host of other questions arise. For some, the fact that the Nazis didn’t achieve world domination was not a good end. A Europe in ruins was a better end than a Europe re-built from the ashes of those ruins. Similar thoughts are prevalent among many in today’s world. Social scientists in the USA prevent themselves from commenting upon the character of a man like Donald Trump since such comments would not be ‘professional’ but only ‘value judgements’. To have such a mentally disturbed man be their leader and their inability to warn against such outcomes reflects the madness that is deep within American society and the Social Sciences themselves.

The responsibility of acquiring knowledge is dependent upon what good end will result from our acquisition of that knowledge i.e. how will that knowledge contribute to our eudaemonia or happiness?. The type of end depends on the type of knowledge that is to be gained and applied. If I wish to make use of a banking app to do my banking then I have a ‘responsibility’ to learn how to make use of that app through becoming familiar with the knowledge of the procedures involved. The procedures and the theory are already embedded in the app i.e. the end is already embedded in the app. There is no choice involved other than the wish to make use of the app. There are many who will remain intentionally ignorant if the acquisition of whatever form knowledge may appear in does not contribute to their empowerment in some way for we equate empowerment with ‘happiness’.

In other writings on this blog, I have suggested that the lack of a moral compass so prevalent in today’s world, where there is no responsibility to acquire any knowledge other than that which allows one to seize and maintain power, is a primary result of the fact/value distinction, that beholding which is prevalent in the Human Sciences and History. Since domination and control is at the very heart of the stance of the physical sciences and these areas of knowledge wish to mirror those sciences, this should not be surprising. When good becomes a ‘value’ and ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, then the outcome is not one of ‘universal tolerance’ but one of command and control, authoritarianism and fascism. Whether one is on the left or the right in their political thinking is irrelevant to this ultimate outcome.

The Canadian writer Margaret Atwood once said that ‘all writing is political’. The desire to write down something is a desire that it be communicated to others at some point in time. Even a personal diary is a communication to a future ‘different person’ than the one producing the work of the diary in the present. It is an aid to memory. History is an aid to Memory, and contributes to our self-knowledge. The keeping of a diary may be said to be a first step on the journey to self-knowledge. This desire for self-knowledge is a recognition of the responsibility or ‘debt owed’ to oneself and others with regard to the compulsion we feel of the need to be fully human. This compulsion is our desire to seek ‘completeness’ and ‘perfection’ as a human being, which is not possible as we are the ‘perfect imperfection’ in our natures.

In other writings on this blog I have attempted to show that the key difficulty in receiving the beauty of the world today is that such a teaching and learning is rooted in the act of looking at the world as it is while the dominant sciences are rooted in the desire to change it. Our sense of ‘responsibility’ hinges on this dilemma. We cannot know or love an object or resource. In our research to learn the historical sources of the objects of the Arts around us, this study is merely for “aesthetic” purposes and enjoyment, not the fulfilment of a responsibility of having these works teach us about the beauty of the world or any notion of justice. We can learn about the past in such study; we cannot learn from the past. In other writings I have called this the two-faced nature of Eros.

2. In the production of knowledge, is ingenuity always needed but never enough? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

The ‘production of knowledge’ are the ‘works’ that are the results of our ‘work’, the “produce” of our human making which mirrors the “produce” of Nature’s making. The production of knowledge is the products of our minds and hands. “Ingenuity” is a synonym for ‘novelty’, the ‘new’, the ‘creative’ which is an element brought to bear by the clever in our societies. To say that we are overwhelmed by the ‘novelty’ of technology today would be something of an understatement. We just begin to master all of the possibilities of our iPhones when another model is introduced.

But the corollary of all this novelty and ingenuity is an ever-increasing sense of mass meaninglessness, for we fail to find any real purpose for our novelty except that novelty as an end in itself.

The work that precedes the bringing forth of the ‘work’ is what is called ‘research’ in common parlance. This ‘research’ is conducted in multiversities and corporations throughout the globe. The “ingenuity” or “novelty” of the research is driven by the ‘vested interest’ that the individual, along with the institution, has in the outcomes of the research. In the past, research in History for example was a waiting upon the past so that we might find in it truths which might help us to think and live in the present. With the dominion of the fact/value distinction, such an end becomes lost; and with it, what we call our ‘moral compass’ becomes lost. Why?

All societies are dominated by a particular account of knowledge and this account lies in the relation between a particular aspiration of thought (the mind) and the effective conditions for its realization (the work of the hands): the work and its work. The work is knowledge, ‘the word made flesh’ so to speak. Our tools are an extension of our hands. We find the archetype and paradigm of thought and what we call thinking and, by extension, what we call knowledge in modern physics. Modern physics is the mathematical project. To pro-ject is ‘to throw forward’. The aspiration of our ‘throwing forward’ is ’empowerment’. In this throwing forward, some violence is done.

Our account is that we reach knowledge when we represent things to ourselves as objects, summonsing them before us so that they will give us their reasons for being as they are. To do so requires well defined procedures. This is what we call research. What we think knowledge is is this research for it is an essential effective condition for the realization or pro-duction of any knowledge. The work is the bringing forth or production of such knowledge bringing it to its completion. The bringing forth to completion was what was understood as ‘justice’ by the ancients. That which is brought forward is somehow ‘fitting’ for its purpose, its end. Justice is ‘fittedness’. In the technological society, the ingenuity behind the bringing forth has come to be an end in itself.

There are boundless examples of the varieties of ‘ingenuity’ that go into the research conducted in the sciences and the humanities. We live and breathe this novelty in our day-to-day lives. The calculus involved in mathematics results in the many apps brought forth to assist us in our use of our technological tools: the tools are the predicates of the technology and come to be through that technology; they are not technology itself in its essence.

The ‘knowing and making’ that is the word technology shows itself in the humanities in a dizzying number of theses with ingenious perspectives on the meaning of Beowulf (although any number of other examples could just as easily be found). The problem in the humanities is that when the work being examined is laid before us as object and our research is based on a review and critique of its historical sources, that work becomes dead for us. We can learn about the past; we cannot learn from the past: we can learn about the play King Lear, but we cannot learn from the play King Lear. The commandeering stance with regard to the past, which is necessary to research, kills the past as teacher and no amount of ingenuity will overcome this. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that which is beautiful is represented to a commandeering subject from a position of its own command and, thus, we cannot learn anything from the beautiful or that which makes it beautiful. The world as it is presented to us in the sciences has no place for the word ‘love’.

Most often, ‘ingenuity’ reveals itself in the paradigm shifts that occur in the histories of our areas of knowledge. A paradigm shift is not only a new way of thinking but a new way of viewing the world in which we live. The most dominant manner in which our world is viewed today is the ‘mathematical projection’. The ‘ingenuity’ within this world-projection is what we call by the cliche ‘thinking outside of the box.’ The history behind this viewing of the world is ‘ingenuity’ itself.

The mathematical projection and the ingenuity involved in it does not occur out of nowhere or out of nothing. Newton’s “First Law of Motion”, for instance, is a statement about the mathematical projection the visions of which first began to emerge long before his  Principia Mathematica.  Newton’s First Law states that “an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force”. It may be seen as a statement about  inertia , that objects will remain in their state of motion unless a force acts to change that motion.

But, of course,  there is no such object or body  and no experiment could help us to bring to view such a body. This is the ‘ingenuity’ in its view. The law speaks of  a thing that does not exist  and demands a fundamental representation of things that contradicts our ordinary common sense and our ordinary everyday experience. The mathematical projection of a thing is based on the determination of things that is not derived from our experience of things.  This fundamental conception of things is not arbitrary nor self-evident . It required a “paradigm shift” in the manner of our approach to things along with a new manner of thinking. This is true ‘ingenuity’.

Galileo, for instance, provides the decisive insight that all bodies fall equally fast, and that differences in the time of the fall derive from the resistance of the air and not from the inner natures of the bodies themselves or because of their corresponding relation to their particular place (contrary to how the world was understood by Aristotle and the Medievals). The  particular, specific  qualities of the thing, so crucial to Aristotle, become a matter of indifference to Galileo.

Galileo’s insistence on the truth of his propositions saw him excommunicated from the Church and exiled from Pisa. Both Galileo and his opponents saw the same “fact”, the falling body, but they interpreted the same fact differently and made the same event visible to themselves in different ways. What the “falling body” was as a body, and what its motion was, were understood and interpreted differently. None denied the existence of the “falling body” as that which was under discussion, nor propounded some kind of “alternative fact” here. Galileo’s ingenuity consisted in his ability to view things in a very different way.

In Galileo, the mathematical becomes a “projection” of the determination of the thingness of things which skips over the things in their particularity. The project or projection first opens a domain, an area of knowledge, where the things i.e. facts, show themselves. What and how things or facts are to be understood and evaluated beforehand is what the Greeks termed  axiomata  i.e. the anticipating determinations and assertions in the project, what we would call the “self-evident”, the axioms . This self-evident, axiomatic viewing requires that things themselves lose any virtues that they may have in their particularity.

The mathematical projection provides the framework, the picture, that is the lens through which the world is viewed. Ingenuity is only acknowledged within this framework for knowledge production since outcomes must be reported in the language of mathematics. Ingenuity or novelty whether in an artistic process or the scientific method involves the discovering of innovative ways of devising experiments or utilizing clever analogies to explain complex concepts within these AOKs. Those who succeed in doing so are given Nobel Prizes as the result of their efforts.

3. How might it benefit an area of knowledge to sever ties with its past? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Does Title #3 present a silly suggestion that it is possible for an area of knowledge “to sever its ties with its past” and that this severing may somehow be beneficial to it? is it possible for knowledge to occur in a vacuum? The fact that it is an “area of knowledge” implies that it has a past whose ‘picture’ has already been established for it. What we come to call ‘new knowledge’ is the change in perspective on the viewing of that which is permanently there. (See the Galileo example in Title #2.) Is this change of viewing what is meant by ‘severing’ here? Are we talking of paradigm shifts here? It should not be forgotten that everything will appear in a new light when that light is dimmed.

Much of what is said regarding Mathematics and the Natural Sciences in Title #2 would then be applicable here. Is Picasso’s cubism a severing of his ties with Art’s past? Does it not bring along with it the traditional viewing of three dimensional space and provide a new fourth dimension? Picasso’s theme of war in his Guernica has not changed. His viewing of a specific example of what war is presents a unique and horrible view of this ever-permanent subject. As human beings we live within a world which in itself does not change; our perspectives on it change, but the world itself does not. That we can now destroy other human beings with nuclear weapons does not change the permanent theme of our destruction of other beings. The lack of clarity in this question would cause me to avoid it or to question the lack of clarity itself.

The historian Thucydides believed that there was something essential in the nature of human beings, an essence, that was not subject to change. He also believed that the same was the case with regard to war and its causes. Modern historians do not believe there are such things as “essences” and so view the world in a very different way. Is such a different viewing a ‘severing’ of the ties with Thucydides? Or does it ultimately bring the modern historian finally into the position where Thucydides began his work? While we may desire to sever the ties with the past in our pro-duction of knowledge (is this due to our desire for novelty and ingenuity?) such a severing may not be possible if one is to continue pursuing the truth of things. Things will always appear different when they are viewed in a ‘new light’ even though that light may be dimmer.

Is modern atomic physics a ‘severing’ of its ties to the Newtonian physics of the past or the superstructure built upon the findings of those physics? Einstein is considered to be a completion of Newtonian physics while quantum physics is considered to be a more radical ‘severing’ of the viewing that had occurred in what is called classical physics. In the case of modern physics, this severing is due to its unique findings regarding the concepts of time and space and the object that is viewed with regard to the production of knowledge.

The rigor of mathematical physical science is exactitude. This has always been the case with science. Science cannot proceed randomly; it cannot sever its ties in its methodology, a methodology that has its roots in the past. All events, if they are at all to enter into representations as events of nature, must be defined beforehand as spatio-temporal magnitudes of motion. Motion is time. Such defining is accomplished through measuring, with the help of number and calculation. Mathematical research into nature is not exact because it calculates with precision; it must calculate in this way because of the adherence to its object-sphere (the objects which it investigates) has the character of exactitude and that exactitude is the mathematics itself.  

In contrast the Group 3 subjects, the Human Sciences, must be inexact in order to remain rigorous.  A living thing can be grasped as a mass in motion, but then it is no longer apprehended as living. The projecting and securing of the object of study in the human sciences is of another kind and is much more difficult to execute than is the achieving of rigor in the “exact sciences” of the Group 4 subje cts. This is why statistics are used as the form of the disclosure of the conclusions that have been reached in the Human Sciences. In some investigations, the matrix mathematics of quantum physics is sometimes used to try to gain a precision into the analysis of the phenomenon under study with, usually, disastrous results. Such was the case in the economic recession of 2008. This is due to the fact that the domains of physics and of the human sciences are radically different.

The applications of the discoveries of modern physics have realized the new “ages” in which we live, the Atomic Age and the Information Age. As with all new “ages” in human history, something is gained but something is also lost. The highest point to which we look up to in our communities is no longer the church steeple or the statue of the Buddha; it is the ubiquitous communications towers sending the signals of our information to each other across the globe. When Galileo skipped over the viewing of the particular thing in its uniqueness in his effort to view the world mathematically, what was skipped over was a looking at the world as it is. This gave to human beings the difficulty, the deprival, of receiving the beauty of the world as it is. The removal of the love of and for the beauty of the world as it is was replaced by the desire to change it through domination and control.

As with all the things which human beings make, their viewing and their making is a double-edged sword: we are easily lulled into an appreciation of the benefits brought about by their realization at the cost of an inability to view how in fact we may be deprived by their realization. What deprivals are we witnessing in the discoveries of our new communications apparatus? What are the benefits resulting from mass meaninglessness and our understanding of knowledge as “information”? We can all see the benefits of artificial intelligence, but what deprivals are we experiencing with the arrival of this new technology?

4. To what extent do you agree that there is no significant difference between hypothesis and speculation? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.

The English word hypothesis comes from the ancient Greek word ὑπόθεσις hypothesis whose literal or etymological sense is a “putting or placing under” and hence a providing of a foundation or basis for an assertion, claim or an action. Such a provision of foundations will be based on the historical knowledge that one has received and possesses with regard to the domain or area of knowledge that is under investigation.

“Speculation”, on the other hand, is the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence. An hypothesis is ‘justified opinion’, while speculation is ‘unjustified opinion’. The word ‘speculation’ is usually associated with economics and is based on those judgements made by individuals which involve a substantial amount of risk since evidence is not available as to the ultimate outcome of the action that will be taken by an individual in their desire for gain in wealth and, subsequently, power. An hypothesis, on the other hand, depending on the domain or area of knowledge in which it is asserted, usually has historical findings to ground it. It is grounded in the principle of reason and looks for exactitude and certitude in its outcomes. The element of chance in speculation suggests that the opinion, claim or assertion is not fully grounded in the principle of reason. A current example would be investors placing their money in the DJT stock on Wall Street. There is an irrationality about it.

“Speculation” is sometimes based on ‘a gut feeling’. It is sometimes preceded by a “they said….” without any mention of who the ‘they’ are who have done the ‘saying’ and whether these ‘they’ are reliable or not in their speaking. There is a lack of surety, certainty in the grounds of the assertion because the assertion is not based on the principle of reason as no evidence or sufficient reasons are provided to justify the claim.

While both speculation and hypothesis are based on ‘theories’, an hypothesis is formed from a “theory” and a theory is a way of viewing the world from which develops an understanding of that world. The principle of reason provides the grounds or foundations for the ‘saying’. Theories or views (understandings) may produce true or false opinions. Our views of the world are based upon opinions, opinions that may or may not be justified. We cannot, for example, believe the assertion that Californian wildfires are caused by Jewish space lasers because sufficient reasons cannot be provided for the making of such an assertion. Such an assertion is mere speculation, and it is ‘risky’ due to its political implications in our being-with-others. An hypothesis requires evidence from experiment or experience that will provide sufficient reasons for the assertion contained in the hypothesis.

In both experience and experiment, a sufficient reason is sometimes described as the correspondence of every single thing that is needed for the occurrence of an effect (i.e. that the so-called necessary conditions are present for such an effect to occur). In the wildfires/Jewish space lasers example, there is no sufficient correspondence present between the effect and its possible cause. What is lacking is the ‘truth’ of the event: there are insufficient reasons for the correspondence theory of truth to apply. With speculation, nothing is ‘brought to light’ because no light is present.

We could, perhaps, also apply such a view to the indeterminacy principle of Heisenberg as long as randomness is incorporated in the preconditions that are mathematically included in the calculus. Such events occur at the sub-atomic level but they do not occur in our encounters with the objects that are present in our real experience of things. In our experience, the principles of Newton’s classical physics still apply. These conditions and their sufficient reasons do not apply at the sub-atomic level.

When we are asked ‘to what extent’, we are being asked for a calculation which can be expressed statistically or in language, a ‘this much…’. It implies a possibility of knowledge of the whole. Both hypothesis and speculation demonstrate similar content in some respects but they are ‘different’. If we claim that there is ‘no significant difference’, then we are saying that they are the Same. While some may presume a semantical equivalence between the two terms (which is the foundation of the question), it would appear that the submission of a hypothesis involves less risk in the truth or falsity of its claim than mere speculation which may be based on a ‘wishful thinking’ as to its outcome. Hypothesis relies on the surety of past knowledge and its discoveries while speculation rests in the hoped for gains that will result if such a speculation proves to be true.

5. In the production of knowledge, are we too quick to dismiss anomalies? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

In recent years, the discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have produced a great number of anomalies for astrophysicists to attempt to resolve and which cannot be ignored especially with regard to the Big Bang Theory of the universe. The dates of the origin of the universe and the formation of galaxies are now being questioned. Often, rather than investigating anomalies further and considering an overhaul of existing knowledge, anomalies are dismissed as ‘exceptions’ to the rule rather than a justification to question the rule itself. Such discussions are now occurring among the scientists in the world of astrophysics. Such anomalies and discussions will provide theoretical work for scientists for years to come and may require or provide a paradigm shift in the area of knowledge called astrophysics.

Anomalies are often the prompt for a paradigm shift in the sciences causing us to challenge existing beliefs and ideas. In Physics, perhaps the greatest anomaly lies in the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle. In the experiments conducted in the early 20th century, results often occurred which could not be corresponded to the physics of Einstein. With Heisenberg’s indeterminacy principle, the mathematical account for those outliers could be accounted for and shown mathematically.

In everyday life, calculating the speed and position of a moving object is relatively straightforward. We can measure a car traveling at 60 miles per hour or a tortoise crawling at 0.5 miles per hour and simultaneously pinpoint where the car and the tortoise are located. But in the quantum world of particles, making these calculations is not possible due to a fundamental mathematical relationship called the uncertainty principle.

Formulated by the German physicist and Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg in 1927, the uncertainty principle states that we cannot know both the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or electron, with perfect accuracy; the more we nail down the particle’s position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa. Because sub-atomic particles behave like waves in quantum viewing, the measurements we make appear to be uncertain or inaccurate, but this is the case with wave-like properties. In the world of our experience, a chair behaves like a chair. There is a gap present between the behaviour and the nature of sub-atomic particles and the objects of our common everyday experience.

In the Human Sciences, Donald Trump is seen by many as an ‘anomaly’ outside of the normal political activity of the community that is the USA. Is this really the case? Is he really an ‘anomaly’? If so, how is it possible that he is the Republican nomination for President? That Donald Trump is the fertilizer that brought about the flowering of the growth that was the corruption already present within the institutions of the American system of government is more of an indication of the failure of the seeing, the consciousness and conscience, present in the ‘wishful thinking’ of those who observe American politics whether they be media, academics or political pundits. Is it possible for a true outlier to achieve political power or must there be common elements present in both the aspirer for power and in those who will hand that power over to him? Was Adolf Hitler an ‘outlier’ in the German politics of the 1920s and 1930s?

Because of the manner of our viewing of the world, we usually cannot see what we are not looking for, so anomalies are often missed and when they are sighted they are usually met with the response “That’s odd”. If they are seen, they are usually ignored because people and their institutions and organizations are predisposed to confirmation bias, focusing on what aligns with their mental models rather than what violates them. In the Human Sciences, for instance, the word “anomaly” is most often used to dismiss a data point as unrepresentative and irrelevant. Even if we do not ignore anomalies, we may not try to interpret or explore them. Does an anomaly such as Donald Trump get over 70 million votes in a democracy? Why, for example, did it take so long for the symptoms of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) to be recognized and to be systematically dealt with?

6. In the pursuit of knowledge, what is gained by the artist adopting the lens of the scientist and the scientist adopting the lens of the artist? Discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences.

The Arts and the Sciences have complementary histories of evolution. This history may be understood as the manner in which both of these human activities have pursued knowledge with regard to their understandings and relationships to what is understood and interpreted as Nature or Otherness. Just as Art pursues “object-less” representations of abstractions conceived in the mind so, too, does science attempt to understand our being-in-the-world through the projection of mathematical abstractions on what we think ‘reality’ is. Both art and science see themselves as ‘theories of the real’. While art must withstand the question Is it art? science, too, must withstand the question Is it science? particularly with regard to the Human Sciences. The responses to these questions can be either profound or downright silly.

Science is what we understand by ‘knowledge’, ‘knowing’. Art is what we understand by ‘making’, the performance that results in a ‘work’, whether that work be a painting, a musical composition, or a pair of shoes. Knowing and making are what we mean when we speak of “technology”, the combination of the two Greek words techne or ‘making’ and logos or ‘knowing’. The combining of these two words is something that the Greeks never did and would never do. The word was first coined in the 17th century with the rise of humanism. The ‘adopting of the lens’ of the artist by the scientist, or of the scientist by the artist is, obviously, a constant in the modern world since the outcomes or products of technology are the objects that we see all about us and which we use on a daily basis. The scientist’s knowing and the artist’s making are on display before us at this very moment if we are using a computer, an iPad or a handphone to read this blog.

The pursuit of science is the human response to a certain mode or way in which truth discloses or reveals itself. Science arises as a response to a claim laid upon human beings in the way that the things of nature appear. The sciences set up certain domains or areas (physics, chemistry, biology) and then pursue the revealing that is consistent within those domains. The claim laid upon human beings is to reveal truth, for it is in the revealing of truth that we are truly human. We are not fully human if we do not do so.

The domain, for example, of chemistry is an abstraction. It is the domain of chemical formulae. Nature is seen as a realm of formulae. Scientists pose this realm by way of a reduction; it is an artificial realm that arises from a very artificial attitude towards things. Water has to be posed as H 2 O. Once it is so posed, once things are reduced to chemical formulae, then the domain of chemistry can be exploited for practical ends. We can make fire out of water once water is seen as a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. In the illustration of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, we have the chemical formula for the physical composition of Van Gogh’s yellow paint. While interesting, it tells us absolutely nothing of the painting itself and of the world or the artist that produced that painting. This is the situation with many recent discoveries in science, particularly the Human Sciences: their discoveries are interesting but tell us absolutely nothing meaningful about the world we live in.

The things investigated by chemistry are not “objects” in the sense that they have an autonomous standing on their own i.e. they are not “the thrown against”, the  jacio , as is understood traditionally. For science, the chemist in our example, nature is composed of formulae, and a formula is not a self-standing object.  It is an abstraction, a product of the mind. A formula is  posed ; it is an abstraction. A formula is  posed ; it is an ob-ject, that is, it does not view nature as composed of objects that are autonomous, self-standing things, but nature as formulae. The viewing of nature as formulae turns things into posed ob-jects and in this posing turns the things of nature, ultimately, into dis-posables. The viewing of water as H 2 O, for example, demonstrates a Rubicon that has been crossed. There is no turning back once this truth has been revealed. That water can be turned into fire has caused restrictions in our bringing liquids onto airplanes, for instance, for they have the capability of destroying those aircraft.

“What we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning.  Our scientific work in physics consists in asking questions about nature in the language that we possess and trying to get an answer from experiment by the means that are at our disposal.”–Werner Heisenberg

What is the physicist Heisenberg saying here? The language that the scientist possesses is the mathematical projection or abstraction that is placed over the object that is questioned, but the object that is questioned can only appear in a manner pre-ordained by the nature of the questioning itself. Through experiment, the response to the question posed must be in the form of the mathematical language used: nature must respond ‘mathematically’. But what that nature is is not what has been traditionally understood as ‘nature’. The response must be consistent. The logos that is mathematics is this consistency.

For Heisenberg, what has been called nature has been ordered to report mathematically and this is the first level of abstraction. The mathematical viewing of nature makes the ob-ject of science non-intuitive. What does this mean? In the example above of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”, the color yellow is reduced to a formula describing a variety of chemical reactions between various compounds. In physics, the color yellow would be reduced to a formula describing a certain electro-magnetic wave. A person can then possess a perfect scientific understanding of the color yellow and yet be completely color blind i.e. they could not experience Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” in its ‘reality’. In the same fashion, a person who knows yellow intuitively by perceiving yellow things such as sunflowers will fail to recognize the scientific formula as representing her lived experiences of the color yellow. This is what is meant to say that science is non-intuitive and is, thus, an abstraction.

Like the abstractions of the mathematical projections in physics and the projection of formulae in chemistry, abstract art is an art form that does not represent an accurate depiction of visual reality, communicating instead through lines, shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks. Abstract artists may be said to use the lens of the scientist with their varieties of techniques to create their work, mixing traditional means with more experimental ideas. Their work is a product of the mind (or the unconscious) and does not correspond to the Otherness that is what we understand as our being-in-the-world. Jackson Pollock described abstract art as “energy and motion made visible.” Pollock’s art, in a way, attempts to approach the art that is available for us through the cinema.

The examples provided are what we might call the “pure” theoretical scientists or the “pure” abstract artists. What is ‘gained’ by such ‘abstract’ attempts? What is gained is that through the discoveries of the scientists and the artists many applications of their findings are brought into our real world in a great variety of forms and products. The computer before us is a product of the application of the discoveries of quantum mechanics. It is a seamless connection between knowing and making, art and science, the lens of the scientist and the lens of the artist.

It is easy to see what has been ‘gained’ in the coming together of the arts and sciences that we know as technology. It is much harder to see what has been lost in this development. As I have shown in other writings on this blog, an indispensable condition of a scientific analysis of the facts is moral obtuseness . The lens of both the modern day scientist and the modern day artist are not moral lens. Modern art, in its following or mirroring of the seeing of the sciences, contributes to this moral obtuseness among human beings. Since art is essential in our being-with-others in a ‘real’ world, this does not bode well for the future.

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When to Submit TOK Essay? Deadlines

Hello, fellow IB enthusiasts! After many years of experience as an International Baccalaureate tutor and writer, I’ve realized that one of the most pressing concerns for students is understanding TOK essay deadlines. Here, I’ll share insights based on my extensive experience in hopes of helping to delineate the timing and strategy behind completing this crucial requirement.

Understanding TOK Essay Deadlines

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, managing deadlines isn’t just about marking a date on your calendar. It’s about crafting a strategy that allows you to maximize your potential. So, why are TOK essay deadlines so crucial? Simply put, they’re your blueprint for success in one of the IB’s most challenging components. From my experience, knowing these dates like the back of your hand is your first step to excellence.

As an IB tutor, I’ve observed countless students transform their approach to the TOK essay word count once they fully grasp the importance of deadlines. These aren’t just arbitrary dates set by the IB organization but carefully thought-out milestones to ensure you have enough time for reflection, writing, and revision. Recognizing and respecting these deadlines can significantly influence the quality of your essay and, ultimately, your scores.

In addition, effectively managing these deadlines will teach you valuable time management skills critical to your academic and professional future. It encourages a disciplined approach to complex tasks and ensures that you allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and critical evaluation. This systematic approach to the TOK essay simplifies the process, making it more accessible and less daunting.

Thus, understanding the importance of TOK essay deadlines is more than simply satisfying a requirement. It’s about adopting a proactive approach that will allow you to handle one of the most academically demanding tasks you’ll face during your Diploma Programme. With each deadline, you are one step closer to submission and refining abilities that will benefit you in every aspect of your life after the IB.

What You Need to Know About TOK Essay Submissions?

The Theory of Knowledge essay forms a core part of your IB diploma. It challenges you to reflect on the nature of knowledge and how we claim to know what we know. This task compels you to critically engage with various areas of knowledge, applying analytical skills fundamental to the IB’s goal of developing well-rounded thinkers.

According to general IB criteria, each school has specific internal deadlines to ensure you have ample time for feedback and revisions. As I know, sticking to these guidelines keeps your stress levels in check and optimizes your performance. Here’s a breakdown of what typically happens once you submit your TOK essay:

• Initial Review . Your TOK teacher reviews your essay to ensure it meets the basic requirements and adheres to the TOK framework.
• Feedback Session . You receive detailed feedback, which may highlight areas for improvement, such as clarity of arguments, engagement with TOK concepts, and alignment with the prescribed titles.
• Revision Period . Based on the feedback, you enter a revision period where you refine your arguments, sharpen your analysis, and ensure your essay is clear and coherent.
• Final Submission . After revisions, you submit the final version of your essay, which the IB then sends off for external assessment.

Engaging with this process requires a deep understanding of the deadlines set by your institution. These are strategically placed opportunities to boost your essay through iterative improvement. Each phase of the submission process helps you write an essay that meets the rigorous standards of the IB and represents your unique perspective on the complexities of knowledge.

Moreover, these deadlines provide a practical framework for managing time efficiently. In my experience, students who adhere to these timelines produce higher-quality essays and experience less anxiety and better overall well-being during their diploma programs.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone — our experienced IB writers are here to help. If you want to get a high grade without the hassle, just buy a TOK essay from our IB experts!

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Official IB Deadlines for the TOK Essay

Typically, your school will set internal deadlines before the IB’s official submission dates. These usually fall in January or April, depending on whether you are in the May or November examination session. Remember, these deadlines vary slightly each year, so always double-check with your TOK coordinator. Understanding these dates is crucial as they are strategically set to allow for the meticulous planning and execution of a successful TOK essay.

Recognizing that these deadlines are administrative and part of a structured timeline designed to enhance your learning experience and outcome is essential. Each deadline is an incremental step in refining your essay according to the TOK essay rubric , which encourages a deeper engagement with the material and allows for the comprehensive development of your ideas. Hence, adhering to these timelines is about maximizing the quality of your work and ensuring you have adequate time for each phase of the essay preparation.

From my experience, there are considerable benefits to submitting your essay early. Trust me, the relief of being done early cannot be overstated! Moreover, early submission offers several strategic advantages:

• Feedback Opportunity . Submitting early often means you can receive preliminary feedback from your TOK teacher, which can be invaluable in enhancing the quality of your essay.
• Less Competition for Resources . As deadlines approach, everyone scrambles for teacher attention and library resources. By completing your essay early, you avoid the rush and access more focused support.
• Stress Reduction . Never underestimate the psychological benefit of knowing you are finished with such a significant component of the IB Diploma. It reduces stress and frees up mental and emotional bandwidth to focus on other demanding coursework or extracurricular commitments.

Moreover, early submission acts as a buffer, giving you the flexibility to address any last-minute emergencies or unexpected challenges that might arise. In my years of guiding IB students, I have consistently seen that those who plan for early submission are more composed, better prepared, and achieve higher essay scores.

Choosing the Right TOK Essay Prompt

Sufficient time to select the appropriate TOK essay prompt is crucial for any IB student. This choice significantly influences your engagement with the essay and the quality of your analysis. It’s essential to start reviewing the prompts as soon as the International Baccalaureate Organization releases them. Allocating time to ponder each prompt allows you to reflect on your areas of interest and the depth of knowledge you can apply to different topics.

Discussing potential choices with your TOK teacher can provide insights into which prompts align best with your strengths and curricular experiences. This preparation enables a more thoughtful and thorough research of the chosen topic, ultimately leading to a more compelling and well-argued essay. Remember, a well-chosen prompt makes writing more enjoyable and enhances your ability to produce insightful and critical responses.

How to Get the Exact TOK Deadline From the School?

To ensure you meet the TOK essay deadline and manage your time effectively, obtaining the exact deadline date from your school is crucial. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get accurate TOK deadline information.

1. Check the School’s Official Communication Channels

Start by reviewing official communication from your school, such as emails, the school’s website, or online learning platforms. Schools often post critical deadlines in these places where students and parents can easily access them.

2. Speak to the TOK Coordinator

The TOK coordinator at your school is a primary resource for all things related to Theory of Knowledge. Make an appointment or drop by their office to inquire about the specific deadlines for the TOK essay. It’s a good idea to confirm any dates you’ve seen on official channels to ensure no discrepancies.

3. Consult Your TOK Teacher

Your TOK teacher is also well-informed about the deadlines and requirements. During class or in a private meeting, ask them about the deadline and any advice they might have for planning your essay submission schedule.

4. Check with Peers

Sometimes, your peers can also be a helpful source of information, especially if they have attended meetings or sessions you may have missed. Double-check any information you receive against official sources to ensure accuracy.

5. Record the Deadline

Once you have the correct date, record it in multiple places you check regularly, such as your planner, a digital calendar, and reminder apps. Set a reminder a few weeks before the deadline to start finalizing your essay.

6. Follow Up

As the school year progresses, watch for any updates or changes to the deadline. Sometimes, schools adjust their schedules based on unforeseen circumstances. Regularly checking in with the TOK coordinator or teacher can help you stay informed about such changes.

Final Thoughts on TOK Essay Deadlines

As we wrap up, remember that managing TOK essay deadlines is more than just a task — it’s an essential skill that will benefit you beyond the IB. From my experience, those who plan well excel in their essays and carry these skills into university. So, mark those calendars, set your schedules, and let’s ace this together! Also, if you need help with TOK essay writing, just contact our experts at IBStudentHelp.com .

Nick Radlinsky

Nick Radlinsky is a devoted educator, marketing specialist, and management expert with more than 15 years of experience in the education sector. After obtaining his business degree in 2016, Nick embarked on a quest to achieve his PhD, driven by his commitment to enhancing education for students worldwide. His vast experience, starting in 2008, has established him as a reputable authority in the field.

Nick's article, featured in Routledge's " Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization ," highlights his sharp insights and unwavering dedication to advancing the educational landscape. Inspired by his personal motto, "Make education better," Nick's mission is to streamline students' lives and foster efficient learning. His inventive ideas and leadership have contributed to the transformation of numerous educational experiences, distinguishing him as a true innovator in his field.

Understanding when to submit your TOK essay is crucial for success, as meeting these deadlines ensures you have ample time for revisions and reduces last-minute stress. This article offers a comprehensive guide on TOK essay deadlines, providing key insights from a seasoned IB writer.

What Are the IB IA Deadlines?

In this comprehensive guide, we discuss the essential dates and strategies for managing your submissions effectively. Understanding these deadlines is vital when preparing for the May or November exam sessions. From planning early and using digital tools to track your progress to communicating with teachers and handling unforeseen challenges, this article provides you with all the insights and tips you need to master the timing of your IAs.

2024 November TOK Essay Prompts | How to Write Them?

In this comprehensive guide, an experienced IB writer shares essential insights and strategies specifically tailored to mastering TOK essay prompts. From analyzing the nuances of knowledge acquisition in different areas of knowledge to considering the dynamic interplay between artistic creativity and scientific methodology, this article offers a deep immersion into each prompt.

How Long Is IB EE? Minimum and Maximum Word Count

Balancing word count limits requires careful planning and consideration of every word you write. In this guide, I’ll share strategies and insights from years of mentoring IB students to help you master the art of word count management in your extended essay.

TOK Essay Word Count. Min & Max

In this guide, we discuss the crucial parameters set by the International Baccalaureate for minimum and maximum word counts. Through the insights of an experienced IB writer, this article offers practical strategies for staying within these limits while improving the quality and depth of your essay.

How Long Is IB IA? Average IA Word Count

From my experience as IB tutor, a frequent question among students is, “How Long Is IB IA?” This question is crucial as the IA represents a significant component of the IB diploma, reflecting a student’s ability to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world context.

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What Is a Word Count for Extended Essay?

As someone who has cut through the complexities of the International Baccalaureate or IB program, I feel it is necessary first to clarify what an Extended Essay (EE) entails. The Extended Essay is a cornerstone of the IB diploma, a task that challenges students to conduct independent research on a topic of their choice. In my experience, understanding the Extended Essay word count is not just about meeting a requirement but mastering the art of concise, focused academic writing.

Understanding the Basics of IB EE Wordcount

In my years of guiding students through the IB curriculum , one frequently asked question is why the Extended Essay word count is so critical. According to general IB criteria, adhering to this strict requirement is not merely a formal requirement but a crucial element of the academic discipline. From my experience, the word count of the Extended Essay has several essential functions.

The limit allows you to research a topic thoroughly but within a concise framework. It encourages you to discuss the topic comprehensively yet succinctly enough to maintain focus and coherence.

Moreover, managing the word count requires careful planning of your essay structure and content. You learn to evaluate what is essential to your argument and what can be omitted, enhancing your critical thinking skills. Adhering to the word count also demonstrates your ability to follow academic conventions, a skill highly valued in higher education. Here’s why maintaining the proper word count can make or break your Extended Essay:

• Precision in Argumentation . Staying within the word limit forces you to articulate your arguments precisely, avoiding unnecessary digressions. This precision makes your essay easier to follow.
• Skillful Resource Management . You learn to use your sources and evidence strategically, choosing only the most relevant information to support your argument. 
• Balanced Research . A strict word count helps ensure that no single area of your essay is disproportionately long or short, contributing to a balanced and well-rounded argument.

As I know from tutoring many students, the discipline of adhering to a word count dramatically improves the clarity and effectiveness of your writing. No matter whether you are just beginning your Extended Essay or are in the final stages of editing, remember that every word should have a purpose in your narrative.

What Is the Minimum Word Count for Extended Essay?

In my years of involvement with the IB program, a common question I’ve encountered from students is the minimum word count for the Extended Essay. According to general IB criteria, the Extended Essay has no officially specified minimum word count. However, any essay significantly shorter than 3,500 – 3,600 words might struggle to fulfill the comprehensive requirements expected of this significant research project.

So, how many words is Extended Essay? I’ve observed that while the IB does not enforce a strict minimum, aiming for a word count close to the 4,000-word maximum is advisable. This approach ensures you have sufficient space to develop your arguments thoroughly and incorporate critical analyses and complex reasoning that the Extended Essay demands. In my opinion, writing an essay much shorter than this can sometimes indicate that the topic has not been investigated in the depth and breadth necessary for an upper-level research paper.

Moreover, as I know from guiding students, essays that are too brief may fail to engage deeply with the subject matter, potentially leading to a superficial treatment of the topic. Using the Extended Essay to demonstrate your ability to conduct detailed research and present a well-structured, persuasive argument is essential. This depth is often hard to achieve in fewer words.

Therefore, while there’s no formal minimum, I advise students to use the word count as a guideline to ensure comprehensive coverage of their chosen topic. This way, you will be better positioned to meet the expectations of the IB examiners looking for rigorous analysis and a demonstration of your research skills.

Remember, the 4,000-word count is the maximum allowed, and it does not include the acknowledgments, contents page, maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations, tables, bibliography, appendices, or footnotes as long as they are not substantive explanatory text.

How to Effectively Manage Your Word Count?

Managing your word count in an Extended Essay can seem daunting at first. Still, with the right approach, it becomes an opportunity to sharpen your writing skills and ensure your research is clear and concise. Below are some strategies I’ve found helpful over the years.

1. Plan Your Essay Structure

Before you start writing, plan your essay’s structure. As I know from guiding many students, a detailed outline helps you distribute your word count effectively across different sections of the essay. This strategy ensures that each part (introduction, body, conclusion) receives adequate attention and word allocation. According to general IB criteria, a well-planned essay facilitates a clear and logical presentation of your research.

2. Be Concise and Direct

In my opinion, one of the critical skills in essay writing is learning how to express ideas succinctly. Avoid filler words and redundant phrases that do not add value to your argument. Instead, focus on strong, active verbs and clear, precise language. This approach helps manage your word count, making your essay more compelling and easier to read.

3. Regularly Check Your Word Count

As you write, keep a close eye on your word count. Modern word processors make this easy, and regularly checking can prevent you from drastically exceeding or not meeting your word limit. From my experience, frequent checks allow you to adjust on the fly, ensuring each section stays within its targeted word range without last-minute, drastic cuts.

4. Refine and Condense

Once your first draft is complete, the editing phase begins. Here, be ruthless in cutting or rewriting overly verbose or tangential parts. As I know from revising countless student essays, this step is critical in enhancing your argument’s clarity and impact. Effective editing often involves tightening up your prose, removing repetitive points, and ensuring every word counts.

5. Get an External Perspective

Finally, don’t underestimate the value of feedback. Having another set of eyes on your work can help identify areas where the word count could be better managed. Feedback is invaluable, whether it’s a teacher, a peer, or an experienced IB writer like myself. From my experience, this external perspective provides insights you might have missed, especially in areas where your argument could be more concise or clear.

Don’t let the stress of the IB curriculum hold you back.

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Word Count Distribution Across Your Extended Essay

As an experienced IB writer, I’ve seen many students grapple with how to allocate their words across the different sections of an Extended Essay. It’s essential to balance the essay so that each part has enough space to effectively contribute to the overall argument without any single section dominating. Here’s how, in my experience, you can distribute your word count effectively across the various parts of the Extended Essay:

• Introduction (10-15% of total words) . Typically, this would range from 400 to 600 words. This section introduces your research question and provides the necessary background information. According to general IB criteria, the introduction should set the stage for what follows, clearly outlining the scope and direction of your essay.
• Body (70-80% of total words) . This section should use approximately 2,800 to 3,200 words. The body is where you develop your argument, analyze your research, and discuss your findings. As I know from guiding students, dividing this word count among various points or sections is crucial to maintaining a coherent and logically structured argument.
• Conclusion (10-15% of total words) . Aim for about 400 to 600 words. In the conclusion, you combine your research insights and reaffirm how they answer the research question. From my experience, it’s essential to briefly summarize the argument without introducing new information.

Balancing these sections ensures that each part of your essay contributes to a coherent and persuasive argument. From what I’ve seen, students who follow this guideline tend not only to meet the required word count but also to produce well-structured and compelling essays. Remember, each section should transition smoothly to the next, maintaining the flow and reinforcing the central thesis. Adhering to these proportions ensures that your Extended Essay demonstrates depth and precision, hallmarks of outstanding scholarly work.

Mastering the word count in your Extended Essay is about more than meeting a numerical requirement. It’s about concisely communicating complex ideas. Remember, this essay is your chance to focus in-depth on a topic that fascinates you, so make every word count.

Please view the word count not as a barrier but as a framework within which you can craft a clear, detailed, and persuasive argument. With proper planning and a little creativity, you will produce an exceptional Extended Essay that proudly presents your research skills and intellectual rigor. Also, if you are having trouble writing an Extended Essay within 4,000 words, our experts at IBWritingService.com are always happy to help. We are available 24/7!

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Alternative Concepts for the IB Theory of Knowledge (ToK) Course: Part 3

• May 27, 2024
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In this final instalment of our series, we’re exploring concepts 9-12 from our list of alternative ToK concepts that could have been included in the International Baccalaureate’s (IB) ToK curriculum. If you missed the earlier parts, be sure to check out Part 1 where we discussed Concepts 1-4, and Part 2 where we covered Concepts 5-8.

This blog can also be watched in video format here , or below.

Concept 9: System or Structure

We begin the final segment of our alternative ToK concepts with “System” or “Structure.” Our ToK students often encounter systems thinking and systemised processes, particularly in Group 3 and 4 subjects (Human & Natural Sciences). Integrating this concept into ToK could enhance their understanding of the systemic nature of knowledge production. The idea that knowledge results from synergistic processes fits well with existing ToK concepts like Explanation, Culture, and Values. Including System or Structure in the ToK curriculum could help students comprehend how various Areas of Knowledge (AoKs) function.

Concept 10: Form or Aesthetic

Complementing the concept of System, we introduce “Form” or “Aesthetic.” This concept offers a different perspective by acknowledging that knowledge may possess qualitative characteristics beyond empirical or quantitative measures. Form is especially useful for the ToK exhibition and essay, providing a basis for classic debates on structure versus aesthetic. Including both System and Form allows for rich discussions about the nature of knowledge in the classroom.

Concept 11: Intention

Our eleventh concept is “Intention.” Initially, I hesitated to include it, questioning its substantiality. However, the more I considered it, the more essential it seemed. Intention can be understood in two primary ways: the intention of knowledge producers and the intentions of the knower. Both aspects significantly influence the knowledge produced and understood. The intentionality of the knower relates to their awareness, consciousness, and introspection, seamlessly leading us into our final concept.

Concept 12: Experience

The twelfth and final alternative ToK concept is “Experience.” This concept is pivotal in knowledge production, especially in AoKs such as History, The Arts, and the Human & Natural Sciences. Experience is crucial for understanding the debate between primary and secondary knowledge, which underpins many abstract ToK concepts like Perspective, Justification, Power, and Truth. Critically analysing Experience enables students to grasp these more complex ideas effectively.

There you have it—12 alternative core ToK Concepts. What do you think of our list? Is it better or worse than the IB’s official 12 concepts? Do you have suggestions for other concepts that should be included? Let us know in the comments; perhaps the ToK gods at IB might consider your suggestions.

You can download a diagram of IB’s 12 ToK Concepts at this link , and my alternative 12 ToK Concepts at this link.

Any likes and subscriptions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for reading.

Stay Toktastic, my friends!

Daniel, Lisbon May 2024

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