A. Written Submission Structure – Presumed Knowledge

Students must use first person singular voice (I, me, my) to construct their personal response to the question, topic, or knowledge issue. (Submissions that stray from personal voice will not be assessed against this standard.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) introduction paragraph that provides assignment background and/or a hook to peak the reader’s interest as it introduces the thesis containing the topic of the paper,

(b) thesis statement which communicates the author’s overall point and/or purpose (When a written submission contains no discernible thesis statement or the thesis statement does not fit the prescribed title, the paper will not be assessed against this standard.),

(c) thesis statement is structured and located correctly (When a written submission contains a thesis that is wordy, a thesis spread out beyond a single sentence, a thesis that previews the claims, or a thesis that includes a justification, the paper will not be assessed against this standard. Additionally, when a written submission does not place the thesis as the last sentence of the first paragraph and the first sentence of the last paragraph, the paper will not be assessed against this standard.),

(d) body topic sentences are formed to support the thesis statement and each one of them makes a distinct claim,

(e) body topic sentences are structured as single sentences that convey the entire support claims and they are located correctly as the first sentence of each body paragraph,

(f) body content is entirely within the boundaries of the topic sentences, covers all portions of the topic sentences, and includes evidence that exemplifies the included thought,

(g) conclusion paragraph that influences or moves the reader, discusses the author’s new understanding (ah-ha revelation), or answers “so what?” for the reader instead of merely reviewing/summarizing the body content or repeating previously covered ideas.

B. Oral Presentation Structure – Presumed KnowledgeStudents must use first person singular voice (I, me, my) to construct their personal response to the question, topic, or knowledge issue. (Submissions that stray from personal voice will not be assessed against this standard.)

Oral presentations require presenters to use no more than a sparse speaking outline as a prompt to keep their offering organized and on track. (Any oral presentation that consists mostly of read material will not be assessed against this standard.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) admirable poise by having a relaxed, self-confident, interested, enthusiastic, and positive attitude,

(b) value-added nonverbal elements with beneficial bodily actions, posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and a professional appealing appearance,

(c) sound organization shown by smooth and practiced delivery that meets the time and length requirements without rushing or slowing and without skipping or adding planned content,

(d) adequate preparation demonstrated through disciplined delivery that includes controlled flow, contained fillers (um), restricted nervous intrusions (laughing), ignored interruptions,

(e) eloquent speaking with commendable pronunciation, articulation, clarity, diction, tone, pitch, vocal variety, volume, rate and effective pauses,

(f) reputable communication aids with satisfying content, style, audience connections, use, and integration,

(g) agreeable audience interactions that are responsive and well-received.

C. Connections & Comparisons – Presumed Knowledge

Students must demonstrate the ability to draw and elaborate on links and/or make effective comparisons or connections between different approaches to knowledge issues that derive from areas of knowledge, ways of knowing, theoretical positions, and cultural values.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) relevant connections between his own experiences and the topic or knowledge issue(s),

(b) relevant connections between his unique thoughts and the topic or knowledge issue(s),

(c) the ability to link topic aspects and/or relevant content as cause and effect or acknowledge coincidental independence,

(d) how topic aspects and/or relevant content can be grouped and categorized by similarities,

(e) how topic aspects and/or relevant content can be separated and distinguished by differences,

(f) how topic aspects and/or relevant content can be discussed in forms of “to what extent or to what level”,

(g) a reasonable consensus reached from the evaluation of the included connections, links, and comparisons that give meaning to the work.

D. Argumentation Structure – Presumed KnowledgeStudents must use first person singular voice (I, me, my) to construct their personal response to the question, topic, or knowledge issue. (Submissions that stray from personal voice will not be assessed against this standard.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) his arguments have a debatable topic,

(b) his arguments take a firm stance and defend one specified side,

(c) his argument has a properly located and concise thesis that reveals his debatable issue as well as the side he intends to defend,

(d) his arguments contain substantiation (including articulated evidence) of at least two claims that support his thesis,

(e) his arguments include the selection of a valid and explicitly stated counterclaim to refute - refuting fanatical, elementary, or a self-declared statement is not sufficient,

(f) his arguments contain refutation that provides why the counterclaim is incorrect/short-sighted/incomplete/outdated while still supporting the thesis,

(g) his arguments contain refutation that evaluates the opposition’s main premise in the context of the situation and/or the opposition’s perspective.

E. Written Submission Expectations Students will develop carefully edited, revised, polished, and proofread pieces of writing.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) an organized recitation of ideas,

(b) use of language that assists the reader’s understanding and/or clarifies points so as to avoid confusion (Central terms should be fully explained or linearly developed to aid comprehension.),

(c) written content that supports major premises through concrete examples that illustrate the key points or take forward the argument,

(d) written content that is refined by helpful explanations that make his intentions clear,

(e) writing that includes only minimal conventional errors so as to not arrest the reader and impede communication,

(f) writing free of fallacies, unsupported ideas, and off-topic material (Every sentence needs to be directly connected to the thesis statement and/or body paragraph topic sentences as “Examples chosen are sometimes appropriate” scores at most four of ten marks.),

(g) written TOK essays are well presented, clearly legible, and obviously proofread.

F. Strategic Writing (Analysis of knowledge issues/topics that are not relevant to the prescribed title is not assessed.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) high degree of independent, individual, and/or personal insight,

(b) justification of his main points (This is best accomplished by including detailed evidence, expository quotes, and/or pertinent examples.),

(c) compelling and/or engaging writing/language beyond metaphors or rhetorical questions,

(d) coherent writing,

(e) critical analysis of knowledge claims communicated where written content extends beyond merely conducting research and reporting on findings,

(f) an identification of their own implications and/or underlying assumptions,

(g) an analysis of their own implications and/or underlying assumptions.

G. Tactical Writing

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) his claims and/or main ideas are illustrated with effective examples,

(b) his claims and/or main ideas are illustrated with varied examples,

(c) he reached conclusions through a sustained consideration of accumulated and discussed claims,

(d) his understanding of knowledge issues and prescribed title main ideas by providing depth (Depth of understanding is indicated by developing claims further, modifying premises, elaborating on ideas, validating information, and/or justifying deductions.),

(e) his understanding of knowledge issues and prescribed title main ideas by providing breadth (Breadth of understanding is indicated by providing multiple viewpoints, resources, and/or perspectives along with showing how they relate/agree/conflict/connect.),

(f) his understanding of knowledge issues and prescribed title main ideas by providing both depth and breadth,

(g) an exploration of similarities and differences.

H. Oral Presentation Planning Document

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) his TOK oral presentation is supported by the submission of a completed copy of the presentation planning document prior to making his presentation (When students are making group presentations, these need not be compiled individually.),

(b) his TOK oral presentation planning document summarizes the thinking behind his topic selection,

(c) his TOK oral presentation planning document states the specific knowledge issue(s) to be addressed,

(d) his TOK oral presentation planning document offers a structured and sparse speaking outline of the intended treatment of the topic and the KI(s) to be addressed,

(e) his TOK oral presentation planning document provides clear evidence of an inquiry in keeping with the aims and objectives of TOK,

(f) his TOK oral presentation planning document reveals and highlights how the presenter intends to meet each of the requirements included in the assessment criteria,

(g) his TOK oral presentation planning document is formatted properly, not as an essay but in skeleton or bullet point form and typed.

I. Oral Presentation Expectations Students will provide a suitable oral presentation of their TOK work which contain only minimal interaction and audience participation but are followed by appropriate and value-added audience discussions. (Under no circumstances should TOK oral presentations be essays read aloud to the class. TOK learners are to distinguish TOK oral presentations from TOK written essays. Alternatively, TOK oral presentations may take many forms, such as lectures, skits, Socratic seminars, simulations, games, interviews, panel discussions, or debates. Students may use supporting material such as videos, MS PowerPoint, projections, posters, questionnaires, recordings, costumes, or props.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) his TOK oral presentation has an introduction that briefly describes a real-life situation as framed by the prescribed title and/or links a real-life situation to one or more relevant knowledge issue(s),

(b) his TOK oral presentation has a treatment of the knowledge issue(s) that explores its/their nature and responses to it/them and how it/they relate to the chosen real-life situation (A description of knowledge issues without analysis is insufficient to meet this goal.),

(c) his TOK oral presentation shows his personal involvement in the topic and/or his TOK oral presentation includes a distinctively personal use of arguments and/or examples,

(d) his TOK oral presentation explains why the topic is important and/or significant,

(e) his TOK oral presentation connects the topic to other things/areas,

(f) his TOK oral presentation gives a clear account of how the question/topic could be approached from different perspectives,

(g) his TOK oral presentation included a consideration of the implications involved with the different perspective approaches including the implications in related areas.

J. Intellectual PropertyStudents need to formulate and communicate ideas clearly with due regard for accuracy and academic honesty such that intellectual property is carefully protected and plagiarism is staunchly avoided. (Student submissions should primarily contain their own authentic work. Students are expected to acknowledge fully and in detail the work, thoughts, or ideas of another person if incorporated in work submitted for assessment.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) the establishment of the reliability of included facts,

(b) the precise traceability of properly referenced resources and written content through in-text citations containing names and dates and, when appropriate, a formatted bibliography (This can be accomplished through the consistent use of an accepted form of referencing i.e. APA.),

(c) he copiously completed the assignment exactly as it was given; it must not be altered in any way (Students who modify the work will not be assessed, regardless of the effort devoted.),

(d) he met all of the listed submission criteria (These include but are not limited to completion of support documentation, windows of duration for oral presentations, ranges of word counts for written submissions, quantity of typed pages limitations, as well as specified format requirements.),

(e) written content not based on uncorroborated generalizations or stereotypes,

(f) written content free of hypothetical scenarios since reliability must be established for al included content,

(g) written content that is factually accurate.

K. Generation Students will deliver their fresh and thoughtful development of questions, explanations, conjectures, hypotheses, alternative ideas, and possible solutions in response to knowledge issues concerning areas of knowledge, ways of knowing, and their own experiences (or their educational community’s own experiences) as learners.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) independent thought,

(b) personal engagement and exploration,

(c) reflective thought,

(d) significant self-awareness as a knower,

(e) how he shapes, enriches, and/or deepens his thinking and his understanding of knowledge as a human construction,

(f) the ability to form distinctions about different kinds of knowledge and/or different ways of knowing,

(g) he can facilitate a positive TOK learning experiences for his audience.

L. Creative Process Students are to showcase their TOK thinking skills in the discussion of topics, claims, and knowledge issues.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) how he shares ideas and/or the excitement of reflecting on knowledge with others and/or how he listens to and learns from what others think,

(b) high quality/sophisticated consideration,

(c) a developed and recorded thought process that highlights his individual approach consciously taken rather than a mere repetition of commonplace cases/notions or the impersonal recounting of sourced material or reporting of events,

(d) he reflects on his experience as a learner in everyday life and in the Diploma Program,

(e) his understanding of how he came to think/be this way,

(f) cross-curricular or holistic consideration of the topic and/or knowledge issue(s),

(g) the positive value of using a variety of methods to search for knowledge, to question knowledge, and to establish its validity.

M. Exploration Students are to develop a fascination with the richness of knowledge as a human endeavor and an understanding of the empowerment that comes from reflecting upon it.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) the process of making sense of what is encountered when thinking about knowledge itself or the topic of focus,

(b) how he is the knower,

(c) the discovery and expression of his unique views on knowledge issues,

(d) his willingness to venture outside his “comfort zone”,

(e) a spirit of apparent inquiry and/or curiosity,

(f) the ability to give a personal, self-aware response to a knowledge issue,

(g) audience appropriate substantiation that provides suitable context through logos, pathos, and ethos appeals.

N. Perspectives Students must convey their understandings of different perspectives on knowledge issues including how their perspectives relate to those of other academic or philosophical traditions, cultures, circumstances (such as age, gender, national origin, religious background, or ethnicity), or positions in society.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) his original and independent perspective,

(b) his consideration of other perspectives,

(c) his awareness of how his perspective meshes with those of other knowers and why he thinks they do,

(d) his awareness of how his perspective conflicts with those of other knowers and why he thinks they do,

(e) his understanding of how the question, topic, claim, and/or knowledge issue(s) could be approached from different perspectives,

(f) the tailoring of language and/or representations to suit different perspectives,

(g) the ability to substantiate points and/or claims from different perspectives.

O. Cultural Considerations Students are to consider how attitudes, values, and beliefs about knowledge issues are impacted by culture.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) an awareness and appreciation of other cultural perspectives,

(b) comprehension of cultural shifts within the global world,

(c) the diversity of ways of thinking and/or ways of living by different cultures,

(d) his understanding of how knowledge is constructed, critically examined, evaluated, and/or renewed by various cultures,

(e) his understanding of how culture matters in the world as it exists today,

(f) an understanding of the relationships between aspects of knowledge, thoughts, feelings, and/or actions and how they vary by culture,

(g) his consideration of the responsibilities originating from the relationship between knowledge and the community and/or the individual as citizens of the world.

P. Ways of Knowing Students can identify and analyze how different ways of knowing contribute to the construction of knowledge.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) the realization of how we know something that is identified as shared knowledge or how he knows something that is identified as personal knowledge,

(b) what it is we now know or what it is he now knows (that wasn’t previously known),

(c) an understanding of how although there is one WOK whose use is being highlighted, WOKs are rarely used in isolation – that is, generally, several WOKs are used together to form understanding,

(d) his understanding of how this WOK contributes to different AOKs (at least two) that are integral considerations of this piece of submitted work,

(e) an understanding of how culture/background prompts or facilitates the use of a particular WOK,

(f) the inclusion of “TOK terms/vocabulary” (such as hypothesis, experiment/investigation, data/finding, interpretation/conclusion, anomaly, induction, certainty, uncertainty, belief and knowledge) within the discussion of WOKs,

(g) critical thinking about and analysis about the WOK(s) discussed.

Q. Areas of Knowledge Students are to consider how various disciplines vary in their pursuit and evaluation of knowledge.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) an understanding of key scope/application issues within the highlighted AOK(s),

(b) the use of specific terminology and concepts within the highlighted AOK(s),

(c) an understanding of the methods used to produce knowledge within the highlighted AOK(s),

(d) key historical developments within the highlighted AOK(s),

(e) interaction(s) of AOK(s) shared knowledge with personal knowledge,

(f) what the included AOKs (at least two that are integral considerations of this piece of submitted work) have in common,

(g) how the reliability of the knowledge within the AOK(s) is/are linked to the WOK(s) used to consider and understand it/them.

R. Knowledge Claims/Questions/Issues In TOK there are two types of knowledge claims.

o Claims that are made within particular areas of knowledge or by individual knowers about the world. (first-order claims)

o Claims that are made about knowledge. (second-order claims)Both types of knowledge claims are explored in TOK. The first type will feature in examples offered in the essay and presentation illustrating the manner in which areas of knowledge go about the business of producing knowledge. The second type will constitute the core of any piece of TOK analysis.

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that is explicitly about knowledge,

(b) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that doesn’t focus on specific content, but instead discusses/explores how knowledge is constructed and evaluated,

(c) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that has a number of plausible answers,

(d) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that is addressed in general terms (as opposed to subject-specific ones),

(e) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that is accompanied by stated/established key concepts,

(f) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that is accompanied by his personal perspectives,

(g) a central and identified knowledge claim/question/issue that plays a part in the judgments made in his analysis or his interpretations of the knowledge claim’s key ideas that play a part in the judgments made in analysis.

S. Reflection in TOK to Prompt Continuous Improvement Students are to consider their performance and provided feedback to recognize areas of concern and develop constructive corrective actions in addition to tracking what results their improvement efforts actually yield. (While reflection is only indirectly discussed in the TOK subject guide, it is now an essential part of the course requirements according to the state of North Carolina.)

The student’s work demonstrates:

(a) an awareness of problem areas or errors (at least two) that are frequently repeated,

(b) an understanding of specific (measurable) things (at least two) that should/could be deleted, adjusted, or added to make the submission better and improve earned scores,

(c) an idea of how (NOT WHAT) changes will be accomplished (What is the corrective action plan for each identified concern?),

(d) an understanding of how his challenges in TOK (at least two) are related to other course work and/or other areas of life,

(e) a sober understanding of the extent to which previously determined and currently implemented corrective actions (at least two) have affected the quality of the work and the scores earned,

(f) an understanding of how class activities (at least two) supported submission quality,

(g) an awareness and willingness to use some external resources (at least two) that can directly assist him with this continuous process improvement corrective action plan.