The year 2022 is finally here.
For many of us, it id a moment to make New Year resolutions, set new goals, and work on achieving what we couldn’t in the previous year.
For IB students, it’s the time to embrace the changes that the International Baccalaureates has made to the Theory of Knowledge course.
If you’ve even done just a little research on the TOK program, you must have already noticed that there will be a major and instant shift from TOK presentation to the Theory of Knowledge Exhibition.
And we’ve discussed quite a lot on the topic already. For what it’s worth, we’ve already written guides on:
- An introduction to TOK exhibition
- Theory of Knowledge exhibition objects
- TOK exhibition commentary
- TOK exhibition rubric and
- Theory of Knowledge IA prompts
In other words, we have given you all the information you need to work on your TOK exhibition project without making guesses.
Unfortunately, given the complexity of theory of knowledge as a subject, there’s the need to give you some tips that you can use to make sure you score an EXCELLET for this assignment.
8 TOK Exhibition Tips for Higher Grades
The following tips will help you score an A in your TOK Exhibition assignment:
1. Choose the Right IA Prompt
In 2022, you will have 35 IA prompts to choose from, and it is important that you pick a topic before you do anything else.
You can choose ONLY one topic to explore in your Exhibition commentary, and given that there are 35 potential prompts on the list, it shouldn’t be difficult to single out what question to explore.
You shouldn’t change the IA prompt at all. Rather, write it exactly as it appears on the prompts list.
Don’t just pick an IA prompt at random. Instead, spend a few minutes to read the entire list of questions and then single out the prompt that you find interesting to work on – or one that has concepts that you think would be interesting to explore.
Lastly, make sure that the question you choose to explore is one that you can link to the context of s core theme or one of the optional themes in TOK.
2. Pick Your Objects Carefully
In addition to choosing an IA prompt to explore, you need to choose your objects carefully before you start writing your TOK exhibition commentary.
For something to qualify as an object and act as a product of knowledge in TOK, it must have a real world-context, and it should not be generic or symbolic.
Just like with the TOK exhibition prompt, the best approach to choose objects is to consider whatever falls within your interest.
You have to choose three objects for your exhibition. Also, the objects you choose must link back to each other and relate to the IA prompt.
In addition to having a real-world context, the object you choose for your exhibition must not only exist within a specific place and in a given time but also be specific in kind.
3. Do Original Research
We can’t stress enough just how important doing original research is. If anything, the research forms the foundation that guides you in writing a TOK commentary.
- Look up at the right sources and gather as much data as you can.
- Organize your research in an exhibition outline (check our guide on the writing the commentary for more information)
4. Ask for Guidance from Your Teacher
Your TOK teacher is there to guide you, so don’t hesitate to ask for help if you get stuck.
If you like some concepts aren’t clear, or you need more explanation on your TOK Exhibition IA prompt, or you are not sure whether you chose the right objects for the exhibition, just ask your teacher for help.
They should point you in the right direction so that you can do well and score top grades.
5. Don’t Hold Discussions with Your Classmates
Remember that TOK exhibition is an individual assignment worth 33% of the total marks.
Individual in this case means you should do the assignment privately on your own. Holding group discussions or asking your fellow students violates the guidelines set by IB.
6. Make Your Commentary Comprehensive
Writing a commentary is not difficult if you follow the instructions, the most important being that it should not be more than 950 words. TOK teachers simply ignore anything you write last the suggested word count, so you shouldn’t waste your time doing more work than you should.
Check out our guide here to learn more about the exhibition commentary.
7. Start Early
If you’ve read out study on how difficult is IB, you will notice that the drop out rate from program is often higher compared to Advanced Placement and regular secondary programs.
As strange as the statistics in that article shows, the number one reason why many IB students fail to score the best grades is the failure to start early.
Procrastination is a true and definite killer of success. If you keep delaying your execution plan for the TOK Exhibition, you will end up having less time to focus on the project and eventually fail.
Remember, the TOK exhibition is a project with many parts. You have to:
- Pick an IA prompt
- Choose three objects with real-world context
- Do your research
- Write a 950-word commentary and
- Proofread your work before submission
It doesn’t end there.
You also have to write a 1,200 -word TOK essay, which means that starting early is the only way to complete the assignment on time.
8. Get TOK Exhibition Help
The TOK exhibition is the new individual assignment that all IB students have to complete. Given that the study material is still new, and because you are slowly transitioning from the TOK presentation to this new normal, it can be quite challenging to get yourself to do the assignment from start to finish.
The best step to take in this case is to hire TOK Exhibition help from Help for Assessment. Our company is the best in the TOK business and students are already taking advantage of our service to learn more about the exhibition.