1. ToK ESSAY The instructions tell you to: Remember to centre your essay on knowledge issues and,where appropriate, refer to other parts of your IB programme and to your experiences as a knower. Always justify your statements and provide relevant examples to illustrate your arguments. Pay attention to the implications of your arguments, and remember to consider what can be said against them. If you use external sources, cite them according to a recognized convention.

2. Marking Criteria  40 points total; 10 for each criterion  A: Understainding knowledge issues (KIs)  B: Knower's perspective  C: Quality of analysis of KIs  D: Organisation of ideas

3. A: Understanding KIs  Link the discussion to areas of knowledge (AoK) and/or ways of knowing (WoK).  It's usually best to treat no more than two or three AoKs in detail, but others can be mentioned as and when comparison becomes relevant with the AoK being discussed (=links).  Other key terms that often lead to useful KI discussion are: proof, explanation, evidence, truth, experience, culture, belief, certainty, intuition, technology, interpretation, values.

4. B: Knower's perspective  Use original examples – this means you need to think about the KIs in detail yourself and come to your own conclusions about how to illustrate them with examples.  Some examples might seem good, but have been overused – e.g. the flat earth, 1+1=2, the geo/heliocentric universe. I'll alert you to any of these when I read though your first draft  Critically evaluate ideas, both your own and those of others – even the essay title can be evaluated critically

5. C: Quality of analysis  You need to explore KIs in enough depth. One important consideration is to make sure your essay goes beyond obvious and stereotypical comments about AoKs and WoKs, of which the following are examples: – Mathematical knowledge is universal and objective, while the arts are subjective and personal. – Sense perception can be fooled, therefore we can't trust our senses. – History is written by the winner.

6.  It's ok to start off discussion with a straightforward comment about a WoK/AoK, but you should expand your analysis by asking, for example, these questions: – To what extent is my assertion true? – Under what conditions is it not true? – Why is it true under certain conditions, and why not under others? – What are the implications of my assertion? What does it mean in terms of the nature of proof, evidence, explanation, interpretation, truth etc. in this AoK/WoK?

7.  Another vital point that needs addressing under a discussion of criterion C is the arguing and justifying of statements.  NO ASSERTION IN YOUR ESSAY (unless it is so obviously true that no reasonable individual could question it) CAN BE STATED WITHOUT SUFFICIENT JUSTIFICATION.  This justification can be either a coherent argument that establishes your assertion, or a reference to a recognised authority that backs it up (only good for factual statements).  Examples can also be used to illustrate (but not justify) an assertion, but you need to explicitly point out how your example does this (here you can also justify your assertion), don't just assume it's obvious.

8. D: Organisation of ideas  Express your arguments clearly, structure the essay coherently.  Use an accepted referencing convention (consistently) when you need to provide sources.  Formal requirements: word count, minimum 1.5 line spacing, page numbering, name and candidate session number on every page.

9. When do I need to provide sources? There are two situations in which you need to provide a source: a) You're citing a fact that is not considered part of general knowledge, about which the reader could reasonably ask, "Is that really true"? In this case, you're backing up your factual claim with proof that it is correct. b) You're quoting, or paraphrasing, the idea(s) of another person. In this case, you're acknowledging that the idea is not your own, and thereby maintaining your academic honesty. Strictly speaking, you should do this even in the case of, for example, quoting a fellow student from a classroom discussion.