What score did you achieve in IB TOK?
I got an A and a 9/10 for TOK essay.
How did you study for IB TOK? What techniques did you use to study?
Do as many past papers as you can. Keep the questions you answered incorrectly, and review them from time to time.
Flashcards are good. But I personally found self quizzing even more helpful. Try writing down questions you think your peers or yourself would have trouble answering, and review them when you study. Studying with friends is also good, try to quiz and teach each other.
Biology (especially HL) is really content heavy. So using a checklist and keeping track of all the testable topics is helpful. You can then start eliminating topics that you are confident with and focus on the more important ones.
What is your advice for TOK students for the exhibition?
Picking the right prompt is really important. Start by narrowing down to 3ish choices.
I think choosing the right objects is even more important. Examiners really like seeing personalized objects. For inspiration, look at the objects of exemplars. These could be objects that you see in your daily life. For example, I knew a few people that picked personal stuffed toys as their object. Hence, when considering which prompt to write about, consider the objects you have for each as well.
Don’t worry too much about grammar. A lot of students care too much about the grammar and complexity of language. It is not about that. Get straight to the point (to save words) and be clear with your language (so examiners can mark you off).
Looking at the rubric is really important. Tick yourself off before you submit. Create a checklist.
What is your advice for TOK students for the essay?
Choosing the right topic is also really important. You are much more limited in choices with the essay compared to the exhibition. Generally, one or two prompts will be chosen by the majority of people. If you struggle with understanding and choosing the right examples for a topic, don’t try to stand out and pick a difficult prompt.
Don’t worry about grammar. A lot of students care too much about the grammar and complexity of language. It is not about that. Get straight to the point (to save words) and be clear with your language (so examiners can mark you off)
I found it helpful to link my essay to the TOK concepts we learnt in class (e.g. certainty, culture, evidence, explanation, interpretation). They can guide you when it comes to providing a more insightful interpretation.
Spend less words on describing the object and explaining how it links to the prompt. Spend more time giving insight and interpretation.
Lastly, think of more creative and insightful ways to link the paragraphs and objects together. Don’t treat each object as its separate analysis. Try to link them together in some way. For example, I linked mine together using the TOK concepts. The essay itself should have a purpose (that could be summarized in your thesis), the individual paragraphs should connect to that thesis.
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Do you have any resources that you would recommend?
Getting an A in TOK is really good.
More importantly, try gaining access to past papers (both bad and good). Look for inspiration from the good ones. The bad ones can be used for marking (mark it yourself), look for reasons why each paper was marked down in each area. You'll start to understand what examiners are looking for, and what generally leads to deductions in marks.
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What separates an average student from a good student from a great students in IB TOK?
Great students can form unique perspectives and insights. Examiners quickly get tired of generic interpretations. Generic interpretations are not enough for an A. For example
To be more unique, choose personalised or unique examples to talk about. This relates back to choosing a personalised example/object to talk about
Some more information about our tutor, Treyton
Treyton studied at the Canadian International School of Hong Kong, graduating from the IB and OSSD diploma in 2024. He was awarded the honor roll in grade 7 and 8, and the principals award in grade 9, 10, 11, and 12. Treyton was predicted a 43/45 in IB, and achieved a final score of 44/45. He was also awarded the maple leaf award and a manulife scholarship for his academic performance throughout high school. He is now starting a physiotherapy degree at UNSW Sydney. Treyton also received the ""Thinker"" and ""Caring"" learner profile awards in the IB diploma. Treyton previously volunteered to tutor kids english from grade 8 to 12, a weekly program that he thoroughly enjoyed. Treyton would enjoy tutoring Biology, Chemistry or Economics, and he can also provide VERY useful resources and study notes!!
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