2021 Essay Titles

1. “Accepting knowledge claims always involves an element of trust.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

2. Within areas of knowledge, how can we differentiate between change and progress? Answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

3. “Labels are a necessity in the organization of knowledge, but they also constrain our understanding.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

4. “Statistics conceal as much as they reveal.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

5. “Areas of knowledge are most useful in combination with each other.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

6. “Avoiding bias seems a commendable goal, but this fails to recognize the positive role that bias can play in the pursuit of knowledge.” Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.

2020 Essay titles

1. “Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not” (Pablo Picasso). Explore this distinction with reference to two areas of knowledge.

2. “There is a sharp line between describing something and offering an explanation of it.” To what extent do you agree with this claim?

3. Does it matter that your personal circumstances influence how seriously your knowledge is taken?

4. “The role of analogy is to aid understanding rather than to provide justification.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

5. “Given that every theory has its limitations, we need to retain a multiplicity of theories to understand the world.” Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

6. "Present knowledge is wholly dependent on past knowledge." Discuss this claim with reference to two areas of knowledge.

List of Cognitive Biases

Great for padding out your essay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

Common Mistakes

Of DP1 Students at UWC Maastricht in their TOK Essays:

Make sure your RLS is current (Relevant to your life)   Ways of knowing

•  To see how you perceive knowledge not how you form knowledge
•  Woks are 'views' on an RLS

  Do not repeat arguments!!!!!   Do not end the essay with a question?   A TOK essay is not an academic essay, you don't need to go in detail with your RLS if it a scientific essay  

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