Assessment Details
Part 1 Essay on a Prescribed Title (1200 - 1600 words)
General
Each candidate must submit for external assessment an essay on any one of the ten titles prescribed by the IBO for each examination date.

The titles entail generic questions about knowledge and are cross-disciplinary in nature. They may be answered with reference to any part or parts of the TOK programme, to specific disciplines, or with reference to opinions gained about knowledge both inside and outside the classroom.

The titles are not meant to be treated in the abstract. In all cases claims should be justified and relevant, and where possible, counter claims and original examples should be cited to illustrate the argument.

The chosen title must be used exactly as given; it must not be altered in any way. Candidates who modify the titles may gain very few or no points, since the essays may be deemed irrelevant by the assessors, who mark essays in terms of the presicribed title

The essay must be well-presented, clearly legible, and where appropriate, include references and a bilbliography.
Acknowledgements and References
Cadidates are expected to acknowledge fully and in detail the work, thoughts, or ideas of another person if incorportated in work submitted for assessment, and to ensure that their own work is never given to another candidate, either in the form of hard copy or by electronic means, knowing that it might be submitted for assessment as the work of that other candidate. An accepted form of referencing, used consistently according to a standard format, must be used to acknowledge the source of quotations.
Bibliography
The TOK essay is not a research paper but, if specific soucres are used, they must be acknowledged in a bibliography. The bibliography should include only those works (such as books, journals, magazines, and on-line sources) consulted by the candidate.

As appropriate, the bibliography should specify:

  • author(s), title, date and place of publication
  • the name of the publisher or URL
  • the date when the web page was accessed, adhering to one standard method of listing sources
Essay Length
The essay on the prescribed title must be between 1200 and 1600 words in length. The word count includes:
  • the main part of the essay
  • any quotations

The word count does not include:

  • any acknowledgements
  • the references (for example, footnotes and endnotes)
  • any maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations and tables
  • a bibliography

Candidates are required to indicate the number of words.
The Role of the Teacher
In relation to the candidate's essay on a prescribed title, the teacher has four principal responsibilities:
  • to encourage and support the candidate in writing the essay
  • to provide the candidate with advice on and guidance about the skills needed
  • to ensure that the essay is the candidate's own work
  • to complete the cover sheet

While the teacher is encouraged to discuss the prescribed titles with the candidate, the candidate should be allowed to make the final choice of title and to develop their own ideas.

If preliminary drafts are produced, the teacher may read and comment on the drafts, but is not permitted to edit them for the candidates. It is the candidates' responsibility to correct mistakes and make improvements.
Authenticity
Teachers must ensure that essays are a candidate's own work. If there is doubt, authenticity should be checked by a discussion with the candidate about the content of the essay submitted and a scrutiny of one or more of the following:
  • the candidate's initial proposal and outline
  • the first draft of the essay
  • the candidate's references and bibliography for the essay, where appropriate
  • the style of the writing, which may reveal obvious discrepancies.

It should be made clear to candidates that they will be required to sign a written declaraction when submitting the essay, to confirm that it is their own work. In addition, candidates must be made aware that their teachers will also be required to verify the claim made in the declaration.