Hãy cùng Jenny Doan English Tutoring xây dựng bài luận cuối cùng cho môn Theory of Knowledge, TOK, chương trình IB, Tú Tài Quốc Tế cho năm IB cuối. Bài hướng dẫn này được viết bằng tiếng Anh vì các em học bằng tiếng Anh nhé. 

Here is a step by step guidance for you 😉

Select a TOK Essay Topic

The essay usually comes with several prescribed titles, from which you're supposed to pick one and run with it. For example, "Do good explanations have to be true?" was one of the prescribed title for May 2019. You can follow these simple steps to choose an appropriate topic for your TOK essay.

For our purpose in the above essay, suppose we choose to explore: "Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not".

Understand keywords in the Question 

You need to look up any terms that are new to you and define any new terminology. As you probably know by now with TOK, things aren’t always what they seem. Once you have understood what the essay is about, paraphrase with simple, direct language. Set out the perspective, contrast, and comparison in the title clearly enough for a nonprofessional to understand. You can do this by first breaking it down into parts and then putting it together again.

For our above title, we gather that it is asking how new knowledge is acquired. Is it by asking 'why?' or 'why not?' Which method is more reliable, and why? Answering this question will give the substance of the essay.

Set a Knowledge Question

This is the question that your topic is going to answer, put together by words and phrases from the topic. It is always best to work with an open-ended question that leaves you lots of room to explore different viewpoints and allows you to have a bang in the conclusion. It usually starts with, ‘to what extent’.

For our example: “With regard to religious systems, does asking ‘why?’ limit our knowledge of what actually is, or does it protect us from fallacious faith?”

Set Out Your WOK and AOK

Xem thêm: Từng bước học IB Tú Tài Quốc Tế 

Explore the prescribed title and your knowledge question to discover what way of knowing (WOK) and areas of knowledge (AOK) you are working with. You will need 1 WOK and at least 2 AOK - 2 is the recommended number because one is too few, and 3 or more would not allow you to explore any one area thoroughly enough within the word count of 1600 words.

Here are 8 ways of knowing: Language and its foundation on setting norms, Sense perceptions as in 5 biological senses, Emotion and how people react differently to a stimuli, Reason and logic, Imagination and its relation to personal experience, Intuition and how gut is based on a previous event or a series of unidentified encounters, Memory and how it helps to build new information, and Faith and spiritual conviction. 

Here are 8 areas of knowledge: Mathematics, History, Arts, Natura Sciences, Human Sciences, Ethics, Religious Knowledge, and Indigenous Knowledge.

Essay structure

Introduction = Say something interesting about the prescribed title, designed to hook the reader’s attention. You can give a twist to the topic to make it uniquely yours, and this twist will be what you will be addressing. + Define any new, ambiguous, or complex term in the title. Even if you know what the terms mean, the person marking your essay might not be working with the same definition. Thus, use it to bring them to the same page. In this case, you might define ‘faith,’ ‘datum,’ ‘criticism,’ and ‘understanding.’ + Then, give your thesis statement on the topic. Try to make it different from mainstream ideas on the same to keep things interesting.

Body 1 is about AOK 1 = Every body paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that describes clearly what your main claim or counterclaim here is. + It is then followed by an explanation/elaboration, where you clarify your claim to show what you mean. + Give a real-life example as evidence from your own experiences, and make sure that it actually supports it. A poor example would be picked apart by an opposing lawyer. Remember, the defense is smart, if not smarter. + Link back to the claim and question you are trying to answer to provide flow and coherence to your essay. 

Body 2 is to counter argue body 1 = Still in AOK 1, set out a strong counterclaim to your argument in paragraph 1. You will be following the same TEEL format where you start with a strong topic sentence, explain, give an example, and link back.

Repeat for AOK 2 with 2 body paragraphs . . . 

Conclusion 1 = Explain what insights you have gathered from your discussion on the prescribed title. You will also describe the implications and significance of what you have uncovered. Why do you think we should know it? Why does it matter that we understand what you are saying? 

Conclusion 2 = Perspectives and extensions. You are not closing the case in your conclusion, rather, show your audience that the discussion is still open. The goal is not to defend or refute the thesis statements, although you will also prove or disprove it here. Rather, it is to show your method of knowing. You can acknowledge one or two questions that remain unaddressed or unresolved. Better still, adopt a different perspective from what your essay has uncovered and show you are open to new discussions.

Tip: use first point of view, "I," for your essay 🌿

Marking rubric 

How well have you define keywords in the prescribed title chosen? How comprehensive and cogent is your point of view on the topic? Your essay should demonstrate that you can draw contrasts as well as parallels in AOKs and WOKs while recognizing your own perspective or biases upon the subject and can analyze them as objectively as possible.

Your claims and counter claims should be well proven and evaluated. You should also identify any assumptions made in the process and engage readers well. 

How effectively do you use real-life examples to make a point for your claims and counterclaims? Your findings and insights should be used to extend the relevancy of these claims or counterclaims to other real-life situations.

Have you described clearly the real-life situation that forms the launching point for the presentation? Extracted and formulated clearly a single knowledge question from the real-life situation? Explored various perspectives in relation to the knowledge question and deploy examples as well as arguing for this exploration? Relate all findings, insights, and analysis back to the the prescribed title and question?

Nguồn: Help For Assessment with Tony 

Cô Jenny Q. Doan chuyên cung cấp khóa hỗ trợ cho các môn Ngữ Văn Anh, Văn học Thế giới, Triết học và Nghiên cứu Kinh doanh cho các học sinh đang theo học chương trình quốc tế International Baccalaureate IB, AS và A Level, ATAR, IGCSE, và Key Stage. Tìm hiểu thêm tại đây.