3 easiest wins on ToK Essay

Today's post details 3 easy ways in which students could have "less stress and more success" when writing their ToK Essay. These 3 'easy wins' are things done by some students, but missed by many. Without further ado, let's get into them:

1. Actually answer the question that's actually been set.

Yes, this first 'easy win' is very actual, and may seem very obvious, but it points to a mistake made by many students. Ensure that you are answering the question that has been set by the examiners (in the words of IB 'responding to the Prescribed Title as set by the Chief Examiner'), rather than a rewriting of the title.

When writing your essay ensure that you directly address the question, be careful not to re-interpret the question in such a way that you change the nature, or objective, of the question. This is easier said than done as all of the ToK questions require a degree of interpretation.

Let's take an adapted example* from the May 2022 Essay Titles:

Title 4: Do historians and knowledge producers in one other AoK tell stories to give knowledge meaning ? Discuss with reference to history and one other Area of Knowledge.

A typical mistake that a student could make with this question is to write an essay discussing the various ways in which History, and knowledge in one other AoK, was biased by the telling of stories. The student could have defined 'stories' in terms of a narrative interpretation of evidence, and could make a valid set of arguments as to how such 'story-telling' could introduce bias into the interpretation of knowledge. However, the question doesn't ask about bias, it asks about meaning.

As such the student needs to address both the definition of 'tell[ing] stories' and 'give[ing] knowledge meaning'. Both ideas will need extensive unpacking and application in AoK History and the chosen alternative AoK. If the student were to introduce the concept of bias it would need to be included as part of the definition of 'meaning', as the essay title asks about meaning this needs to be the central focus of the essay.

I have often seen students change the central focus of the question when unpacking the title, and striving to define the key concepts in the question. The over-riding requirement of the ToK Essay assessment rubric is that the student gives a "clear, coherent and critical exploration of the title.". This requires that they don't change the title.

2. Don't waste time & words on quotes.

I often see students include quotes in their essays, very rarely do these quotes add to the overall mark awarded to the essay. It must be pointed out that such quotes rarely detract from the mark awarded for the essay, but they are using valuable words which could possibly be put to better use in trying to meet the requirements of the assessment rubric (I know it's officially called an "Assessment Instrument", but that sounds even more clinical than "assessment rubric").

The use of quotes that I see can be split into 3 broad categories:

a) The "Meme-like Quote".

This is the grandiose quote on the nature of the universe, human beings, time or some other 'eternal question of philosophy'. This quote is virtually never directly related to the prescribed title, and rarely anything to do with the prescribed title. I call it "The Meme-like Quote" because it's the sort of thing that you find if you google "quote about the nature of life".

The "Meme-like Quote" is the sort of quote that you get if you Google an image on "the nature of life" or some other such vague & grandiose idea.

I assume that this quote is included either as scene setting (or maybe to give the examiner the impression that the student is wide-read). Maybe, students who use this type of quote have previously taken courses where they are credited for narrative style, or soft long introductions. The ToK essay does not award 'style' nor wider scene setting. The 1600 word limit is actually very few words within which to answer the question, therefore students need to go to directly to the question at the beginning of the answer. The opening sentence of the essay could be a definition of a key term, there's no need to tell the examiner that you have been pondering the nature of existence, or some such thoughts.

b) The 'related but unnecessary' quote.

This quote is citing the words of a knowledge producer who is being used as real world evidence in the answer. For example, a student who is discussing the Heliocentric Theory of the Universe may quote Ptolemy. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with this type of quote as it at least relates to the real world example being used we need to ask ourselves is it necessary. Does the quote actually help to answer the question ? , Did the student need to include the quote to answer the question ? Could the point still be made without the use of the quote ? Very rarely is the quote necessary to the point being made.

The "related but unnecessary quote" is a quote which is linked to the real life example being discussed, but generally unnecessary to making the point. For example, if a student was using Darwin's Theory of adaptation to explain how knowledge develops overtime the quote on the right but would be unnecessary. It would not add to the overall score of the essay, even though it comes from the knowledge constructor under discussion.

3. The possibly relevant and useful quote.

The possibly relevant and useful quote is the one instance when a quote may be useful, it is both very rarely seen, and very rarely required. This is the occasion when a quote does add to the argument being used to answer the question. This quote, by purpose of its necessity, is probably decisive evidence in the argument being made. As such, this quote may take the reader beyond that which is commonly known about the knowledge producer, this quote may offer a new perspective on the knowledge producer. A note of caution must be made about the file-drawer problem, or confirmation bias - ie using a quote which is not typically representative of that knowledge producers overall body of work, or using a quote out of context, in order to consolidate an argument.

The 'possibly relevant and useful quote' is the rare occasion when a quote does add to the perspective, or argument, being put forward. For example if a student was discussing how knowledge could be categorised as both scientific and religious by the knower (as such it can be complementary and integrated) they could be using Ptolemy as an example. It may not be well known that Ptolemy developed both a scientific and religious understanding, in which case the quote on the left may be useful for consolidating the argument. It could constitute the "effective support" of a "specific example".

In summary - a quote should only be used if it is necessary for making the argument, as such the quote adds to the argument. In the vast majority of cases a quote is not necessary, and does not add to the answer. The vast majority (98%+) of answers scoring 8-10 points will not have any quotes in them. As a rule of thumb- just don't include any quotes, and "if in doubt, leave it out".

3. Draw on examples from your Diploma Studies.

The essay requires that you use examples to demonstrate your arguments. I sometimes find that students undertake detailed research on examples that are new to them. Whilst this may sometimes be necessary it's often an unproductive use of time and energy. The easy win here is that all of the examples that you need to draw upon are readily available in the hexagon subjects of your Diploma. If you are taking a 'normal' Diploma then you are taking at least one subject which is largely based in at least one of the Areas of Knowledge (the Hexagon subjects are often based in more than one AoK). Even if you don't take a Group 6 subject everyone takes Language A which provides you with examples for AoK The Arts. Even if you don't take DP History you will be taking a Group 3 subject which will have aspects of The Scope, Methodology, Ethics and Perspective of AoK History inherent to it. You will also have elements of AoK History in Grps 1, 4, 6 and even arguably in Grp 5 (Maths).

There many benefits to drawing upon your hexagon subjects for your examples:

1. It will save you a lot of time as rather than researching and learning new content you are using content that you already know and understand.

2. You can ask your hexagon teacher for help. For example if you're looking for examples of how knowledge evolves over time, and you are learning a new theory in Chemistry you could ask your Chemistry teacher what the accepted thinking was before the development of this theory, why did the new theory come about ?, what conditions had to be fulfilled for the new theory to be accepted? etc This brings ToK into the hexagon subject, and helps the hexagon teacher to integrate ToK into their teaching.

3. learning more about your hexagon subject, and coming at it from a rather different perspective will probably help your understanding of the hexagon subject. It may even improve your understanding and skills in the Hexagon subject (this is definitely the case in Grps 1, 3 and 6). As such it makes time spent on hexagon subjects more productive.

That's it for 3 Easy Wins on The ToK Essay. I hope that these 3 suggestions save you time, and help you to write a better ToK Essay with less stress. If you would like to see more content like this, or you need help with your Essay (or Exhibition) please do not hesitate to contact me at Daniel@ToKToday.com.

Daniel,
Lisbon, Portugal, September 2022

*NB the IB own the copyright to the actual Prescribed Titles, and therefore I can't use them verbatim on this public website.

3 Easy wins on ToK Essay ("short" version)