There is a lot of excitement in the IB community, for the IB TOK essay titles May 2022 has been released and the IB Diploma Programme students are excited, though a bit confused, to see the new TOK essay titles May 2022. If you are one of those excited ones, then this blog is really meant for you!
We would suggest that as you read the blog, make highlights on every key pointer it talks about. We have tried to keep it as simple as possible such that you can assimilate the suggestive measures. The blog would answer couple of your key questions.
What is TOK essay?
TOK essay is the most important component for IB Diploma Programme Theory of Knowledge (TOK), counting for 67% of your total TOK score, which is quite a substantial proportion. Do not get overwhelmed by seeing the essay titles. They are quite simple knowledge questions (KQs) based on your compulsory areas of knowledge (AOKs). The KQs encompass the knowledge framework elements such as scope, perspectives, methods and tools, and ethics.
How do I deal with the TOK essay title?
- The very first thing you need to remember is that you are to choose one of the TOK essay titles from the prescribed list of TOK essay titles May 2022, without making any slightest of changes in the given title. Just consider the essay titles as they are given.
- Weave through the TOK essay title chosen keeping the essence of meta-cognition intact, i.e. how you know what you know. It is not needed to be verbose in drafting what information you know, rather it is salient to critically analyse and reflect on ‘how you know’.
- Spin though your essay as precisely as possible in substantiating how you analyse the TOK essay title with the help of the most explorative TOK concepts.
- Format your essay as per the TOK essay formatting guidelines-such as use of double spacing and font size 12, accurate referencing, and not exceeding 1600 words.
- Referencing with the use of charts, maps, citations, footnotes in the bibliography is one of the key action items not to be forgotten in order to avoid the most dangerous academic dishonesty as plagiarism. Always run your TOK essay draft through plagiarism detectors like Turnitin, Scibbr, Ithenticate etc. before submission.
Have I explored my TOK essay in a clear, coherent, and critical manner?
This question of yours makes me reinforce that your TOK essay aims to see how clear, coherent, and critical is your reflection throughout the scheme of your TOK essay draft.
When I say clear, it means that you need to weave through the selected TOK essay title strictly based on the central question without deviation. True that the KQ can be analysed through AOKs which have transdisciplinary interaction and integration. AOKs may relate to each other through some coherent threads. It is extremely beneficial for you to validate the coherent nature of your TOK essay. Also, the more you establish the trans-disciplinary integration between the AOKs, the more critical you can be looking through the different perspective lenses. Moreover, do not ignore the criterion ‘critical’- the more perspectives you involve, the more neutral and unbiased you are as a balanced learner. This is where you can involve the spirit of contestability in the KQ. Explore and analyse it though claims and counter claims-finally striking the balanced approach in your conclusion.
What is the TOK essay assessment instrument?
‘Does the student provide a clear, coherent and critical exploration of the essay title?’-is the propelling question for the examiner in the assessment task.
While the examiner assesses whether you have sufficed to the above key criteria, the TOK assessment instrument or scale explains five levels of performance based on which you understand which step of the assessment ladder you are on.
Level 0
It indicates that you have been deviated from your focus- the central KQ, and your complete draft does not at all analyse the chosen title. Now that you know how important is to remain focused on your KQ, you understand precisely that you are not to deviate at all.
Rudimentary level 1-2
You might have been aware of the KQ but your discussion is not completely focused. You have adopted a descriptive path through different AOKs claiming certain statements. Note that claims are not considered trustworthy until and unless they are substantiated by evidences. Students who remain at this rudimentary level might have encompassed the KQ round certain AOKs, but could not bolster their claims with facts. If you miss on the validation task, you remain on the descriptive mode-which is not advisable. Based on our above discussion, we have seen that the TOK essay has to be handled in a critically reflective way and not through the descriptive mode. Also, you must have noted that when you are on this rudimentary step, you have ignored perspectives-because you have just asserted your claims. Hence, your essay in such a case is surely not coherent and critical.
Basic 3-4
I would say that if you are on the basic level of assessment, you have done marginally better than the rudimentary level by interconnecting the AOKs to your KQ. Though you are focused on your KQ, the interconnection between the AOKs and KQ is pretty feeble. Also, you might have been able to claim with evidences, but unfortunately it is a weak bolstering with ineffective evidence use.
Satisfactory 5-6
You have been focused on the KQ and weaved through the interconnected AOKs. Though you might have opened up your arguments validating through evidences, there is some room left and unexplored while unpacking the title through different perspectives, which might have set the premise for counter claims. Now that you know the significance of being coherent, you understand that a balanced argument requires looking at the title through multiple perspectives.
Good 7-8
Compared to satisfactory, you have performed better. Needless to mention that you have sufficed to all the criteria of staying focused to your KQ, weaving through trans-disciplinary AOKs, and validating your claims with evidences. But, the mind boggling question-have you welcome the counter claims by critically exploring the KQ through diverse perspectives? If your answer is no, you know why you are on 7-8 level. Hence, there is further scope to climb up.
Excellent 9-10
It is very clear now that you are on the highest level. You have been precisely clear with your KQ interconnecting it with different AOKs. You have adopted an analytical path in showing how you explored the central question through valid claims and counter claims. Your approach is balanced in critically reflecting through different points of view or perspectives-striking a coherence between all claims and counter claims.
Hope these steps have given you a clarity on how to climb up the TOK essay assessment ladder with confidence and precision.
