You need to choose three ‘objects’ for your exhibition, that should relate closely to the IA prompt that you have chosen, and enable you to create a 950-word commentary set within the context of an optional or core theme.
Your objects should be connected to you personally – this link will keep the exhibition original, and prove your engagement with TOK.
Members of the site have access to much more support for the TOK assessments, including lesson presentations, real-world examples, and advice on making links to the course, such as via the key concepts. Join us in seconds here!
Step 3 – Choosing your objects
Before you choose your objects, you should have selected an IA prompt, and have a good idea about the context you’ll be exploring this in.
You can be a little flexible about this – plans often change when you work on internal assessment – but obviously you don’t want to waste the work you’ve put into an exhibition by changing it after too long.
Have a good look at the examples provided in the TOK subject guide, and look at the exemplar exhibitions in ‘MyIB’ – your TOK teacher will be able to provide you with accees to these, and discuss what makes a good object.
If your school is a member of theoryofknowledge.net, you’ll also be able to see our example objects to help you get a clear picture of what works and what does not.
Remember, you write a 950-word commentary, in which you will identifies your objects, consider its specific real-world context, and justify why you have included it in the exhibition.
This should all link (ie answer) the IA prompt. We’ll talk a little more about the commentary here, but just keep that in mind as you choose your objects.
Things to bear in mind as you choose your exhibition objects:
Objects can be digital – such as a photograph of an object, or a Tweet posted by a person. Objects should have a specific real-world context, and not be generic examples of something. Objects can be something you have created, but not for the exhibition. All three objects should link to your IA prompt, but they don’t have to interlink with each other.
A 3-minute guide to the exhibition objects
Our three-minute explainer video goes over the basics of the objects, discussing what they are, how to select good ones, and the relationship they should have with your prompt. , discussing the relationship between the prompts, the objects, and the context you’re meant to create your commentary.
You’ll find more videos on this and other aspects of TOK here, and you can dive into much more depth via our free and premium webinars, here.
More support for the TOK exhibition
Make sure you have access to all the documents and online material supporting the exhibition. These include the TOK subject guide, where you’ll find the IA prompts, and the exhibition rubric, and the exemplar TOK exhibitions (found in ‘MyIB’, which is accessible to teachers).
Follow the links above to take you to the three different elements of the TOK exhibition; we’ve also created a page giving some tips on how to put on your exhibition if your school is running a public ‘exhibition day’ which you can visit here. It suggests ways of presenting ideas to an audience.
If your school is a member of theoryofknowledge.net, we have designed a series of lessons on the exhibition, with a three practice exhibition tasks. These will familiarize you with the IA prompts, how to select effective objects, and the assessment rubric. If you are signed into the site, you can access these lessons here.
You can also find out our thoughts on the TOK exhibition (and the TOK essay) in several webinars that we have delivered. You can see these webinars on this page of the site.
Subscribe to our free monthly TOK newsletter
Our newsletter, The Examined Life, delivers 8 thought-provoking real-world stories to your inbox, three of which we unpack in detail to challenge assumptions, introduce brilliant thinkers, and build a library of examples for your essay, exhibition, and UA portfolio.
It is the easiest way to stay connected to the ideas that matter most and develop the habits of authentic critical thinking. Subscribe here.