The following structure is a very good, step-by-step method you can use on any ToK essay to get very high marks.

Here are the main things to keep in mind when you’re using this method:

1. Your #1 priority is answering the prescribed title. If you somehow follow this method, but don’t answer the question you won’t score well. So make sure you keep linking back to the question as you go.
2. Try to use original, interesting evidence (Member’s link)

(I have a full a lot of helpful advice, tutorials, evidence videos in my online ToK course, which you’re welcome to join if you like.)

And I’ve also created a lot of resources (videos, notes, etc) to help with with the TOK presentation, here.

Okay here we go…

The structure on this page will give you a strong foundation for your essay and then we’re going to make your essay as insightful as possible.

First, choose your PT and KQ

Before you can begin your real/final essay, you’ll want to look at the Prescribed Title (something like: “What is it about mathematics and science that makes them so convincing?” and think about it.

Get some of your initial ideas down on paper.

Second, choose 1 WOK and 2 AOKs

Now, take your prescribed title and choose two AOKs to explore it with (here are my notes: Mathematics, Human sciences, Natural Sciences, the Arts, Ethics, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Religious Knowledge Systems, or History). Or you can use WOKs: (again here are my notes: Emotion, Faith, Sense perception, Reason,  Imagination, Intuition,  Language, Memory). Then you can explore these aspects in your essay.

I normally recommend exploring just  2 AoK’s in the main body of your essay and then include a few insights into WOKs around the edges (more on this in a bit).

The essay contains two body sections (or “developments”). Each body section will look at a certain area of knowledge or way of knowing.

To explore the question we chose above, it’s pretty easy to choose our AOKs because they are actually listed in the question. We’ll be using  Mathematics and Natural Science.

The courtroom analogy

The TOK essay is about knowledge (how we come to know things). It helps to think of the essay as though you’re showing the most interesting bits of a conversation between two smart people, about how we know things.

Or you could think about it like presenting two sides of an argument, in front of a judge. Each side needs to present evidence.

One lawyer is saying YES (i.e. reason is reliable, with examples) and the other is pointing out the weaknesses in what lawyer 1 is saying (i.e. reason is often not reliable, also with examples).

Your lawyer will make the case that you can’t be guilty of robbing the bank (her thesis), by using several arguments (claims); she’ll show that

1. You weren’t there
2. You’re are a moral person and
3. You don’t have the technical knowledge to pull off a job like that.

However, if your lawyer was a ToK student they would also be explaining reasons why you might be guilty (the counterclaims).

1. Someone said they saw you there,
2. You admitted to lying to your mom about candy one time and
3. You are pretty good at computers.

The lawyers would use evidence to support each of these claims and counterclaims.

Making sure your evidence actually supports your claim is one of the toughest aspects of the essay.

The step-by-step method

The method has 4 sections and 7 paragraphs overall and specific aspects need to go in each.

First, write your introduction, using 150-200 words

Paragraph 1

–Say 2 interesting things about the prescribed title. “Many people find Mathematics and Natural Science very convincing. However, many of these same people would say that they don’t have a strong understanding of either of these two fields. Both of these fields rely on rigorous methodologies.”

-Define one or two of the key terms in the title. Here I might define Mathematics and Natural Science. (I would also look up the term “convincing“. I might not include that definition in my essay, but I would like to know whether there are any conflicting definitions. That might help me say interesting things later on in the essay–for example in the conclusion.)

–Narrow in on one aspect which is particularly interesting. “This essay with focus on the link between replicability of results, as a source of reliability.”

–State your thesis. What is your short answer to the prescribed title, your thesis. (You might decide, by the end of your essay, that your initial thinking was wrong, but you should know the point your claims are going to be supporting).

–Give us a roadmap, a sentence that gives us a preview. This shows us what you’re going to do in your body paragraphs (your “developments”). Tell us AOKs you’re going to use and which WOK you will be focused on most. This will make it easy for the marker to know what to look for. An example: “Mathematics can be seen as more reliable because it uses reason. Natural science can be less reliable because it relies on observation. ”