How to Write a TOK Essay

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Theory of Knowledge essay is a 1200–1600 word 

essay on one of the prescribed topics set by the IB. As the name suggests, your Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay should focus on knowledge issues (what is knowledge? why and how do we know things?) and link to other areas of knowledge as well. About 2/3 of your final TOK grade is determined by the grade you get for your TOK Essay.

Steps

1. 1
   Ask your teacher to give you the prescribed essay titles. There is a separate set of topics for May and November candidates. Make sure you get the right topics.
2. 2
   Choose the title that you know most about. Evaluate the suitability of the title by thinking how you could link it to what you have studied. For example, if your TOK essay title is mostly about history, but history is not your strong subject, you may want to consider choosing another title.
3. 3
   Note the assumptions of the essay title. All questions contain some assumptions. For example, a past question was "Discuss the claim that some areas of knowledge are discovered and others are invented". You should note that the title assumes that areas of knowledge are either discovered or invented. Why could they not be both? Challenging the assumptions of the essay title enables you to write an essay that focuses more on knowledge issues.
4. 4
   Brainstorm and research. Come up with your initial argument (i.e. what is your answer to the question and why), note down relevant personal experiences you could use to support your argument. Do research in the library and online to find out more examples to support your argument. Note that many IB textbooks contain sections about Theory of Knowledge. These sections may contain useful ideas for your essay.
5. 5
   Consider using an essay template. Essay templates can provide you with ideas and guidance about the structure and formatting of your TOK essay. You candownload TOK essay templates or your teacher may have a template for you.
6. 6
   Write the first draft with referencing. Stay focused on the topic and add in-text referencing or footnotes as you go along. This final edit will be much easier if you proceed like this. Provide detailed examples to support your argument. Avoid generalisations and vagueness. Remember to explore some counter arguments and stay focused on questions and issues of knowledge.
7. 7
   Read your draft essay. Evaluate it against the assessment criteria and note which areas you could improve. Your teacher may also provide you with feedback about your essay. Remember that feedback should always be based on the IB TOK essay assessment criteria.
8. 8
   Write the final copy. Improve your essay so that it meets the assessment criteria better. Make sure your referencing is correct and your essay is not below 1200 words or over 1600 words.
9. 9
   Hand in your essay to your teacher. You should give an electronic copy of your essay to your teacher. Ask your teacher or the IB coordinator to tell you what specific file format you should use.

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Deal With Post IB Intellectual Angst

This article gives an overview of how to effectively deal with intellectual dissatisfaction after going through the IB program.

Steps

1. 
   1
   Realize first that if you completed the IB program, did well on your exams, scored well on college placement exams etc., then you are probably just as intelligent as the people who got into your top choice schools. Quite simply, admissions committees don't quite know what to do with all the applicants they receive and don't judge decisions based on who was the best student and end up floating into the real of strange subjective things. You may hear differently from them though, but rest assured this is probably post-facto justification that helps them sleep at night. Additionally, no one really knows what goes on exactly in admissions rooms, especially for very "selective" universities, however much like a measurement of an undetermined quantum particle, the statistics allow us to know that there are some disturbing trends as of late, including but not limited to the rationing of admissions for minorities... Anyways, you're ok regardless, plus with the out of control grade inflation at most of those schools, your friends are in for quite an existential shock of their own once they graduate.
2. 
   2
   You might feel some sort of angst at the educational system or the state of your country of origin, so rather than ignoring these feelings, consider putting your IB training to good use and become a political dissident. The 1970s was famous for social unrest, civil rights progress, and cultural change. Maybe there's a cause you want to advocate for now, political or otherwise? Maybe come up with a new political theory on how social structures or political misconduct have led to current economic disparities. Angry disenchanted intellectuals have helped spur a lot of social progress throughout history.
3. 
   3
   If you're absolutely fed up with where you are now, consider leaving. If your next college is a boring intellectual wasteland, transfer to another one. If the patriarchy has got you down, join a lesbian commune. If entrenched social structures in your country of residence have spoiled your personal, spiritual or intellectual goals, become an expatriate and laugh at your countrymen across the border. Not fitting in with the mainstream can be the beginning of great personal growth and change.
4. 
   4
   Continue learning, including on your own. Seriously, nowadays any driven person with a computer can become a modern good will hunting. A lot of web developer types are self-taught, sometimes lectures in college are so terrible you have to teach yourself the material, or maybe the stuff you always wanted to learn about astronomy is posted online. Sidestep the ridiculousness that is getting into a decent college and just teach yourself. Also consider whether college is your thing. If you find your college is completely intellectually shallow (and it often is for us IB folks), consider transferring but also realize that dropping out is an option. Perhaps you could become a self made entrepreneur or forestall returning to college until you've given writing a novel a go. In this economy, many intelligent people are finding it hard to justify getting a degree in the first place.
5. 
   5
   Set goals and continue making progress. Being an independent thinker can be difficult but your continued constructive efforts should pay off. If you're in your view "unsuccessful" at the moment, you won't necessarily be in the future. Plus the economy sucks now regardless.

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How to Organize for the IB Program

Are you falling back in class, or have a messy backpack,Or just want to organize.Then this is for YOU i will explain how us IB students can organize our time effectively.

Steps

1. 
   1
   To start off you should make a schedule or use a calendar.
2. 
   2
   Write down some times and activities.
3. 
   3
   Also write down when you have days off of school(if you are using a calendar.
4. 
   4
   Write down tips to help you study/get organized.
5. 
   5
   Every week during the weekends organize your notebooks for class.
6. 
   6
   Give yourself rewards when you do well on tests.
7. 
   7
   Also try to have someone else in IB help you if you are falling back.
8. 
   8
   Last but not least follow your schedule.

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Write IB Psychology HL Internal Assessment (IA)

IB Psychology is a subject from the Group 3: Individuals and Societies group of subjects in International Baccalaureate curriculum. One of the requirements from this subject is an internally assessed report of a simple experimental study conducted by the student. This is internally marked by teachers and then moderated by IB examiners.Generally, the paper consists of several sections and it looks much like the journal or research paper in psychology. In order to write a good report, one should follow these steps.

Steps

1. 1
   Find a study. The best thing would be to find a simple experiment that is easy to replicate and report. A good thing is to consult with you teacher and your course companion. One of the commonly replicated studies is Stroop effect.
2. 2
   Do some research. Once you choose your topic, you should find the original study you will replicate and at least two supporting studies. Remember where you got them from since you'll have to reference them.
3. 3
   Outline your study, prepare all the necessary materials including, but not limited to: informed consent form, debriefing letter, experiment equipment, etc.
4. 4
   Conduct the experiment and collect the data. Once you're done with data collection, you sit and write a report.

Method 1 of 5: Introduction

1. 1
   Start your introduction by writing a general info about the topic and area you investigated.
2. 2
   Afterwards, give a brief insight in the background theories and supporting researches. Ideally would be to introduce 2 or 3 relevant studies.
3. 3
   Then give your reasons for conducting such investigation.
4. 4
   Present in a precise and straight-forward aim, null and research hypothesis.
5. 5
   In the last sentence state whether the hypothesis is one- or two-tailed.

=

1. 1
   In the Method section, there are four subsections. The first one is Design. Here you have to emphasize what type of design you used: independent samples or repeated measures design. Give reasons for using such design: mention positive and negative sides of it. Don't forget to state independent and dependent variable. Also mention ethical guidelines: consent, briefing and debriefing.
2. 2
   The second sub-section is Participants. Here you should discuss your participants characteristics: what was the target population, what was their level of fluency in English, what are their cultural and social background (homogeneous or diverse), what was the sample, how was the sample chosen and why was it chosen in that manner.
3. 3
   The third sub-section is Materials. Here you simply give a list of the materials used, example:
   • Consent form (Appendix 1)
   • Set of instructions (Appendix 3)
   • Other material (Appendix *number where of the appendix under which the material is shown*)
4. 4
   The last one is Procedure. Here you have to be accurate, precise careful and most of all straight forward. Describe the room in which the experiment was conducted and its setting. And then explain procedure of experiment, step-by-step. Mention everything, from singing the consent form to instructions reading to debriefing to saying final words and letting them go.

Method 2 of 5: Results

1. 1
   In the Results section, show a table and graph of descriptive statistics calculations. After that, state the level of measurement, and then introduce inferential statistics. State which test you had used, and present the results of that test in APA style (e.g. for Mann-Whitney U test, the APA style results look like this: U(0,5, n=15), p

Method 3 of 5: Discussion

1. 1
   The Discussion is a very important part. Here you discuss your findings, advantages and limitations of your experiment, and suggestions for further research. Here you have to discuss connections between your results and results of supporting studies, the use of specific design, participants, biases, analysis and data collection. Also discuss ethics and suggest improvements in further research.
2. 2
   In the last paragraph make a small conclusion where you should sum up everything you have written and give your final stand on the results: whether the hypothesis was demonstrated as correct or wrong. Then you should do references.

Method 4 of 5: References

1. 1
   Person, A., & Person, B. (year). The title of journal entry. The name of Journal , volume-number, page-range.
2. 2
   Person, C. (year). Name of the book . Place: publisher.ices

1. 1
   In this section you present informed consent form, briefing and debriefing notes, any other additional material such as questions or lists used in research, raw data table and statistics

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Get a 7 in IB Diploma English

IB English can be quite challenging to get a 7 in, especially at a higher level, however the tips below should help all IBers aim for a 7!

Steps

1. 
   1
   Work hard on every assignment during the year. You won't have a shot at a 7 in the final exam if you've been getting 5s all year. Make sure your assignments are all well structured [IB English encourages the use of good structure] and all the arguments are backed up with suitably footnoted quotes from the book.
2. 
   2
   Keep a World Lit. Journal. World Lits give you a chunk of your marks, and since they are done in relatively easier conditions [as compared to the exam and the oral] it is easier to score well in them. Keeping a detailed World Lit journal will help you identify the major themes, ideas, plot points and stylistic aspects.
3. 
   3
   Schedule World Lit meetings in advance, and draw up detailed plans since advice on the first draft can only be given once. Speak to your teacher, and discuss the appropriateness of your structure at length.
4. 
   4
   Keep all your notes from class well organized and preferably in a binder or notebook for easy reference, which is especially useful for revision and can sometimes pinpoint important aspects of text to you [for example if your teacher discusses certain plot points in great detail as compared to others]
5. 
   5
   In grade 12, do a timed commentary every week in order to train yourself to plan and write a commentary within a time limit and under relatively more stressful conditions than the untimed assignments for homework.
6. 
   6
   Pay attention to aspects of the language, and learn the names of literary devices such as assonance and alliteration. When reading poetry, pay attention to the way words sound and the effect it has on the poem [for example: long drawn out vowels slow down the pace].
7. 
   7
   Always mark out the context and importance of passages so that you can incorporate them into the commentary, since the IB marks references to the context high.
8. 
   8
   Pay attention to the syntax and punctuation, along with the way the passage is organized and discuss its effects in the commentary, taking it to another, more technical, level.
9. 
   9
   For the Oral Exam, prepare yourself well in advance, and brush up on your public speaking skills if you are nervous. Make allowance for the fact that you might talk faster than usual if you're nervous. Try to keep close to the maximum time limit as it limits the number of questions that can be asked [you don't want to end at eight minutes and have four minutes of questions tossed at you]
10. 
    10
    Read all the assigned texts several times, make detailed notes on all of them and mark points of transition.
11. 
    11
    Always consider the dramatic tension and other aspects of performance while handling plays such as the The Ban Plays or No Exit, as it takes the commentary to another level.

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Get Good Grades in IB While Doing Extra Activities

IB is an overwhelming program, but if you are willing to put effort into your work, you will be successful. And if you are also an athlete, you are going to always be working harder than the regular IB students that don't play anything. It takes mental and physical strength to get through it all.

Steps

1. 
   1
   Always have a plan and know when your due dates are for assignments. If you haven't already heard from your peers, IB is very challenging. And adding the extra responsibility of sports is like another 20 pounds on your back. But the thing that is most helpful is having a plan for everyday. Schedule things early, and stick with that decision. Know what you are going to be doing the next day and the night before get all your materials together. When you get the schedule for your games and practices,write them down in an agenda or calendar.
2. 
   2
   Don't procrastinate! Procrastination is in the top 5 reasons why students drop out of IB. When you leave things to be done during last minute, it totally tears you apart. Doing assignments that are due the next day will bore you and WILL stress you out because you will have other things on your mind like "Am i going to get enough sleep" or "Man, I have a test i forgot to study for tomorrow". When you procrastinate it's pretty much like digging a hole and everyday it will get deeper, and then you have to try to climb out of it. So, do your homework the day that it is giving to you. Do not wait for the day before its due to start and do it.
3. 
   3
   Use the extra time in between activities. Us humans don't really use all the advantages life gives to us. So, next time you are alone think of all the extra time that you have and instead of just sitting and staring at the walls or clouds, DO SOMETHING USEFUL TO YOU IN THE FUTURE! Like on the way to and from school or the grocery store or practice....you are most likely sitting and that it!!! Take out your homework and do it in the car. Read a book or go through your planner. Use the extra time that you have, while you STILL have it!
4. 
   4
   Get to know your teammates! Even though you may think that on the field or court your teammates act stupid, they actually mat be very smart. If you are having trouble in a subject, go around and ask who is understanding that material and will agree to tutor you. If they do not have the extra time, have them go through the lesson during practice while you are with them. There is bound to be someone that is good at your weakness. And your stronger subject is someone else's weakness.
5. 5
   Let your coach know when you are not going to be at a practice or game.This is the number one rule besides treating your coach with respect. This does also kind of fall in the respect category. You need to let your coach know about all the other activities that you are in besides of that team. The difference from telling and not is maybe being on the bench for a game or two. Everyone has a certain role on a team and when that coach has practice, they plan out what they want done, and with out certain people, their whole plan may have to be changed to something different. And if the coach doesn't know that you are not going to be there, practice may move slower and nothing will get done.
6. 
   6
   Remember that every sport has some topic of school in it. EVERY SPORT HAS SOME TOPIC OF SCHOOL IN IT! When you play a sport, there are certain things you must do. And while playing that sport, you have to be smart and think about the steps that you take to do well and be the best at that sport. So for example, a goal keeper in any sport must know geometry because they need to keep the ball or object out of the goal. Therefore, they need to cut off the angle from where the object is coming from. Leading to them saving the goal from the object going into it. So even if it is math, science, history or any other subject, try to find how it occurs in your sport.
7. 
   7
   Remember that good grades equal scholarships. Being a great athlete and student is a double plus. You are more likely to get a scholarship because you are good at multiple things. And going to college with a free ride is a great way to save money and have fun. In IB, B's and C's are alright, but your main goal is trying to get straight A's. Because then you are guaranteed a scholarship. And also when you are on a team,you need to meet a criteria in order to stay on the team. And when you DO NOT meet it, you WILL get kicked off of that team and can only do your studies.

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How to Survive an All Nighter in the International Baccalaureate (IB)

Are you tired of constantly fighting to stay awake the night before a dreaded test or exam Are you finding yourself dozing while writing an essay? If you answered yes to these random questions then this survival guide is for you. It is loaded with tips, steps , and chock full of super bad humor. So continue reading!

Steps

1. 
   1
   Leave the lights on.Darkness stimulates sleep so it's kind of hard to do an all-nighter if your sleeping!
2. 
   2
   Plan your breaks ahead if you want to do an all-nighter the one thing that must be recommended is plan. You want to measure time and schedule breaks in hour intervals. A break can be anything from a healthy snack to a brisk run.
3. 
   3
   Always listen to some music in five minute intervals or in "emergency" situations. Immediately turn on some form of music but the most recommended kind is either loud explosive electronica or heavy metal. Heavy anything really does work to keep you up and moving.
4. 
   4
   Exercise and eat healthy. This can not be stressed enough. If you want to have a successful and productive night. The things you eat and the activities you engage in will have an effect on your stamina.
5. 
   5
   Reward yourself if you want to stay on task and on focus. You must have an incentive of some sort I would recommend avoiding sugary foods because the crash is inevitable. Instead some healthy and productive alternatives would be vegetables , fruit and protein rich foods.
6. 
   
   6
   Venture Outdoors. Fresh air no matter what the time is manages to reawaken and reinvigorate your mind.
7. 
   7
   Make your environment as uncomfortable as possible. Lower the temperature significantly to discourage sleep. Scaring yourself is also another way to if nothing keep you up and alert.
8. 
   8
   Try to keep whatever you are doing interesting. Varying your work at the least manages to keep you involve in whatever task you are engaging in.

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Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. We will take your detailed information, edit it for clarity and accuracy, and incorporate it into an article that will help thousands of people.

Tell us everything you know here. Remember, more detail is better.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i71h1AZQRZk

Tips

• Power cat naps can be helpful. But use caution when taking one.
• An occasional laugh is good to have a healthy mindset when working look up funny video clips and internet memes.
• Low carb snacks and protein rich foods will manage to keep you up successfully.
• Have a friend or family member help you stay awake in case you fall asleep.
• Spicy foods are also great foods in keeping one up.
• Occasionally spray yourself with water.
• Exercise frequently in fact you don't even need to leave your desk. Practice desk 

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