How to write a great TOK ESSAY

What makes a great essay? What makes a great TOK Essay?    

Mr. C. 

Key elements include: STRUCTURE AND WRITING STYLE as in any essay but also Putting the TOK ingredients in your essay as per the TOK ESSAY RUBRIC

You must integrate your ideas and present them in a way that responds to the exact essay title – do not change a word from the original.

You must meet the 4 criteria

1.     UNDERSTANDING KNOWLEDGE ISSUES – link them  to the title

2.     KNOWER’S PERSPECTIVE- personal reflective exploration/self-awareness

3.     QUALITY OF ANALYSIS – knowledge issues/claims and counterclaims

4.     ORGANISATION (Structure)

Structure includes: MICRO STRUCTURE

1.     Sentence structure, are they readable, meaningful, memorable?

Are they of varied length? Are they linked to each other in a logical sequence of thought just like series in mathematics?  Well crafted sentences are the building blocks of great paragraphs.

2.     So how do I check if I have constructed great paragraphs?

The first sentence of each paragraph sends a message to the examiner. It introduces the topic of that paragraph or it introduces a new aspect of an earlier topic (Claims and counter-claims for example). So the first sentence of each paragraph is a clear meaningful TOPIC SENTENCE. It creates an expectation that the subsequent sentences will explore it more deeply. There will be evidence, perhaps a real life example, a suitable quotation from a strong academic source or at least a recognised and respected source. The paragraph will contain some of the following TOK TERMS:

Areas of Knowledge, Ways of Knowing, Knowledge Issues, Knowledge Claims, Knowledge Counterclaims

All of the above must be linked to a real life situation

(e.g. Moon Landing hoax or historical truth?)

Micro structure means the construction of sentences and paragraphs.

Another look at paragraphs:

Good sentences make great paragraphs and great paragraphs make great essays.

Do you know how to write a good topic sentence? 8to 15 words – might be a question.... open statement.....

8 to 15 sentences per paragraph

·        PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE or the SANDWICH MODEL

LAYER 1 = TOP SLICE OF BREAD = TOPIC SENTENCE

MIDDLE LAYER – EXAMPLES – KNOWLEDGE ISSUE – CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS

FINAL LAYER = BOTTOM SLICE OF BREAD=

LAST SENTENCE = PUNCH LINE OR SUMMARY OF PARAGRAPH

PARAGRAPH 1 –  STATE YOUR APPROACH AND THE AIMS OF THE ESSAY

ABOUT 5 SENTENCES PAR 1 – THESIS STATEMENT – AOK + WOK

PAR 2 CONSOLIDATE YOUR INTROD

REAL LIFE EXAMPLE – KNOWLEDGE ISSUE – CLAIM COUNTERCLAIM

ALL MIDDLE SECTINO PARAGRAPHS – FOLLOW THE SANDWICH MODEL

FINAL 2 PARAGRAPHS –  Try to write with a sincere personal voice and draw together some of the key ideas of your essay.

DO  use clear elegant English (read “The Guardian” culture section for a good example of style)

AVOID: ..... gushing prose and rhetorical flourishes....

·        OTHER POINTS

·        MACRO STRUCTURE OF THE ESSAY is how the essays reads as a unified work.

·        It should contain 3 main sections

·        INTRODUCTION – DEVELOPMENT – CONCLUSION

·        MAKE REFERENCES TO VAN LAAGEMAT

·        MAKE REFERENCES TO THE ACADEMIC DISCOURSE – STANFORD PAGE/THE NY TIMES/ THE GUARDIAN/ TED TALKS/ BLOGS

·        PERSONAL VOICE AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - MAKE REFERENCES TO THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN SCHOOL OR CAS and IB Learner Profile

·        SIMPLE ENGLISH – DESCRIBING SITUATIONS AND EVENTS – DO NOT PREACH – DO NOT GUSH PROSE –

·        EXPLORE KNOWLEDGE ISSUES...

·        Finally TOK is about the exploration of how we know what we know.... it’s not about persuading the examiner to support or oppose your pet campaign issue, you are ‘unpacking’ knowledge issues you are not selling or persuading or recruiting followers to your cause. 

GOOD LUCK