IB TOK Essay: How to write, examples

TOK essay is an essay that International Baccalaureate (IB) students have to write. The idea is to develop critical thinking skills and reflect on nature of knowledge in various disciplines.

TOK essays usually require students to understand how truth, evidence, bias, perception, language play a part in shaping knowledge. In the writing, students are expected to provide verification, justification, interpretation or validation of the ideas presented.

Typical Structure of a TOK Essay

Here’s a typical structure that you can follow while writing a TOK essay.

Introduction: Introduce areas of knowledge (concerning the title).

Body

• Para 1 (any one human science): one argument with an example
• Para 2 (same or any other human science): a counter-perspective with an example
• Para 3 (any one Natural Science): one argument with an example
• Para 4 (any other Natural Science): a counter-perspective with a different example

Conclusion

• Summarize the body paragraphs
• Balanced opinion

May 2024 TOK Essay Prescribed Titles

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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

6. 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.