The following structure is a very good, step-by-step method you can use on any TOK essay to get very high marks
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. In a TOK essay think of the prescribed title as your topic question. If you somehow follow this method, but don't answer the question thoroughly 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 that is based in “researched”. Your topic is very broad, which gives a plethora of ways in which you can answer it, pic a road, and then stay the course. 3. You will be using MLA format for this essay. Please visit https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ section/2/11 for more information The structure will give you a strong foundation for your essay and then you are going to make your essay as insightful as possible. First, choose your PT – Choose ONE from the list of questions below. Normally a TOK question is created on your own. In this case I have chosen the topics below: 1. Is all history biased? 2. How important is the role of statistics in history? 3. Does history show we have made ethical progress? Get some of your initial ideas down on paper and jot down your thoughts on how you would approach the question. Second, choose 1 WOK (Ways of Knowing) and 2 AOKs (Areas of Knowledge). This is the area of focus you will use when writing your essay. Ways of Knowing (WOK)- 1 Areas of Knowledge (AOK) -2 Emotion Arts Faith Ethics Sense of Perception History Reason Human Sciences Imagination Natural Sciences Intuition Indigenous Language Mathematics Memory I normally recommend exploring just two 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. 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. AVOID PERSONAL PRONOUNS IN YOUR WRITING!!! 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." -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. ” -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). Next write your first development. 2 paragraphs totaling 600 words Paragraph 2 -Claim. A claim: a topic sentence that outlines your argument about the prescribed title. For example you could claim that, “Mathematics can be relied on because it is a purely logical system.” -Explain. Elaborate and clarify your claim. “Mathematics is axiomatic and independent of subjective experience“ -Example. A real life example, to clarify and support the claim. Examples should be historical specific, precise and real. Did something happen in Washington DC in the 21st century? Did you have a conversation with your or hear a story from your grandfather? (oral history) These are evidence from your own life rather than examples from Darwin or Lincoln. So you could talk about how, “In Washington DC the curriculum in 10th grade was when students learned that the inside angles of a triangle, in Euclidian space, sum up to 180 degrees.” Paragraph 3 -Counter-claim. Argue against your claim above. “However, it is possible to come to different conclusions using different systems of mathematics.” -Example. An example that supports your counter claim; “There are different It is not possible to demonstrate that the interior angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees in Euclidian space, this cannot be proven within other systems, such as spherical geometry or hyperbolic geometry.” -Link to prescribed title. Quickly sum up the (complicated) insights of this section. “It is therefore clear that mathematics is reliable to an extent, but often it can only show something to be true within one fixed system or approach.” Now, write another two body paragraphs, looking at your second AOK. Use the same approach you saw in paragraphs 2 and 3. 600 words Paragraph 4 -Claim. -Explain. -Example. Paragraph 5 -Counter-claim. -Example. -Link to prescribed title. Finally, write your 'conclusion'. Two paragraphs, totaling 300-350 words Paragraph 6 -Your conclusion. Explain what big, general insights have come out of this--your conclusion. Implications and Significance. Also tell us why it's important that we know this. When and how does it matter that we understand this lesson? Paragraph 7 -Perspectives and extensions. If you can, try to pull in a very different perspective, on your conclusion. Perhaps you can recognize a very different way of approaching the question, which could have resulted in quite different insights than those you included in your essay. Or you could also mention one or two unresolved questions that this essay has revealed. You could also think of this as explaining some "limitations" or weaknesses of your essay, but it's also about showing that the conversation isn't over yet. There is more to the question than you've had the room to explore. Obviously there is a lot more depth that we can go into about what makes a really great TOK essay, but this structure will get you to the very basics of a TOK essay. The basic TOK essay is what is expected of you..
Please send me an email with clarifying questions. I will check my email once a week on Wednesday’s throughout to help rectify any plausible problems. This will be graded as if it is writing diagnostic. I will not be assessing your essay for mistakes in advance or providing feedback on what you have written while still in progress. I want to see what you are capable of doing with such a challenging task, without guidance. This will be due on Friday, August 24th at 8:45am via canvas. I will not be accepting any late assignments.
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