The TOK Essay

Mr Field

The Basics A 1200-1600 word essay on one of 6 prescribed

titles

The titles pose questions which must be answered

The titles are not open to (much) interpretation

You should present your thoughts and views, not those of well-known others

Where necessary, the essay should be factually correct and appropriately referenced

This Year’s Titles1. Ethical judgements limit the methods available in the production of

knowledge in both the arts and the natural sciences. Discuss.

2. “When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails” (Abraham Maslow). How might this apply to ways of knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge?

3. “Knowledge is nothing more than the systematic organisation of facts.” Discuss this statement in relation to two areas of knowledge.

4. “That which is accepted as knowledge today is sometimes discarded tomorrow.” Consider knowledge issues raised by this statement in two areas of knowledge.

5. “The historian’s task is to understand the past; the human scientist, by contrast, is looking to change the future.” To what extent is this true in these areas of knowledge?

6. “A skeptic is one who is willing to question any knowledge claim, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic and adequacy of evidence” (adapted from Paul Kurtz, 1994). Evaluate this approach in two areas of knowledge.

How is it assessed? A maximum of 40 marks:

10 for each criterion

Criterion A: Understanding Knowledge Issues

Criterion B: Knower’s Perspective

Criterion C: Quality of Analysis of Knowledge Issues

Criterion D: Organisation of Ideas

Grade Boundaries

(ish)

A: 29-40

B: 22-28

C: 16-21

D: 9-15

E: 0-8

Criterion A: Understanding Knowledge Issues Relevance:

Ensure you are only writing about knowledge issues that are fully relevant to the essay title

Depth if Understanding: Hard to define Often shown by students drawing clear distinctions within

WoK/AoK – i.e. seeing them each as a complex whole with interacting parts, rather than a simple, single idea

Avoid making sweeping generalisations!

Connections: Understanding how WoK apply to different AoK Drawing comparisons between AoK and/or WoK

Criterion B: Knower’s Perspective Independent Thinking

Does your essay show clear evidence of your own thought and input (or is it just quoting dead clever people)?

Self-Awareness as a Knower The essay should relate to your experience as a knower Example chosen from your own learning can help with this

Diversity of Perspectives Have you considered the question from multiple angles?

Use of Examples Illustrate your argument with well chosen, concrete, examples Avoid clichéd and hypothetical examples Use examples that relate clearly to subject areas (especially in ethics)

Criterion C: Analysis of Knowledge Issues Exploration of Knowledge Issues

Move beyond description (sense perception is this) Explore Implications (sense perception is this, which means that…)

Justification of Main Points You need to form well argued points and arguments Simple statement of your thoughts is not enough, they must be justified

Counterclaims Have you considered the alternatives? Why are the alternatives wrong?

Implications Consider what your argument means for other WoK/AoK and for the

pursuit of knowledge more generally

Criterion D: Organisation of Ideas Essay must be 1200-1600 words

A single word more or less limits you to 4/10 here

Structure There must be a coherent structure, that leads the reader through your argument in a

logical way The essay must be balanced – not 1000 words on one AoK and 200 on the other

Clarity Write in a clear and fluent style Define words/concepts whose meaning is unclear, and use these definitions consistently

Accuracy Any factual information must be correct (verified with a reference)

Referencing All sources must be fully referenced Check that your sources are reliable before including them

Task Read the first essay, annotating as necessary

Award marks (on your own)

Discuss the marks with those around you, try to reach an agreement where your marks differ

Repeat with the second essay.

A Process For Writing The Essay

Initial Brainstormin

g •Pick your three favourite essay questions•Identify as many knowledge issues as possible for each

Working Up Ideas

•Pick your two favourite questions from above•Produce a diagrammatic plan giving the overall structure, and the main purpose of each paragraph. You could also suggest the examples you plan to use.

Detailed Plan

•Pick your favourite question from above and produce a detailed essay plan

•List the points you plan to make in each paragraph and the examples you plan to use

•Check against the assessment criteria that you are hitting what you need to

The Essay•Turn your plan from above into a full essay

Knowledge Issues Questions about the way knowledge is acquired and

shaped Should be phrased in terms of ToK concepts and

vocabulary Should be precise in terms of the relationships between

the above

You have less freedom than the essay – your KIs must be relevant to the question This actually makes it a little easier to think of them!

You will often have multiple knowledge issues Perhaps one or two main KIs and several sub-KIs

Examples 1: In what ways may disagreement aid the pursuit of knowledge in the natural and human sciences?

On what basis should differing views be taken seriously in the natural and human sciences?

Why might there be different amounts of disagreement in the natural sciences and the human sciences?

Why might some ways of knowing be more likely than others to generate and sustain disagreement in the natural and human sciences?

At what stage in the production of knowledge is disagreement helpful to the pursuit of knowledge?

To what extent is disagreement a vital part of scientific methods?

What methods are employed in the natural and human sciences by which disagreement may be converted into consensus?

What might be the consequences of a broad consensus about knowledge within scientific disciplines?

Examples 2: “Only seeing general patterns can give us knowledge. Only seeing particular examples can give us understanding.” To what extent do you agree with these assertions? To what extent can we maintain a viable distinction between knowledge and

understanding across various areas of knowledge?

Are some areas of knowledge more about knowledge than understanding, and others more about understanding than knowledge?

How can we be sure that general patterns represent genuine features of reality and thus can act as a sound basis for knowledge?

What kind of relationship to an example must we have in order for it to promote understanding?

Why is generalisation seen as very important in some areas of knowledge and does it follow that these areas of knowledge are seen as the most secure?

What roles do the ways of knowing play in giving us knowledge and understanding and how do those roles differ across different areas of knowledge?

Are we as likely to be mistaken in looking for generalisations as in looking for particular patterns and how does that affect our knowledge and understanding?

Examples 3: “The possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility.” Evaluate this claim.

Under what circumstances is it possible to maintain a detached relationship with subject matter under investigation?

What knowledge is completely independent of ethical responsibilities?

How can we know when we should be disposed to act on what we know?

If we have decided to act, how can our knowledge guide us as to what to do?

How can we be confident of the ethical responsibilities that may arise from knowing when that knowledge is always provisional or incomplete?

Is there a relationship between the ethical responsibilities of knowing and the ways in which that knowledge is generated?

To what extent does the recognition of the ethical responsibilities of knowing influence the further production or acquisition of knowledge?

Key Words and Phrases in KIHow can we…? Belief Should

Know/Knowledge Faith Truth

Certain/Certainty Understanding Shape

To what extent…? Change Acquire/Generate

Any AoK/WoK Relationship Differ/Difference

Patterns Evidence Justify

Trust Role Intuition/Intuitive

A Diagrammatic PlanFor Example: Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking. Evaluate this statement in two areas of knowledge.

IntroExplain difference

between critical/creative

thinkingIntroduce the

mathematics and art as the two AoK

CriticalExplore role in mathematics

Explore role in artCompare the two

CreativeExplore role in mathematics

Explore role in artCompare the two

Limitations of either/or

Without creativity, maths hits a dead-end

Without critical thinking, art loses

focus

Role of InteractionConclusion

Or…..For Example: Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking. Evaluate this statement in two areas of knowledge.

IntroExplain difference

between critical/creative

thinkingIntroduce the

mathematics and art as the two AoK

MathsRole of criticalRole of creative

Limitations of either/orBenefits of interaction

ArtRole of critical

Role of creativeLimitations of either/orBenefits of interaction

How do you know when critical or creative needed?

AnalysisComparisons

Conclusion

Feedback from Examiners Report General:

Presentation: ensure your essays have: Double spacing – important for marking Standard size 12 font – Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri etc Default margins with no page border No cover page Statement of the word count

Teacher Guidance: Make sure you seek and follow it! It is very clear where students either have not sought it, or

have sought it but not followed it. We know what we’re doing!

Treatment of Knowledge IssuesDeveloping and Introducing Them The KIs are best thought of as sub-questions that need answering

in order to address the essay title.

All KIs must be fully relevant to the essay title Those that aren’t will gain no marks, regardless of how well you write

about them

There should be a direct and line of thought linking the KIs to the essay title You should consider including this in your essay

Try to avoid simply restating the essay title in different words

They do not have to be explicitly stated However, doing so can help keep your essay focussed on the relevant

issues

Treatment of Knowledge IssuesDiscussing Them Your knowledge issues (whether explicit or

implicit) do need to be answered

The KIs should represent the beginning of a thought process rather than the end of it

Use KIs as a way to structure your essay

Avoid: Posing KIs as rhetorical questions, or questions where

the answer is taken as a given Ignoring your KIs…you should refer back to them

Ways of Knowing WoK should be discussed (whenever possible) in the context

of Area of Knowledge Treating them in isolation can lead to anecdotal claims,

hypothetical examples and weak analysis

Avoid the term ‘perception’ Use it only as part of ‘sense perception’ This will help you avoid the ‘perception trap’ whereby students

often talk about perception in terms of opinions, rather than ‘sense perception’ in terms of information going into the brain

Avoid the simplistic view of emotion as a barrier to knowledge Emotion makes many positive contributions to the acquisition of

knowledge

History “History” as an area of knowledge, with professional historians

who are trained to produce knowledge concerning the past, is not the same as “the past” itself

Historians are fully aware of bias, and do all they can to prevent it. Do not patronise them by suggesting otherwise. Holocaust denial is to history as creationism is to science!

Be careful about bias: A newspaper article from London during the blitz clearly has a

definite perspective, but this is not historical bias Historians are explicitly trained to identify such perspectives, to take

them into account and use them as a tool to further knowledge Discussions of bias tend to suggest that there is in fact a neutral

perspective that can be taken, this is itself a perspective!

Ethics Ethics is not simply a matter of opinion!

It is not completely subjective

There are intellectually respectable approaches to the development of ethical knowledge Utilitarianism, libertarianism, deontological ethics,

veil of ignorance etc

Avoid simple ethical dilemmas

Other AoK Mathematics

Tends to be treated poorly You should talk about key ideas such as axioms,

theorems, conjectures and reasoning Arts

Emotion is not the only thing to be considered! Religion

Tends to be treated only from the extreme – either as nonsense or beyond criticism

Human Science Ensure this focuses on human science as set of

approaches for developing knowledge, rather than the specifics of individuals’ behaviour

Use of Examples Examples should be:

Varied – avoid using the same one again and again Concrete – you should be able to answer who/what/why/when/where

questions Useful – they should be used in a way that makes a point or illustrates your

argument Knowledge focussed – they should be drawn as much as possible from areas

of knowledge From your own experience

Avoid: Hypothetical examples – what if…. Clichéd examples – the examiners know that 2+2=4 and that Einstein helped

build the atom bomb, and that an angry tree threw apples at Newton’s head Anecdotal examples:

For example, last night I had an argument with my sister…. I am friends with a couple, and I just found that he is cheating on her….

Analysis Try to:

Form a coherent argument Move beyond simple description, and consider what the KIs mean in

terms of answering the essay title Ensure all main points are fully justified (preferably backed up with an

example) Consider the implications of your argument for the pursuit of

knowledge

Avoid: Strategic vagueness: ‘many scientists’, ‘many people’, ‘many

campanologists’ This often suggests you have no facts to back your argument up!

Relativism: it is not all relative! Weak counter claims: ‘but on the other hand, the opposite of what I

just said…’ Counterclaims should form a natural and integral part of the discussion rather

than simply being bolted on

Use of Key Terms DO NOT start off your essay with a list of keyword definitions from

the OED or www.dictionary.com! As well as being dull, these are not always appropriate and can be

irrelevant, pushing an essay off topic, and can close a discussion down at the exact point it needs opening up

You can assume that examiners know what is meant by core terms such as knowledge, sense perception, reason, human science, ethics and so on

If there are certain terms that need defining: Say what you think they mean, and illustrate with a couple of examples This shows the examiner what you mean when you use the words Show awareness that it is not a full or complete definition, merely a

working definition

Ensure you use key terms consistently, and only elaborate on terms that you actually end up using!

Essay Structure You must stay within the word limit (1200-1600)

Get the start right. Avoid: Hyperbolic claims Glib or irrelevant quotes from films etc

Be absolutely clear in your head how each paragraph relates to the essay title

Write the intro last….it should reflect and frame the discussion that will take place

Have the confidence to keep language simple: Don’t say ‘however’, ‘thus’ or ‘therefore’ if you actually mean ‘and’ Only use long, complicated vocabulary if you are 100% certain of its meaning,

and the same meaning can not be communicated with a simpler word.

Other Points Factual accuracy:

Any factual content must be fully referenced You should only use reliable sources (yahoo answers, or a random

blog you found are not reliable sources!) Any factual content must be factually correct

Avoid using course textbooks as a source of examples

Avoid using websites that host discussions about the essay titles The examiners read these websites, know the common

arguments discussed, and will penalise you accordingly for expressing views other than your own!