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WRITING THE TOK ESSAY

WRITING THE TOK ESSAY. WHICH ESSAY TOPIC WILL YOU SELECT?. Do you… Do eenie meanie mineee mo until you get one? Ask your spirit guide to pick one for you? Do what everyone else is doing? Think carefully weighing your options and brainstorm all topics first?.

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WRITING THE TOK ESSAY

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  1. WRITING THE TOK ESSAY

  2. WHICH ESSAY TOPIC WILL YOU SELECT? • Do you… • Do eenie meanie mineeemo until you get one? • Ask your spirit guide to pick one for you? • Do what everyone else is doing? • Think carefully weighing your options and brainstorm all topics first?

  3. d) Think carefully weighing your options and brainstorm all topics first? • Do not instantly seize upon a title that sounds appealing and plunge into it headlong. Instead, read carefully all titles (that is, all topics or questions) on the list. Which one allows you to demonstrate best YOUR understanding of TOK issues and your own critical skills? Remember that you may not change the title to something else that you wish you had been asked, but must respond to what the IB has given. Walter carefully selecting his topic

  4. What are the key words or concepts? • Are there key words of the Theory of Knowledge course in the title -- words such as "belief", "justification", or "truth"? Are you clear about what they mean? Are you aware of ambiguities, or of possible alternative meanings? Think back on class discussions and check class notes. • How are the key concepts related to each other? • Put the title into your own words to make sure you understand what is being asked.

  5. Write down some knowledge issues or questions • “To what extent…”,” • “How do we know that…,” • “How reli­able is…,” • “How cer­tain is…” These kind of open ques­tions allow you to pull in mul­ti­ple per­spec­tives (AoK’s and WoK’s), so you can show your TOK think­ing. • Also make sure that your ques­tion is directly related to know­ing–that it is a ques­tion about knowledge.

  6. When thinking about your knowledge issues… • Remember that a "problem of knowledge" is not a problem at all in the everyday sense of the word. • Uncertainties and difficulties are an integral part of our search for knowledge, and may even (depending on your values) make it more humanly interesting. • Do not treat an area of knowledge as inherently inferior simply because it is more difficult to assert that we can know something in that area than it is in others.

  7. BRAINSTORM UNTIL IT STOPS RAINING… • Do all cultures see these problems in the same way? • What comparisons can you draw, what general conclusions do you reach, and what arguments can be made against those conclusions? • What are the implications of your main points? • Can you find examples to illustrate your arguments? • Counter-examples? • Note down your ideas quickly, without trying to structure them yet. Write until your mind runs dry. It will.

  8. REMEMBER WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING HERE ALL YEAR! • Enrich your immediate ideas by going back over notes from your TOK course to remind yourself of class discussions and material which are relevant to your title. • To illustrate your points, gather examples from notes and texts from your other IB courses, the media, people you know, your personal experience, and any other relevant sources.

  9. ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS IN PREPARATION FOR WRITING • Allow yourself only a few minutes to wail, "But I can't . . . !" and then settle down to try… • NOT A TOK STUDENT…

  10. AN INTRODUCTION • The marking criteria favour a concise introduction. Know where you want to go and don't use up hundreds of words just getting started • Topic • Definitions – yours • What you will examine in the essay – some kind of road map for the marker • Some introductions include examples • Some include quotes What ever you decide to do make sure that you are not waffling and wasting words

  11. K.I.S.S…. no not a real kiss Sean… • There is no absolute formula you need to follow … however … something like the following can help for the body of your essay… • -The AoK or WoK • -Claim. • -Explain. • -Exam­ple. • -The AoK or WoK-Counter - Claim. • -Explain. • -Exam­ple. • Link to knowledge issue • -Impli­ca­tions and sig­nif­i­cance. Why is it impor­tant that we know about this? • -Per­spec­tive. Explain another view that some­one may have (i.e. an older per­son, some­one who’s had dif­fer­ent life expe­ri­ences than you) • Make sure that each paragraph you write signposts WHAT YOU ARE DOING – BE EXPLICIT IF YOU CAN!

  12. CONCLUSION • There is no "right or wrong answer" to a prescribed title: Your essay will be evaluated upon the strength of your arguments. An effective conclusion must reflect those arguments

  13. TOK TEACHERS ARE AWESOME!!! • YEAH!!!

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