How to write a good TOK essay

Writing a TOK Essay

One of the important concepts in writing a TOK Essay is making sure you have arguments. TOK doesn’t just want to have one-sided papers. It’s important to make sure that you bring up strong, valid arguments in your paper. The best example that the guide included was to determine whether or not something was an argument is the “therefore test”. If you can add therefore in front of it then it is an argument. It’s also important to make sure your arguments are valid. That means to make sure that if you use arguments from others to make sure the person you’re using a quote from is accredited. Also, your arguments should make logical sense. Although they might not show your opinion, they should still be something that makes sense to you in your head. Along with being valid, your arguments should be backed up by evidence. You should be able to justify every statement made in your paper. Another important concept in writing a TOK Essay is that you go in depth with whatever you talk about. TOK is about more than just skimming the surface it requires a non-superficial account about things. If you just give the basics then that won’t help you get a good score. When making sure your essay goes in depth you should make sure you bring up implications and assumptions about the arguments that you include. Also make sure you defend all arguments and counter arguments. Adding your own personal voice is also key to having a good TOK Essay. You have to make sure that you include your own personal experiences in your paper. That doesn’t mean to write a biased paper, but it does mean to have your own “independent thoughts” and explain why it is that these are your thoughts and why you stand behind them. You want to make sure that the examiner can clearly hear your voice when assessing your paper. The style of your paper is also important in writing a successful TOK essay. For one, you have to make sure that your paper is not over the 1,600-word limit, but also that it is not too far under it either. If your word count is very far off from 1,600 it’s hard to believe that you went in depth on every issue that you should’ve covered. Also make sure that your paper doesn’t just jump around from one topic to another, it should flow and make sense to the person reading it. It’s also not rise to go off on topics that don’t contribute to your paper. Extraneous information should be left out of your paper because it will only take away from it.