The Essay

Writing the TOK Essay can be very intimidating! BUT–IT doesn’t have to be! The key is to break down the title prompt into understandable pieces, and then create a plan of attack to address those compartmentalized pieces!  Also, like all good writing, the key is treating it as a process, and not a one off! The following Linked documents will aide you in your Essay Journey!

From the IB:

Knowledge questions should be thought of as way-stations on a journey to the answer of the prescribed title — useful in explicit form while exploring the title and planning a response to it, but not necessarily stated explicitly in the final text. 

2023 TOK Essay Titles: TOK Titles Fall 2022

2022 TOK Essay Titles: TOK Prescribed Titles-fall 2021

2021 TOK Essay Titles: Fall 2020 TOK Essay Titles

Unpacking the 2023 Essay Titles Activity: HERE

Link to Formal Brainstorm (formative #1): HERE

Link to Essay Outline Creation Guide: HERE.

Claim / Counter Claim + Examples Organizer:  HERE

TOK ESSAY OUTLINE Conference Sign UP: HERE

ESSAY Peer / Self EDIT — We’ll use this learning tool when completed with YOUR ROUGH DRAFT: TOK ESSAY SELF EDIT


Examiner feedback: EssayFeedBack ExaminerReport

TOK-Essay-How-to-–For What It’s Worth!

TOK ESSAY RUBRIC: TOK Essay Rubric – NEW

Exemplar Essays: PDFs Linked Below:

A recent TOK essay that scored a 10 / 10: Tok Essay 2016 Exemplar-2 10_10

Essay FeedBack Examiner Report: EssayFeedBack ExaminerReport

2017 Exemplar Essay: 6/10: ‘A’ : Sample Essay A-6

TOK Essay Form: ALL Students Need to Fill Out

TOK Essay Form for Students to fill out

TOK Essay Self / Peer Evaluation activity:   

TOKPeerReviewFinal

 AIS Curve Used for Assessing the Essay: 

  1. Level 5: “Excellent” 9-10….96-100%
  2. Level 4: “Very Good” 7-8…90-93%
  3. Level 3: “Satisfactory” 5-6….84-87%
  4. Level 2: “Basic” 3-4….73-80%
  5. Level 1: “Elementary” 1-2…below 66%