68 replies to this topic

[rch.hilburn]

With my full ib schedule, i don't start TOK until next semester and my other classes already give me a fair amount of work.

should i expect a lot of homework/ studying requirments for my TOK class?

[flsweetheart422]

Well when you first start out in TOK, your assignments will be relatively simple. They generally involve you thinking about various examples from your life and reflecting upon them in a manner that would answer a question like "Refer to a time when you were deceived by your senses. Why did this happen?

You will probably do a lot of journal entries based on readings and other material.

Honestly, the workload and the expectations increase as you get closer to the due date of your TOK essay and presentation, but it isn't that bad if you plan and work ahead. I recommend looking at the prescribed titles as soon as possible and picking a few you are interested in. If you do that early enough, you will be able to take notes from class about each of the essay topics and ask questions that will help you specifically for your essay.

In a nutshell, if you don't get behind, pay attention, and plan ahead, then the TOK workload is nothing to worry about.

[Ashika]

I find that TOK depends entirely on the teacher. In my first year of IB we were constantly working. We had worksheets and in class assignments for every class and 3 major papers and a group presentation. In my second year, it became more lax. Our teacher like to engage the class in discussions and TOK soon became my favourite class just because I knew it was my least stressful one. After every unit or so we'd write a mini 500 word paper... no big deal. And of course the major work we had to do for the diploma was the presentation and the essay.

So yeah, it completely depends on your teacher and how he or she teaches it.

[avrila]

Yes. I agree with Ashika. In my IB1, I do not have any TOK home works. It depends on the teacher. Just a lot of lectures and a few small presentation. We will sit in a lecture room by combining several classes and just listen to the teacher. The topic is based on the syllabus like Trutth, perception, and all the Are of Knowledges. However, the bad thing is, student tend to sleep this way.
And major thing in TOK is the TOK essay that should be around 1600 words. (Done with it )

One more thing, its also good to learn TOK through movies. One good movie that has TOK value is the Matrix. Watch it. We also watch this during lesson last time. You will enjoy TOK. It makes you think differently..

[SharkSpider]

In the entirety of TOK I had to do three out of class asignments. One was a two day group presentation that was largely pieced together and run on the fly (2 meetings at starbucks and an hour on wikipedia) and the individual oral amounted to grabbing a newspaper article. The TOK essay was probably around 10 hours of work total. That got me a 95 in TOK, but only because I had an amazing teacher who had us write up arguments, do in-class debates, and have some pretty intense discussion. I got alot out of the course, personally, but the workload was minimal outside of the intensive in-class work.

[biochem]

Exactly what Ashika said. My teacher only gives us one homework assignment per week, and its a random journal entry of 200 words about anything. Most people use the time to attack others, and spread whatever is on their mind. when it comes to tests, its mostyl essay - which means you know little and fluff a lot. Sooo easy I use it as a JA, cause too much discussion goes on.

[lisalisa313]

I think it really depends on the teacher. We don't have many projects but when we do they're realllly difficult and time consuming. Things like the philosophy of your life, and a paradigm of your mind...

[workaholic]

Hey as the topic title says.. i need to know what the word limit is for the big essay. thanks for the help in advance

[SharkSpider]

I'm pretty sure it was 1600, but I might be wrong. Either it's that or 1500, so aim in that ballpark.

[Hyperbole]

1200-1600, strictly so. Do not submit an essay of 1603 words just to be honest; it'll bring you down with something like four points.

[Vvi]

It's 1600. If your essay is 1603 words, lie and say it's 1599 or 1600. You really do lose marks for having 3 extra words.

[Aboud]

im confused on how exactly the TOK essay is marked, if anyone knows or has somekinda mark scheme or something??!

also, i couldnt find TOK sample essays which got the highest grades to help get an idea on how exactly to start.

i would really appreciate the help!!

[Panserborne]

Aboud, on Feb 23 2009, 09:22 PM, said:

im confused on how exactly the TOK essay is marked, if anyone knows or has somekinda mark scheme or something??!

also, i couldnt find TOK sample essays which got the highest grades to help get an idea on how exactly to start.

i would really appreciate the help!!

I finished my essay a few weeks ago. After many hours scouring the net, this was by far the most useful. Has pretty much everything. Check out the last link ("useful links/resources") for many example essays, with the grades they earned. Good luck!

http://uwcac.org.uk/acad/thok/main.htm

[helgacakes]

i dont know if they'll sit there and count your words.......but just to be safe, go with 1599.

[hanz]

my teacher said its between 1300 to 1600 =D i guess

[LinuxBeta]

They have ways of doing word counts. Don't go over the limit, and don't lie about your count. Also, being a little under the count is always safe.

[Ongfufu]

They have a pdf scanner that scans every piece of paper and digitize it so they can easily count the words. That's how Google Books do it. They might not even be reading our essays on the papers we mail in, they could do it from their computer screens.

This helps create a database for all the essays ever written, so think again about plagiarism too.

Edited by Ruan Chun Xian, Mar 08, 2009 - 09:13.

[greaterthaninfinity]

ongfufu, on Mar 7 2009, 11:13 AM, said:

They have a pdf scanner that scans every piece of paper and digitize it so they can easily count the words. That's how Google Books do it. They might not even be reading our essays on the papers we mail in, they could do it from their computer screens.

Wow, really? ... I seriously wonder how rich IB is to be able to hire all those coordinators and to have these gadgets for the sole purpose of marking us. Do the coordinators work from a certain facility in Geneva or are they scattered across the four corners of the earth? The system seems a bit surreal at times.

That was a bit off-topic... ahem.

[deissi]

greaterthaninfinity: IB exam marking office is in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Geneva is only where the big shots are, most people who work for the IB work in Cardiff.

I would like to emphasize that people saying that IB "scans each document" etc. is only hearsay, and none of this can actually be proven, at least I'm yet to find a person who can do so. To be honest, what I think they do is that they only check them for word count & plagiarism if the examiner has reason to believe that the candidate is cheating. It would demand a huge amount of resources to scan all essays, even though it could digitally be done. There is also proof to support this argument: I know of many people who have lied about their word count, yet they've still scored such high marks that it is impossible that the examiner/IBCA would have noticed it. Also, take into account the fact that your IAs and exams are always sent directly to the examiner, not to IB Cardiff, although that is where they end up.

On topic: Word limit is between 1200-1600 words, meaning that 1600 words is still OK, 1601 is not OK.

[karldiesen]

What does criterion D actually mean? What "related areas"? What kind of connections? What kind of "positions"? Does anybody have examples/answers to this?

D Connections
• Did the presentation give a balanced account of how the topic could be approached from different
perspectives?
• Did the presentation show how the positions taken on the knowledge issues would have implications
in related areas?
• In awarding the higher achievement levels, the emphasis should be more on the quality of the
consideration of connections than on the quantity of connections mentioned.

Descriptor
Achievement level

Level 1 was not achieved.
0

The presentation explored at least two different perspectives to some extent.
1–2

The presentation gave a satisfactory account of how the question could be
approached from different perspectives, and began to explore their similarities
and differences.
3–4

The presentation gave a clear account of how the question could be
approached from different perspectives and considered their implications
in related areas.
5