when is tok essay due 2022

US IB Theory of Knowledge: TOK Essay

• Knowledge Framework in TOK
• TOK & The Learner Profile Attributes
• The Learner Profile Attributes Quiz
• Areas of Knowledge
• Optional Themes
• Knowledge Questions
• TOK Exhibition
• TOK Exhibition Prompts
• TOK Exhibition Rubric
• Ways of Knowing (Pre 2022)
• Recommended Reading
• RSS News Feeds

TOK Prescribed Titles

The International Baccalaureate Organization releases six TOK essay titles, twice a year for submission either in May or November. So you need to know which cohort you're submitting with. The essay titles for submission in May are released in the previous September. The essay titles for submission in November are released the previous March.

• May 2022 topics
• November 2021 topics
• May 2021 topics
• November 2020 topics
• May 2020 topics
• November 2019 topics
• May 2019 topics
• November 2018 topics
• May 2018 topics
• November 2017 topics

"A" example Essays

• Reason vs Emotion in Ethics
• Breaking Conventions
• Context is All
• Moral Wisdom
• Valuable Knowledge
• Experience & Culture

Essay Guidelines

The word count is 1600 words. This includes quotations. You have to write down the number of words when you submit the essay. The examiner will not read past 1600 words. References, maps/charts/illustrations and bibliographies are not included in the word count. You can choose any standard referencing system, but be consistent with the one you chose.

Assessment Criteria: Markscheme from the TOK Guide (as of Class of 2022)

TOK Essay Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions that students and teachers frequently ask about the TOK essay. Read through these questions and the answers to check that you are doing the right thing.

What’s the most important thing to bear in mind?

The first thing is to BE CLEAR! Most students do not even manage to communicate their ideas clearly to the examiner. Regardless of whether or not your answer is stunningly original or crammed with a variety of interesting examples, if it is clear then you will already have a massive head start over the majority of other students from elsewhere in the world. That is why it is absolutely vital to plan in detail – if you have a clear plan you will write a clear essay. If you start the essay without a clear plan then the chances are you will not do very well.

The second thing is to remain focused on the question. It is really easy to lose focus and when you do your score will instantly drop. A slight switch from discussing ‘what we believe is true’ to ‘what is true’ might be enough to make most of your answer irrelevant to the question that you have been asked so you have to be really, really careful here. Always ask yourself whether you are correctly focused on the question.

If my answer is not completely different to everyone else’s will I lose?

Most good essays will offer well balanced, plausible and convincing answer to the knowledge question that has been asked. Clearly there is not an infinite variety of plausible and convincing answers to any question and so you should not expect your answer to be completely different to everyone else’s and nor should you strive to make it bizarrely and outlandishly strange in an attempt to seem original. A good answer will usually point out that x is true in some case cases because of a certain set of reasons, while it is less true in other cases and pretty much completely untrue elsewhere. Students who take very extreme positions tend not to do so well in TOK because, unlike in English where you can usually find some evidence to back up even the most unusual reading, TOK is meant to be firmly grounded in the real world and so, for instance, it is not really that plausible to argue that we can never know anything because that just doesn't fit with how we live our daily lives. Similarly, answers which are overly simply probably won't do that well because most things in TOK just aren’t that clear cut. For example students who claim that Art is completely subjective and that we can never know whether one painting is better than another have trouble when accounting for how the IB award some students Level 7s in art while failing others.

So in this sense your essay might be balanced in the same way as someone else’s but the difference between your essay and everyone else’s should be in exactly how you strike that balance, exactly which discriminations you make and the kinds of evidence that you use to persuade me that your answer is correct. The more convincing your position: the better you will do.

How many examples do I need?

In terms of number of examples there is no set answer. However, in a 1600 word essay you should try to have about 4-6 main body points with one clear example that is central to each one. The best marks will not go to those students who have lots of examples but those who choose examples that support their point really well and then go on to consider the counterclaims against this position (possibly using the same example or a different one) and then respond to this counterclaim (again using the same example or a different one - however three examples in paragraph might be getting a bit too much).

How important is it to talk about myself?

It is important to demonstrate personal engagement, indeed the highest marks will really only be awarded to essays that create a sense that the writer has really engaged and got to grips with the question that they have chosen to answer. However, there are a number of different ways to do this. Using the personal pronoun ‘I’ and talking about something that has happened to you is one way to do this but it will not score highly unless it is a strong example that convincingly supports the point you are trying to make. For example, you will are unlikely to get any points for a personal example about your summer holiday or your Mum’s noodle soup unless it clearly and convincingly supports your answer to the question.

Other ways to demonstrate personal engagement and independent thought are by offering personal definitions of key words and researching original examples that you have come up with yourself rather than the obvious example or the one that everyone else in your class is using because that is the one that the teacher gave you.

Ultimately the best way to demonstrate your personal engagement with the question is through your tone of voice and the sense that you have really ‘got’ what this question is asking and honestly offered your own answer to it. However, this can be hard to identify for an examiner so it is probably best if you try to cover all of the different methods mentioned above in order to come across as a student who is thinking for themselves and relating this question to experiences in their own education.

Should I offer definitions of all the words in my title?

Obviously not – beginning your essay with a list of personal definitions does not make for a very engaging start.   However, there may be some terms in your question title that it is important to define and so you might need to start by doing this. In these case it is best to offer a   brief   personal definition (avoid Dictionary.com!), but be careful with going into any more detail than that. Otherwise the best way to show that you understand what the words in the title mean is to continually link back to the key words from the question throughout your essay. Just like in an English essay you would usually do this at the beginning or end of a paragraph but the best students will be able to make the link clear throughout.

One handy trick to bear in mind when thinking about definitions is that, considering different definitions of key words can actually be a good way of incorporating different perspectives into your essay. For example, if your essay question asks you whether progress is equally possible in the sciences and the arts then how you answer that question might depend on how you define progress and a good structure for the essay might be to start by considering one definition of progress (i.e. progress from one perspective) and then go on to contrast this with the answer that we get if we consider a different definition of progress from another perspective.

Is it a good idea to argue that it’s impossible to know anything at all?

Generally no … TOK examiners tend to be quite dismissive of essays that argue either that we can’t know anything at all or that you can have your ‘truth’ and I can have my ‘truth’ and that these truths are both true. The first of these approaches is often called ‘lazy scepticism’ and the second ‘easy relativism’ and you can see that the names imply that these are not particularly impressive positions to adopt. This is not to say that it’s impossible to be sceptical about knowledge and argue that there are problems with it because clearly there are. It’s also not to say that it’s impossible to argue that in some situations the ‘truth’ might actually be different for different people. However, by and large TOK is looking at how we can know things despite the problems we face when acquiring with knowledge or in spite of the different opinions that exist. TOK is in many ways a pragmatic and realistic subject that is trying to move away from creating the impression that we just can't know anything at all. As such, the best essays will admit that the acquisition of knowledge may not be straight-forward, but will go on to consider how we can overcome these obstacles in the successful pursuit of knowledge.

Do I have to cover every AOK and WOK in my essay?

No, you won’t have enough space. However, you should start by considering all of the   AOKs   and   WOKs   when you begin planning your essay and then narrow it down to the 2 or 3   AOKs   or   WOKs   where you can say the most interesting things. Make it clear that this narrowing down is a conscious decision that you have made and you can even briefly explain the reasons why you have made the choice that you have, if you think that it is relevant. Remember that the highest marks will go to the students who explore a few really key ideas in depth rather than those who try to cover everything. Remember also that the best and most original ideas are not necessarily going to be the ones that spring to mind first so try to use   AOKs   or   WOKs   that not everyone else is using – as long as they work.

So how do I know which   AOKs   or   WOKs   would be good ones to pick?

In general, it can be good to compare an AOK where a statement 'x' really applies well and contrast that with one where it doesn't or doesn't seem to. So for example 'All knowledge is subjective' seems to fit well with The Arts and Ethics, but less with Maths and Science so if you just talk about The Arts and Ethics then you are just going to have an essay that keeps saying ... and this is also true in Ethics, and we can see another example of subjectivity in the Arts, etc. It would be much better to say that this is true in the arts because of xyz reasons and not true in Maths because of   abc   reasons.

If you are really confident with TOK you might try inverting an obvious stereotype about an AOK and seeing if you can find examples where that isn’t true. For example, most students’ first reactions are that the Arts are a subjective subject whereas Maths is a subject which contains objective, universal truths. While there is some   truth to this stereotype   it is not true all the time and the best students will be able to explore where that stereotype breaks down and why it breaks down.   For example, while judgement in art is subjective, some truths – e.g. that this picture was painted by   Da   Vinci - are empirical and so we can have objective agreement about them. Additionally, even the subjective truths aren't allowed to be absolutely anything - even my Mum doesn't think that my Primary School paintings are as good as   Da   Vinci's. This kind of subtlety is what marks out the best answers.

In addition, do not make sweeping statements about aspects or areas of knowledge that imply that what you are saying is always and absolutely true without exception. Instead, phrase things in a way that acknowledges the limitations of your own knowledge and experience: for example ‘Accepting for the moment the premise that … then we can say …’

Do I have to use TOK words like ‘Areas of Knowledge’ in my essay?

Yes you do as this will demonstrate a good understanding of the course but be wary of just throwing them in everywhere: judicious and correct use of TOK terminology is better than going over the top. The words that should come up more frequently are the key words from the question to show that you are remaining focused on the question and not getting distracted by anything else.

Do I have to include any Philosophy or Philosophical words?

No   - the IB have made it clear that TOK is not a philosophy course, instead it is meant to be grounded in the real world and your own experiences as a student. As such you should try to avoid including complex philosophical points unless you really understand them and they really are fully relevant to the essay, even then it is often to put these points into your own words rather than quote philosophers because TOK is about you thinking for yourself rather than quoting someone else’s thoughts.

Do I have to research the quotations in the question title?

It is a good idea to know where the quotation came from, who said it and why but you wouldn’t necessarily include any of this in your essay. In fact, the quotation may not really be relevant at all to the essay question as they are sometimes just used to give you a flavor of   the what   the essay is about. For example in the ‘What I Tell You Three Times is True’ question – the number ‘three’ and the fact that this comes from Lewis Carroll are not necessarily as important as the point about repetition and so detailed research into the works of Lewis Carroll will not really help you with this question.

Can I use quotations from famous people to back up my argument?

Students often like starting essays, concluding essays or supporting points with quotations from famous people like Oscar Wilde or Albert Einstein. The fact that these people are experts tends to lend an air of credibility to your argument. However, the opinion of someone like Oscar Wilde is only going to be relevant in certain, very specific circumstances, for example, if you are exploring esthetics (the theory about what makes beautiful things beautiful) then it might be worth considering Oscar Wilde’s perspective on this topic as he was an artist… but you have to remember that his view is only one perspective and just because Wilde said it, it doesn’t mean that he has the best or most convincing theory about beauty. You should also remember that, outside of the topic of esthetics, it might not be a such good idea to quote Oscar Wilde at all: his opinions on how to live a good life, for example, can be sharply witty and sound quite appealing ... but we need to remember that he did die penniless and alone in Paris so is he really someone that we want to listen to?

Similarly, Einstein is a hugely important figure in the history of science and it might be worthwhile quoting him if you were exploring the forces that drive or inspire genius. However, again you should bear in mind that Einstein’s personal statement about what inspires him is not necessarily something that is going to be true of all thinkers. On top of that you should remember that it has been almost 100 years since the publication of Einstein’s last great work, the General Theory of Relativity, so if you are looking for an up to date comment on the nature of scientific knowledge then it might be best to look elsewhere.

In general the rule with quotations is that you should only quote from someone when they are an expert in the relevant field and even then you have to bear in mind that their opinion is nothing more than that, an opinion. Just like your opinions have to be backed up with evidence and proof, so do the opinions of experts… just because Einstein said it, it doesn’t mean it’s true until you show me the proof. One danger you should also be aware of if you quote too much is that the expert’s voice can come to replace your own and so you should only quote opinions sparingly. One additional way to prevent the expert’s voice from dominating your essay is to use quotations from them in your counterclaims; if you go on to disagree with the expert then that’s usually a clear indication that you are thinking for yourself.

Finally, be careful where you get your quotation from. ‘Brainyquote.com’ might be a repository of thousands of fantastic and completely accurate quotations but it doesn’t create a great impression of your ability to select reliable sources so try to find the original source for your quotation and quote that!

Do I need to include different perspectives in my essay?

Definitely, although remember that ‘different perspectives’ can mean a range of different things. One nice way to include different perspectives is by considering the question from the ‘perspective’ of the different   AOKs . So, for example, you might answer the question from the perspective of the sciences and then compare this with the perspective of the arts – this is a particularly nice trick because it also enables you to draw in some comparisons between the   AOKs   at the same time. However, there are other perspectives that you considering and exploring different cultural, political, philosophical, historical and intellectual perspectives or different schools of thought within an AOK can lead to a more interesting and more convincing essay.

Do I have to distinguish between ‘personal’ and ‘shared’ knowledge in my essay?

It’s definitely a good idea to consider these ideas in your planning but, as with anything, you should only really include them if they are relevant to your essay. One effective way to include these different kinds of knowledge in your essay is to treat them as different perspectives on the same issue. For example, if you are looking at whether it is possible to make progress in the arts then the answer might be quite different depending on whether I am talking about progress at a personal level (clearly I can get better at drawing) or at a shared / communal level because it’s not entirely clear what it would mean for art overall to get ‘better’. This links nicely with the previous point as a way of considering different perspectives on the same issue and can be a good way of killing two birds with one stone.

From www.mrhoyestokwebsite.com

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M23 TOK essay webinar

TOK Home > Resources & training store > TOK webinars > M23 TOK essay webinar

Our annual essay webinar discusses the challenges and opportunities of the M23 titles, key terms and concepts, and how to support students as they begin writing.

Your purchase provides you with links to the 90-minute video recording, the webinar presentation, and our responses to FAQs. Choose either the single or group educator tickets, depending on whether you will be sharing the webinar.

Purchase a recording of the webinar

The webinar offered a broad discussion on the TOK essay, and how best to support students, followed by a look at the M23 titles, their challenges and opportunities, and how to link them to relevant TOK topics, thinkers, and concepts.

Your purchase provides you with the webinar debrief, which includes a link to the 90-minute video recording, the event presentation, and our responses to over 30 questions asked by attendees of the webinar.

Choose the group ticket if you will be sharing the recording with staff and students, or the individual ticket if you’ll be using the webinar resources on your own.

About the webinar leader: Michael Dunn

Michael Dunn is the Cambridge-based founder of theoryofknowledge.net. He has worked as a teacher for nearly 25 years, and has led TOK workshops in schools all over the world. He is one of the world’s most innovative and influential TOK educators.

His PD sessions are highly interactive, clear, and jargon-free, and offer participants practical takeaways that can be used effectively in the classroom. Find out more about him on this page , and see testimonials about his support from members of the site here .

Ask a question about our webinars

We’ll be happy to answer any question you might have about our webinars.

These might include queries about the content of webinars, how we use Zoom to deliver sessions, webinar materials provided for attendees, or setting up online training for your school.

Please note that theoryofknowledge.net is a proudly independent company. Our webinars are not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate.

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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How to plan your ToK Essay

• October 6, 2022
• Student Support , ToK Essay

There’s no single formula to best plan your ToK Essay, but it’s fairly safe to say that you will need to invest time and (cognitive) energy into planning if you want to be awarded a good score.

However, this is not an overly onerous task if you start early, and spend a short period of time each week on the essay. Over a couple of months this will add up to a substantial foundation of planning, and more importantly – a good understanding of your chosen prescribed title.

So what do I actually do in the planning stage ?

I’ll put forward a 6 stage process for planning your essay, I have used IDEO’s Design Thinking Stages as the basic framework, within which I have fitted the ToK Essay development activities. As mentioned earlier this is just one of many possible models, you can adapt it according to your needs.

Discovery Phase

During this phase you will build the foundation for planning and writing your ToK Essay. If you get things right at this stage you will save yourself time, work and potential stress later on.

You can start by putting time into your weekly schedule to work on your ToK essay, if you give yourself 2-3 months to complete the essay you will probably only need to put 30mins-1hr / week into your schedule to successfully finish the essay. You should plan backwards from the Draft Deadline (remember the Draft Deadline should always be treated as the Final Deadline). Decide what on date you will stop planning and researching, and start writing. Plan your writing sessions. How many (quality) words can you write in an hour ? Probably about 200, if so then plan 8-10 hours of writing sessions.

You should also decide where you are going to store your planning documents, and record your collaborative sessions for the ToK Essay (eg Google suite, iCloud, OneNote, etc). Obviously ensure that everything is being copied to the cloud, hard drives do sometimes fail…,

Get together the necessary documents (eg IB ToK Subject Guide, Your school’s ToK Handbook etc). Ensure that you have passwords for any online databases (eg JSTOR) that you may use.

Finally, make a commitment to yourself. This is private to you, and it’s a nice way to make this process valuable and personal to you. My commitment to myself at the beginning of a big project always involves the gratitude that I have to be offered the opportunity to do this, the spirit within which I will do the project, and a respect for the learning that will come from the process. That’s my commitment to myself, you can make a commitment which is meaningful to you.

Interpretation Phase.

During this phase you are going to build your personal interpretation of the question. Do this before you start to take on other people’s interpretations. It is important that you have created your own understanding of the question before you listen to others so that when it comes to developing and writing the essay you have a starting point which comes from your core inner understanding. When students run into problems with the essay I always ask them what they thought the question was asking (& what their answer to it was) before they started writing the answer. Often the student will not be able to answer this question because they hadn’t established their personal (foundational) understanding before taking on the views of others.

You can use the ToK Essay Activators during the Interpretation Phase to help you to develop your own understanding of the Prescribed Title.

The ToK Essay Activators (above) are prompts to help you to develop your own understanding of the essay. You can use these (on your own) to guide your thinking at this early stage.

It is very useful to find a way to record your thinking at this stage. You may enjoying using the scattergram method, or visual thinking through drawing or doodling, or even making a flowchart. However you choose to do it I would strongly recommend having an easily accessible record of your thinking, which is meaningful to you, at this early stage.

Ideation Phase.

Once you’ve established your own understanding of the essay now is a good time to start to collaborate with your fellow ToK students, groupwork with students who are writing the same PT as you. Collaboration is a give and take relationship, you can offer your understanding of the PT, and in turn they will help you to deepen your understanding by offering their interpretation.

The aim here is to gather lots of ideas, and to develop new interpretations / perspectives. The aim is not to replace your own understanding with someone else’s ideas (doing this will make it much harder for you to write a high scoring essay). Your work with other students is to help you to develop your ideas in breadth, depth and scope. At this stage you can also start honing (refining) your arguments, research sources, and examples that you will draw upon in the essay. As noted in other blogs I recommend using examples that are drawn from your other DP subjects. Using these examples will save you time (as it’s content that you’ve already learned), you can ask your subject teachers for help (eg if you’re using an example from Chemistry then you can ask your Chemistry teacher to give you more information about the development of the theory/concept etc). Finally, using examples drawn from your other DP subjects will help you to deepen your understanding in that subject. ToK helps learning in the Hexagon, and the Hexagon helps your learning in ToK.

Your teacher will probably design collaborative group learning experiences with students who are writing the same PT. Remember to find a way of recording these collaborative sessions (eg a journal, doodles, or taking a photo of a board covered in Post-its). These records will help to stimulate ideas and thinking later when you are writing the essay.

Experimentation Phase.

Now it’s time to write your essay plan. The ToK Essay is 1600 words, so you can think of it as being 8-10 paragraphs long. It’s not many words (or paragraphs) given the task handed to you by nature of the PTs. You will need to be concise and precise. There is very little room for contextualisation, scene setting and other ‘flowery stuff’. You’ve got to get straight to the point and start executing the Assessment Instrument very early in the essay.

A Note on Structure.

There is no single ‘best’ ToK Essay structure. You will need to develop a structure which best serves your needs for the way that you want to answer the prescribed title. I have seen high scoring essays which have used lots of different structures (unfortunately I have also seen less successful essays which have also used the range of structures). If you want more detailed help on structure I would recommend getting my ebook “ How to write the ToK Essay in 6 easy steps ” which is available from the Student Support Section of this website.

During this phase you will need to finalise the arguments, real world examples, evaluation points and implication points that you will use in the essay. You will undertake the bulk of your secondary research (see note about using content from your Hexagon Subjects above).

Show your teacher your Essay Plan, and get feedback on ways to improve the plan. Feedback on the plan is crucial to helping you to write the essay with fewer obstacles later.

Once you and your teacher are happy with your Essay Plan write your Introduction and show it to your teacher. This will help you to know whether you’re setting off in the right direction. It will also help to know whether you are using appropriate tone, pitch and style.

A note on The Introduction

There is no need to write ‘flowery’ introductions about the nature of the universe, the function of existence, the vastness of the universe etc etc. Further, don’t start with a quote if it’s not relevant to the PT (generally, just don’t start with a quote). There are insufficient words available to write in such a descriptive and stylistic manner. You have to get straight to the point. For most students this will be defining the key terms in the essay. If you want more help on what to put into The Introduction see the ebook (How to write the Tok Essay in 6 Easy Steps) from the Student Support section of this website.

Evolution Phase.

Once you have feedback on your Introduction from your teacher it is finally time to write the rest of your essay. As you write your essay you may find that ideas & arguments develop and even change. This is a positive sign that your understanding is developing as you spend more time thinking about the Prescribed Title. If this happens you may need to go back and redraft the Introduction – this is all good, it’s the process of Evolution – an adaptation of knowledge to changing circumstances. Congratulations if you experience, this you are growing !

Continue to communicate with your teacher, and show them your writing when it’s appropriate to do so. Write to schedule, and submit a fully finished Draft Essay before the Draft Deadline. Fully finished means that the language has been refined (and proof-read if necessary), the bibliography & references are completed, and there is a word count on the essay.

If you have planned your schedule properly you should comfortably finish writing your Draft well before the submission deadline, and you won’t have to ‘pull an all nighter’, or other such stressful experiences !

Once you have submitted the Draft let out a big sigh of relief, and have a small celebration – the difficult bit of the essay is now over.

Well done !

If you’ve followed the plan so far you will have submitted a good Draft Essay. The written feedback from your teacher will help you to turn a good Draft into an excellent final essay. When you receive the written feedback act on it as soon as possible as the ideas will still be fresh in both you and your teacher’s minds. Don’t leave the written feedback until the last day before the final submission deadline as this will not leave time for any further clarification that you need from your teacher. I usually give my students a month between receiving written feedback and submitting the final essay, I urged them to work on the written feedback at the beginning of that month rather than towards the end.

After dealing with the written feedback you can submit your essay, and you’re done for this component of your IB Diploma. However, you’re not actually “done”.

The ToK Essay is probably most academic, esoteric and conceptually challenging piece of writing that most students have undertaken at this stage of their education, and as such it can profoundly change you. The skills that you have learned during the essay will serve you well for the upcoming DP exams, and well into your time in Higher Education, and subsequently into your career. Many students have told me that their first year of university entailed a lot more “ToK-like” thinking than they had anticipated (regardless of the subject they study at uni). One student who was studying Film at uni wrote to me after the second term to tell me that he was loving his course because “it’s just like doing ToK with a camera.”.

If you need help with any aspect of your ToK Essay or Exhibtion please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Stay ToK-tastic !

Daniel, Lisbon, Portugal, September 2022.

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IB ToK Essay Titles and Topics: May 2022

Here are links to ideas and suggestions relating to the the six May 2022 IB ToK Essay topics:

• Topic 1. Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
• Topic 2. To what extent do you agree with the claim that "there’s a world of difference between truth and facts". (Maya Angelou) Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• Topic 3. Is there solid justification for regarding knowledge in the natural sciences more highly than another area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• Topic 4. How do historians and human scientists give knowledge meaning through the telling of stories? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.
• Topic 5. How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.
• Topic 6. If we conclude that there is some knowledge we should not pursue on ethical grounds, how can we determine the boundaries of acceptable investigation within an area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Title 1: Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 1 include:

• the relationship between truth and knowledge
• is truth always relative to some context?
• can the same truth be seen in different ways?

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

Title 2: To what extent do you agree with the claim that "there’s a world of difference between truth and facts". (Maya Angelou) Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 2 include:

• truth is a property of representations, e.g. factual sentences
• facts are truth-makers - what make true sentences true
• do all facts exist independently of all minds?

The kinds of things that can be true or false are representations: they represent things as being a certain way: some represent truly, some falsely (misrepresent things). Photographs are representations: an acceptable passport photo represents the face of the passport owner with a true likeness, for example. Factual sentences are an important kind of representation. True factual sentences describe or represent the actual facts: e.g. the factual English sentence "gold is a metal" is true because gold is, in actual fact, a metal. False factual sentences misrepresent the facts: e.g. "gold is plastic" is false because, in actual fact, gold is not plastic, but is metal. True factual sentences are therefore an important way of recording and communicating factual knowledge: knowledge of the facts. For example, I can use the English sentence "The city of London is on the river Thames" to communicate the factual knowledge (knowledge of the fact) that the city of London is on the river Thames. Facts are therefore truth makers: they are what exist in reality to make factual sentences true. Reality therefore comprises, or contains all the facts. Someone who claims to live by "alternative facts" is therefore claiming to live, literally, in an alternative reality. Many TOK students make the mistake of talking about "true facts". This commits a category mistake. Facts aren't the kind of thing that can be true or false, precisely because they aren't representations, they just exist there in reality. It is factual sentences that are true in virtue of the facts. Some facts undoubtedly exist independently of all minds: the fact that the earth orbits the sun is so, it is a part of reality, whether or not anyone does think, or ever has thought, about it. However, are there some facts which rely on minds for their existence, such that if minds ceased to exist those facts would too? These thoughts, and others, will be developed here shortly: come back soon!

Title 3: Is there solid justification for regarding knowledge in the natural sciences more highly than another area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 3 include:

• the uses and purposes of knowledge
• how are beliefs justified?
• the difference between knowing and claiming to know

Title 4: How do historians and human scientists give knowledge meaning through the telling of stories? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.

Thoughts to consider with essay 4 include:

• the role of narrative construction in knowledge creation
• the difference between trivial and significant knowledge

Title 5: How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 5 include:

• the purposes and uses of interpretation
• the difference between interpreting an artist's intentions and interpreting their work
• the relationship between interpretation and truth

Title 6: If we conclude that there is some knowledge we should not pursue on ethical grounds, how can we determine the boundaries of acceptable investigation within an area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

Thoughts to consider with essay 6 include:

• the ethical difference between knowing something and using that knowledge
• should ethics provide decision-making procedures?
• can we assume there are there clear ethical boundaries that it is possible to determine?
• 1. Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
• 2. To what extent do you agree with the claim that "there’s a world of difference between truth and facts". (Maya Angelou) Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.
• 3. Is there solid justification for regarding knowledge in the natural sciences more highly than another area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
• 4. How do historians and human scientists give knowledge meaning through the telling of stories? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.
• 5. How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.
• 6. If we conclude that there is some knowledge we should not pursue on ethical grounds, how can we determine the boundaries of acceptable investigation within an area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
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Breaking Down TOK Essay Titles 2022

The TOK Essay can be a daunting task, and many of us struggle to even begin out of fear of doing something wrong. Not only are you expected to learn the philosophy of all the areas of knowledge, but now you have to write an essay about it too!?

TOK Essay Titles in Human Sciences

As difficult as this may seem, what most of us need is just a nudge in the right direction, and this is exactly what the following guide will provide. If you’re struggling to begin your essay, don’t know where to start or which title to pick, we’re here to help!

Read on for a simple breakdown of the 6 TOK titles and how to tackle them.

1. Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

The first title is very intriguing for those who are interested in the social sciences! The question posed expects you to discuss whether knowledge and culture are always connected and if knowledge can exist without culture in the first place. You’re asked to consider mathematics and another AoK of your choice. Before we consider which AoK’s are suitable, however, we must establish what it means for knowledge to be independent of culture.

Culture is a very abstract concept, and it can refer to anything ranging from a regional food dish such as Spanish Paella to the entire history, language and moral values of a society. This may seem like a lot to tackle, but a simpler way to look at it is to consider whether knowledge is always defined by culture, or if there are exceptions.

In some cases, culture certainly determines the knowledge we produce. Consider the AoK History, for instance, where the history of a country is closely connected to aspects of culture such as language and morality. Historians use language to write history and their morals (which are defined by culture) to interpret the past, such as who was right or wrong. Both language and morality are aspects of culture, and therefore we can argue that historical knowledge may not be independent of culture!

How about Mathematics, then? We must also consider if knowledge can be independent of culture. In this case, mathematics is largely independent of culture as it is mostly an objective AoK. Knowledge is factual, and facts are absolute. Mathematics has one, universal language spoken by all mathematicians, and 2 + 2 = 4 in any part of the world. Thus, we can argue that mathematical knowledge is indeed independent of culture.

Lastly, don’t forget to support your arguments with real-life examples (RLEs). For history, one option would be to look at how bias affects historical writing. Some historians may have biases, which have arisen from their morals and culture and are reflected in their historical writing. For mathematics, consider the absence of bias and how formulae such as Pythagoras’ Theorem remain universal, and no amount of cultural influence can ever change something which is a fact.

2. To what extent do you agree with the claim that “there’s a world of difference between truth and facts.” (Maya Angelou) Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

While prompt 1 gives you one prescribed AoK, this one offers you more choice. Hurray! Or? While this question allows you to select both AoKs, too much choice is often more detrimental than beneficial in the Theory of Knowledge. Here, you’re asked to consider the difference between truth and fact. At first glance, you may be thinking that they’re the same thing and while this is not the case, they are immensely similar. Let’s see how you can approach this…

When considering the meaning of truth and fact, it is always useful to put them into some sort of context. For instance, in the natural sciences, we can argue that there isn’t much of a difference between truth and fact. This is because when a scientific theory such as the theory of evolution is proven, it becomes widely accepted as true and factual. Thus, the definition of truth and fact are virtually inseparable in the sciences.

Another AoK to explore could be history. Here, historians never truly know the ‘truth’ of what happened in the past, and they struggle immensely to recover facts from all sources so that they may piece together accurate interpretations. Therefore, they collect facts in an attempt to reach ever closer to the ultimate truth of what happened in the past, but arguably never achieve this fully. This leads to varying interpretations in history, as historians gather the same facts but may reach different truths from them. In this view, we can argue that facts are the building blocks of truth, rather than truth itself.

3. Is there solid justification for regarding knowledge in the natural sciences more highly than other areas of knowledge? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.

It’s time for more science! This is probably the most straightforward TOK title this time around, and that’s good news! Not everything has to be complex, even in TOK. Here, you’re being asked to discuss if there is any good reason to regard scientific knowledge ‘more highly’ than other AoKs. In other words, is scientific knowledge ‘better’ than knowledge in other AoKs, and if so, why and how? Let’s dig in!

To make things easier, let’s consider what other AoKs would be suitable choices for this title. In this case, a social science such as history or art would be very suitable. If we consider the arts, knowledge can be defined as the creations of artists such as paintings or music, and the interpretations people have of them. In this view, we can argue that art knowledge is quite subjective as the same song may make one person feel happy and another sad. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it also makes the arts unique.

Nevertheless, the subjectivity of the arts could also be one reason that scientific knowledge may be regarded more highly, as it is objective and factual. For instance, it is an objective fact that cells are the smallest unit of life, but it is not factual to say that a painting is ‘beautiful’, as beauty is subjective. Then again, maybe facts aren’t everything, and maybe scientific knowledge isn’t better, but simply different from art knowledge. Consider these perspectives and ultimately decide if there is enough justification for the claim.

4. How do historians and human scientists give knowledge meaning through the telling of stories? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences.

Storytelling is a powerful tool, so much so that experts in the social sciences use it to communicate their research. If you’ve chosen this title, you should begin by considering how knowledge is defined in history and the human sciences, such as psychology.

From the lens of history, you may decide that historical knowledge is a collection of interpretations of the past. Moreover, these are the interpretations of historians who record and teach them, orally or in writing.

These interpretations give historical events meaning by communicating their significance. A potential RLE would be to consider a historical event such as World War 2, and then analyze how historical interpretations teach us to appreciate its significance and not repeat the past.

If we consider the social sciences such as psychology, things can be a bit more complicated and ambiguous. Do psychologists tell stories? Maybe not in the conventional sense, but are research papers on mental health disorders not a type of story, one which teaches us about the disorder and the experiences people have of it? Exactly!

The key here is to consider how knowledge is communicated in history and social science. Thus, your essay should focus on analyzing and discussing the methodology that historians and human scientists use to tell stories.

5. How can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge.

This question is my personal favorite! If you’re a fan of the arts, this is the question for you. What is an interpretation, and what makes it good or bad? In title 4 we considered how historical interpretations tell us about the past, and interpretations in the art are similar. While historians can interpret the past, art critics can judge the quality of an artistic piece. But how can we tell which interpretations are ‘good’ and which are ‘bad’?

When considering this title, make sure to focus on the different types of interpretations we can have within art. Not all interpretations come from professional art critics, as art is free to view by all, and the everyday person can have their own, unique opinion on a piece of art.

A good starting point to explore would be whether one art critic has a better interpretation of a piece of art than the everyday person. Perhaps the critic has professional training and is more qualified to judge the techniques Da Vinci used to craft the Mona Lisa than a casual art enthusiast.

However, art is not only about technique but also about emotion, and the everyday person may be better able to appreciate the subjective beauty of an art piece. Thus, in the arts, it may be difficult to tell the difference between good and bad interpretations, as there are no concrete criteria for determining this.

Through the lens of another AoK, we can see a completely different perspective in the natural sciences. Here, the opinions of experts can be said to always be better than those of the general public. A good RLE could be climate change propaganda, and how scientific knowledge is necessary in order to make educated interpretations.

In the arts, it may be debatable whether the Mona Lisa is a ‘sad’ or ‘joyful’ painting, but in the sciences, global warming is a proven fact, and anything which says otherwise is a ‘bad’ interpretation. Inherently, this question is about the subjectivity of the arts and the objectivity of other AoKs. Just some food for thought!

6. If we conclude that there is some knowledge we should not pursue on ethical grounds, how can we determine the boundaries of acceptable investigation within an area of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.

The last prescribed title is one of the most difficult, as it deals with ethics. Here, you’re asked to discuss ethical boundaries within two AoKs of your choice. Some good choices could be AoKs which are very research-based, such as the natural sciences and history. Let’s break this down.

Ethics can be very tricky, as you’re essentially asked to discuss the boundaries between what is ethical and what is not. This is difficult because ethics differ as much from person to person as they do from one AoK to another.

In the sciences, ethical boundaries may refer to experiments involving human trials, for example. How can we determine when a new drug is safe for human testing and is it ethical at all to test on humans?

Similarly, in history, we may consider the issues that arise when researching sensitive topics. For instance, is it ethical to interview holocaust survivors and urge them to remember their past traumas, all for the sake of historical records?

At what point do we draw the line, and how are these ethical boundaries determined? This question is all about methodology and whether methodology within two AoKs is ethical, so if that sounds interesting, this is your go-to title!

Prescribed Essay Titles for Your TOK Essay

The prescribed essay titles above are great for tok essays as they cover ethical grounds that you can discuss with reference and solid justification. Once you have narrowed down these prescribed titles, you can conduct research based on factual knowledge and find specific examples to work with. Then the fun part begins: the essay writing process!

Do you have any questions?

Reach out to the team at Lanterna.

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