Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is one of the core subjects of the Diploma Program, crafted to help students reflect on the process of attaining information and the ways of knowing. The IB, in particular, states that their main objective in making students take this course is not to give them new information but to allow them to “put into perspective” what they already know.
TOK includes two assessments: one external (which holds the most weight and is called the TOK Essay), and the other internal, called the TOK Exhibition. Succeeding in both of these tasks can help students attain the additional three points at the end of their DP2 year. However, the two tasks, along with the TOK subject itself, tend to be encompassed with uncertainty and confusion for many IB students. Hence, today we will be focusing on the TOK exhibition — the task details, its assessment criteria, and some tips to help you achieve a good score!
What is the TOK Exhibition?
The TOK Exhibition is an internal assessment worth ⅓ or 33% of the final TOK grade. It is an assessment that requires students to pick one of the 35 specified exhibition questions and investigate it using three objects. The current exhibition questions were introduced in May 2022 and have yet to be changed. You can view the questions using this link. It should be noted that students are completely free to choose the prompt that they want to investigate.
There also tends to be confusion around choosing objects, and there are a couple of points that you need to know about them. First, the objects can be anything from a newspaper article to a YouTube video. The main aim of your objects is to look at and unwrap the prompt from different points of view. While one of your objects can support your prompt, the other can prove that it only works in a specific situation. Although the task sounds complicated and requires a lot of thought to be put into it, you have to keep in mind that the maximum word count is 950 words. Hence, although you should explain each of your objects thoroughly, you should remember to only discuss relevant points!
Exhibition Assessment Criteria
As mentioned above, the TOK exhibition contributes to 33% of your final TOK grade. Unlike other DP subjects, where you are graded out of 7, the maximum points in the Exhibition is 10 points. Depending on what you get out of those 10 points, you will be graded either an A, B, C, or so on. The current grade boundaries are the following:
| Points | Final grade |
| 8-10 | A |
| 6-7 | B |
| 5-4 | C |
| 3-2 | D |
| 1-0 | E (fail) |
Below is the assessment criteria that I recommend every student to consider closely. This is the criterion that determines the points that you will receive from the Exhibition, and it also signals what the examiner/your teacher is looking for in your work. If you are aiming for an A, you should look at the 9-10 band and see if your work fits the criteria.
Any high-quality Exhibition should clearly state the three objects, explain the objects, and have a thorough link to the prompt. You should also ensure that the objects come from reliable sources, as your sources (which you have to indicate at the end of your work) are also going to be checked. Although it is important to explain why you selected your objects, remember not to dwell on it too much, and keep it between 1-2 sentences. You should also convince the reader that this object is extremely relevant to the prompt, as well as to the point that you are trying to prove. Overall, your work should always link back to the prompt, and when reading your exhibition, the reader should be convinced of your points as well as the relevancy of the included objects.
Tips for the Exhibition
Now that we have covered the details of the assessment, it is time to move on to my tips. Based on my personal experience, I recommend following these steps when writing your Exhibition.
1. Make sure you understand your chosen prompt.
While some of the prompts may seem somewhat straightforward, there are always going to be points of view that you may not consider if you don’t look into the question closely enough. For example, if you choose prompt #16, “Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?”, it is easy to think that you can answer with a simple yes or a no. However, you may miss the fact that there are different kinds of knowledge, such as scientific knowledge and historical knowledge, that may raise ethical questions when trying to be investigated. You may also ignore what it means to seek knowledge ethically and the possible implications that may arise from seeking specific kinds of knowledge.
Hence, I recommend jotting down as many different interpretations of the question as you can think of, as it will not only help you understand what the prompt is asking for, but it will also aid you in writing about your objects. I recommend checking out the TOK Today website, as they offer sample exhibitions for each question and make it easier for you to unwrap your prompt.
2. Writing knowledge claims/arguments
Now that you have understood the prompt, it is time for you to think about the three points that you are going to discuss regarding it. This will be relatively easier if you had followed the aforementioned step. The knowledge claims/arguments are essentially three ways to look at and answer the prompt. I am again going to consider prompt #16, and take the knowledge arguments from the TOK Today website. The question asks “Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?”, so the possible answers could be:
- Some knowledge should not be sought because the process of seeking it will require unethical practices.
- Some knowledge should not be sought because it may be used unethically afterwards.
- The process of seeking knowledge, including ethical standards, are contextual, and so there is no knowledge that should not be sought on ethical grounds.
There are numerous other ways to look at the question and hence shape your knowledge claims. I recommend not overcomplicating your knowledge claim, and instead keeping it short, simple, and easily understandable. Keep in mind that the examiners are not assessing your English skills, and hence it is not necessary to use overly formal and professional words when your idea can be communicated more simply (remember that clarity is one of the most frequently mentioned words in the 9-10 band in the assessment criteria!)
3. Choosing your objects
Now comes the most tedious part of the Exhibition — choosing your objects. However, having concrete and clear knowledge statements will facilitate the process of figuring out your objects as well. First, consider what kinds of objects can be used for each of your knowledge claims. For example, looking at the second knowledge claim that I listed above, that “some knowledge should not be sought because it may be used unethically afterwards”, you may consider a scientific experiment that made a discovery but was later used unethically. Note that my idea is very vague, but it identifies a type of object – a scientific experiment. You can now search for scientific experiments that made a big discovery, but also contributed to something negative and unethical being made. For this, you can use the help of AI chatbots, including Gemini, which is now included in Chrome, but I recommend not overly relying on them. Instead, only use such chatbots to get ideas of objects, and then conduct the research yourself. Do not ask the chatbot to give you links about the object or to do the research for you, as it will result in you not knowing your object fully, and hence not being able to explain it as required in the 9-10 band. Remember, understanding your objects is just as important as understanding your prompt!
Take time to read 2-3 articles about each of the objects that you may consider, and then choose the one that relates to your claim and answers the prompt the best. Although this takes time, it is better than going with your very first choice and risking getting a bad grade.
Repeat the same process for all three knowledge claims that you formed, and you will have the perfect outline to start writing your exhibition!
Here are some other general tips that I can give that may help you when writing your exhibition:
- You may come across exhibition samples that include an introduction, which may make you think that you need to do the same. However, you should keep in mind that the word count is very little, and it is generally illogical to have an introduction for a prompt that can be explained throughout your paragraphs.
- For each of your paragraphs, start by presenting your object (while using in-text citations!). Afterwards, link the object to the prompt and explicitly state your knowledge claim! Make sure to elaborate on the link between the prompt and the object, and convince the reader that the object is a good fit to answer the prompt.
- Review your sources before submitting your exhibition! As mentioned above, sources are also checked when checking your exhibition. During the research process, it is possible that you might have mixed up links and accidentally indicated the wrong source in your bibliography. Hence, it is nice to go over your bibliography again to make sure that each link that you include is right and working.
Final thoughts
Overall, writing the TOK Exhibition is a process that requires a lot of thought and effort to be put into it. However, it also makes us consider the aspects of knowledge that we wouldn’t have considered otherwise. Taking extra steps, such as those mentioned above, may seem time-consuming now, but it will make you avoid the stress and uncertainty that often accompany this assessment. To gain a more comprehensive view of the Exhibition, and read some sample works, I again recommend looking into the TOK Today website!