Passing TOK

[Molotov_Cocktail]

Hello,

 

I am really struggling with TOK. No matter how much thought I put into it, I get horrible marks. 

 

So at this point I just want to pass TOK. Is it true that 19/40 is a pass? 20 marks for both the essay and the presentation, right?

 

Thanks!

Edited February 1, 2016 by Molotov_Cocktail

[Sandy]

We're marked out of 30 now, not 40. 20 marks for the essay and 10 for the presentation. Whatever you get in you essay is simply doubled and then the presentation marks are added. You pass as long as you get a D, which is at a minimum of 10 marks out of 30.

[kw0573]

The presentations is out of 10. The essay is out of 10, but scaled to  20 pts. So for the essay you can only get 20/20, 18/20, 16/20, etc.
The level E cut off, out of 30, for May 2015 was 4. D was a 10/30. Basically if you finish both the essay and the presentation you should be able to get at least a D. 

When I was in ToK, I scored assignments ranging from 0 (on an in-class assignment) to 90+ (but I got mostly 70s). The single 90+ mark was on a topic that truly struck a chord with me. You have great freedom in what you can talk about in the presentation and the essay, stick to something you enjoy learning /writing about and A's and B's are not impossible. Eventually I got a B as the final mark.

You shouldn't be too concerned about the structure, such as the real life situation, the knowledge question. You should treat the presentation as a magnified view of a very specific thing about life, or your experiences, that you desperately want to share with others. The essay would be a very very formal diary in which you share your insights about life. These are not technical descriptions for the essay or the presentation, but HOW you view ToK. It's all about your perspectives, thoughts, while implementing others' ideas.

Take the following exercise for example. It should take at least 15 minutes for a thoughtful reflection.
1. Pick your favourite subject in school right now. If there isn't one, your favourite TV show. This is your topic
2. How have your perspectives of this topic changed?
3. How did you know that (WoK)
4. What are some concerns you have on this topic? What puzzles you? 
5. Why is this topic important to you? How do you know (WoK)
6. What does this topic teach you about life? Or a specific element of life? How does this topic impacts the way you gain knowledge? (shared knowledge <=> personal knowledge)
7. How does this topic relate to other subjects/tv shows? (connections between AoK) 
8. (optional) Record what you have learned from this reflection to use in a tok presentation or essay.

Again this is not the whole picture about ToK, but this exercise may help you to have more personal reflections on a topic. ToK isn't your typical course, and you need abundance of these personal engagement insights to succeed. Structure come second. You have to have the content first (your insights) before you can worry about the technical requirements.