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TOK essay interactions

TOK essay interactions

You’ll meet with your TOK teacher three times to talk about your progress in planning and writing the essay. Your discussions during these ‘interactions’ form the basis of your (PPF).

Check out our short video explainer for the TOK essay; you can find more explainers about other aspects of the course in our TOK explainer playlist.

TOK essay pages

Learn about how the essay is marked, and the skills you are expected to demonstrate in order to succeed.

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Find out how to evaluate the six prescribed essay titles, and decide on which one will work best for you.

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Learn about the three interactions with your TOK teacher, and what you should be discussing in each one.

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Gain a few tips on how to structure your TOK essay, how to articulate your ideas, and ways to justify your claims.

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Find out about how to fill in the essay PPF, and why this is an important indication of your engagement with TOK.

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Details of the three interactions

The three interactions are the most important part of the essay writing process, and give you a chance to work one-on-one with your teacher to develop your ideas really effectively. As well as meeting during the interactions, you can also ask your teacher specific questions about things like the suitability of arguments and examples, although you are only permitted to receive one set of written feedback.

Interaction 1

In your first interaction, you’ll discuss the PT that you have chosen, and why, the general meaning of the title, the key words and phrases in the title, and possible AOKs that you can use to discuss the question. By the end of the interaction, you should have certainty about your choice of PT, a good idea of AOKs, and be ready to write your introduction.

Interaction 2

During your second interaction, you’ll explain how you have moved your ideas forward (perhaps referring to key thinkers and ideas, challenges you’re making to assumptions in the PT, the suitability of personal experiences and other RLSs, points of view that you are considering, and any problems you’ve encountered so far. This will help you to construct an essay plan, and get you fully ready to write your draft essay.

Interaction 3

In the third interaction, you’ll go over the written feedback that your teacher has given you for your draft essay, to ensure that you’ve understood all the comments and know how to implement them. After this interaction, you should feel completely ready to write the final version of the essay.

More support for the TOK essay

Make sure that your TOK teacher has given you access to all the documents and online material that support the essay. These include the TOK Subject Guide, the TOK essay rubric, and exemplar TOK essays (found in ‘MyIB’, which is accessible to teachers).
 
Make sure you go through our other pages on writing the TOK essay. You’ll find help on understanding what the is looking for, that works for you, what each of the should focus on, how to an effective TOK essay, and how to fill in your .
 
If your school is a member of theoryofknowledge.net, we have designed a series of lessons on the essay, with two formative assessment tasks. These will familiarize you with the essay rubric, knowledge questions, real-life situations, how to deal with perspectives and implications, and structuring an essay. If you are signed into the site, you can access these lessons here.
 
You can also find out our thoughts on the TOK essay (and the TOK exhibition) in several webinars that we have delivered. The main one is the TOK Assessment 2022 webinar, but we also consider this form of assessment in our free webinars on the 2022 course. You can see these webinars on this page of the site.

Using the exploration points

The EPs enable you to develop a deeper understanding of the AOKs, via media sources and unpacking suggestions, links to TED talks, guidance on the 12 key concepts of TOK, and other features. Join us to gain access to this incredibly useful tool for supporting your essay arguments.

FAQs about the TOK essay

Can I meet my teacher outside the three interactions?

You shouldn’t expect to meet you teacher for long discussions, but you can ask specific questions about aspects of your essay. You can check the suitability of examples, the validity of points you’re trying to make, and the key thinkers and ideas you’re using to explore ideas.

Where do I record what we discussed in the three interactions?

Write a short account of what you have discussed in the interactions straight away. If your school uses ManageBac, this will make your life slightly easier; otherwise, you should fill in the fields of the PPF, which we discuss on.

Can I change my essay title?

Yes, you can change your chosen prescribed title at any point during the essay-writing process, but obviously the longer you leave this, the less time you’ll have to complete it. This is one of the points of the interactions – to identify any problems early on, and, if they can’t be resolved, think about which alternative to move onto.

Links to the areas of knowledge

Use the links below to take you to the areas of knowledge. You’ll find ideas from influential thinkers, the latest real-life situations, key terms and concepts, and other content to help you create an authoritative and accomplished TOK essay.

Arts

You should explore your prescribed title within the context of two or more areas of knowledge. Follow the link below to take you to the arts.

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History

You should explore your prescribed title within the context of two or more areas of knowledge. Follow the link below to take you to history.

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Hum Sci

You should explore your prescribed title within the context of two or more areas of knowledge. Follow the link to take you to human sciences.

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Mathematics

You should explore your prescribed title within the context of two or more areas of knowledge. Follow the link below to take you to mathematics.

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Nat Sci

You should explore your prescribed title within the context of two or more areas of knowledge. Follow the link to take you to natural sciences.

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Get real with TOK by subscribing to the newsletter

Step into the real and unpackaged world by subscribing to our unique monthly TOK newsletter. You’ll receive links to great media sources from all over the world that place the TOK themes and areas of knowledge into an authentic context.

You’ll meet great thinkers and ideas, hone your understanding of key TOK concepts, and build up a library of examples for the essay and exhibition. Subscribe HERE!