2022
Unpacking the terminology of the TOK Essay rubric - from Teacher Support Material
Understanding Knowledge Issues video
TOK 2022 scored sample TOK essays
TOK specimen titles 2022 (largely format unchanged from prior years)
TOK essay on a prescribed titleThe TOK essay engages students in a formal, sustained piece of writing in response to one of the six titles that are prescribed by the IB for each examination session. These titles take the form of knowledge questions that are focused on the areas of knowledge.
The TOK essay is an external assessment component. Each student’s essay is submitted to the IB to be marked by IB examiners. The TOK Essay must be written in standard 12 type size and be double spaced. It is not primarily a research paper, but it is expected that specific sources will be used, and these must be acknowledged.
Essay titlesThe IB releases a set of six prescribed titles for each examination session. These titles are published on the programme resource centre (TOK>Assessment>Session-specific material) six months before the submission deadline.
It is not intended that students will spend six months working on their essays—teachers should select a window within that six-month period for students to work on their essays that fits with the other commitments in their school calendars. It is suggested that 10 hours of teaching time should be dedicated to working on the TOK Essay.
The chosen title must be used exactly as given; it must not be altered in any way.
The word count includes:
Guidance and authenticityThe TOK essay must be the student’s own work. However, the teacher plays an important role in supporting the student during the planning and writing of their essay. Teachers are expected to explain the requirements of the task and ensure that students are familiar with the assessment instrument, provide clarifications in response to students’ questions, monitor students’ progress, and check the authenticity of the student work.
For the TOK essay, three formal recorded interactions between the student and teacher are required. These three interactions must be recorded on the TOK essay Planning and Progress Form (TK/PPF). This form is not referred to by examiners when determining the mark awarded for the essay. However, it is submitted to the IB as important evidence that steps have been taken to help ensure the authenticity of the student’s work; it also plays an important role in terms of helping to ensure that all students receive an appropriate level of support when completing their essays. The procedure for uploading the TOK Essay and forms can be found in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures resource on the programme resource centre.
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Three required teacher–student interactions for the TOK essay
1. Discuss the list of prescribed titles with the student.2. Discuss the student’s initial exploration of their selected title (for example, an essay plan).3. Comment on one draft of the student’s essay.
The student should discuss the prescribed titles with the teacher. The final choice of title remains with the student, who should develop their own thinking and ideas.After choosing the title and developing their initial ideas in relation to it, the student must discuss their initial work/explorations with the teacher by sharing them in written form. For example, this could take the form of a set of notes and ideas that could then be turned into a more formal essay plan following the discussion with the teacher.
After this, the student is permitted to present one full draft of the essay to the teacher. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved. This advice may take the form of written comments of a global nature, but teachers are not permitted to mark or edit this draft. While the student may seek further advice from the teacher, for example, on the appropriateness of a particular example or on the clarity of a section of writing, no further written advice on drafts is permitted. The next version handed to the teacher must be the final version for submission.
It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that all students understand the basic meaning and significance of concepts that relate to academic honesty, especially authenticity and intellectual property. Teachers must ensure that all student work for assessment is prepared according to the requirements and must explain clearly to students that the work must be entirely their own.
All work submitted to the IB for moderation or assessment must be authenticated by a teacher and must not include any known instances of suspected or confirmed misconduct. Each student must confirm that the work is his or her authentic work and constitutes the final version of that work. Once a student has officially submitted the final version of the work it cannot be retracted.
Examples of ways that authenticity may be checked are through discussions with the student about the content of their work, scrutiny of the style of writing compared with work known to be that of the student, scrutiny of the references cited, or the analysis of the work by a web-based plagiarism detection service.
Unpacking the terminology of the TOK Essay rubric - from Teacher Support Material
Understanding Knowledge Issues video
TOK 2022 scored sample TOK essays
TOK specimen titles 2022 (largely format unchanged from prior years)
TOK essay on a prescribed titleThe TOK essay engages students in a formal, sustained piece of writing in response to one of the six titles that are prescribed by the IB for each examination session. These titles take the form of knowledge questions that are focused on the areas of knowledge.
The TOK essay is an external assessment component. Each student’s essay is submitted to the IB to be marked by IB examiners. The TOK Essay must be written in standard 12 type size and be double spaced. It is not primarily a research paper, but it is expected that specific sources will be used, and these must be acknowledged.
Essay titlesThe IB releases a set of six prescribed titles for each examination session. These titles are published on the programme resource centre (TOK>Assessment>Session-specific material) six months before the submission deadline.
It is not intended that students will spend six months working on their essays—teachers should select a window within that six-month period for students to work on their essays that fits with the other commitments in their school calendars. It is suggested that 10 hours of teaching time should be dedicated to working on the TOK Essay.
The chosen title must be used exactly as given; it must not be altered in any way.
- If the title has been modified but it is still clear which prescribed title for the current session it refers to, the essay will be marked against that prescribed title. Any lack of relevance in the student’s response to the prescribed title arising from this modification will be reflected in the score awarded.
- If it is clear that the title bears no resemblance to any title for the current session, the essay will be awarded a score of zero, in accordance with the TOK essay assessment instrument.
The word count includes:
- the main part of the essay
- any quotations.
- any acknowledgments
- the references (whether given in footnotes, endnotes or in-text) and bibliography
- any maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations or tables.
Guidance and authenticityThe TOK essay must be the student’s own work. However, the teacher plays an important role in supporting the student during the planning and writing of their essay. Teachers are expected to explain the requirements of the task and ensure that students are familiar with the assessment instrument, provide clarifications in response to students’ questions, monitor students’ progress, and check the authenticity of the student work.
For the TOK essay, three formal recorded interactions between the student and teacher are required. These three interactions must be recorded on the TOK essay Planning and Progress Form (TK/PPF). This form is not referred to by examiners when determining the mark awarded for the essay. However, it is submitted to the IB as important evidence that steps have been taken to help ensure the authenticity of the student’s work; it also plays an important role in terms of helping to ensure that all students receive an appropriate level of support when completing their essays. The procedure for uploading the TOK Essay and forms can be found in the Diploma Programme Assessment procedures resource on the programme resource centre.
View full table
Three required teacher–student interactions for the TOK essay
1. Discuss the list of prescribed titles with the student.2. Discuss the student’s initial exploration of their selected title (for example, an essay plan).3. Comment on one draft of the student’s essay.
The student should discuss the prescribed titles with the teacher. The final choice of title remains with the student, who should develop their own thinking and ideas.After choosing the title and developing their initial ideas in relation to it, the student must discuss their initial work/explorations with the teacher by sharing them in written form. For example, this could take the form of a set of notes and ideas that could then be turned into a more formal essay plan following the discussion with the teacher.
After this, the student is permitted to present one full draft of the essay to the teacher. The teacher should provide oral or written advice on how the work could be improved. This advice may take the form of written comments of a global nature, but teachers are not permitted to mark or edit this draft. While the student may seek further advice from the teacher, for example, on the appropriateness of a particular example or on the clarity of a section of writing, no further written advice on drafts is permitted. The next version handed to the teacher must be the final version for submission.
It is the responsibility of teachers to ensure that all students understand the basic meaning and significance of concepts that relate to academic honesty, especially authenticity and intellectual property. Teachers must ensure that all student work for assessment is prepared according to the requirements and must explain clearly to students that the work must be entirely their own.
All work submitted to the IB for moderation or assessment must be authenticated by a teacher and must not include any known instances of suspected or confirmed misconduct. Each student must confirm that the work is his or her authentic work and constitutes the final version of that work. Once a student has officially submitted the final version of the work it cannot be retracted.
Examples of ways that authenticity may be checked are through discussions with the student about the content of their work, scrutiny of the style of writing compared with work known to be that of the student, scrutiny of the references cited, or the analysis of the work by a web-based plagiarism detection service.