Introducing the A-Pack:
Sample TOK Essays I wrote for you.
Meet the A-Pack. Pick your prescribed title and get three full sample essays on it, each taking a different approach, plus a breakdown of what makes each one work. Written and picked apart by a former IB examiner.
3 full essays per title
Three different strategies and organization for each essay.
A breakdown of each
I show you what works and what is guaranteed to impress.
From an IB examiner
I grade more TOK essays than anyone each year.
Title 1: Human Experience
Do we gain a better appreciation of the human experience from the artist or the historian? Discuss with reference to the arts and history.
If values change over time, how can they, nevertheless, continue to guide the pursuit of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
Title 3: Reliable(?) Assumptions
In the production of knowledge, how can knowledge be reliable if it is built on assumptions? Discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge.
To what extent do you agree with the claim that "any coincidence is worth noticing; you can throw it away later if it is only a coincidence" (Agatha Christie). Answer with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
Title 5: Simplicity & Explanations
In the production of knowledge, when choosing one explanation over another, to what extent should simplicity be prioritized? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge.
Title 6: Paradox & Counterintuitive
In the pursuit of knowledge, what value is there in exploring the paradoxical or the counterintuitive? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
Yes. Reading exemplars is how you learn what a strong essay looks like, and the IB publishes its own. What's not allowed is copying one. These are study tools: learn the moves, then write your own.