TOK ENDGAME:
TOK Essay blunders to avoid
Dead Man’s fingers Xylaria polymorpha
TOK ESSAY BLUNDERS TO AVOID
Using dense, ambiguous, inchoate, pretentious phrasing. Your essay must be clear and be comprehensible!
Any dictionary definition—even worse if earnestly and pedantically cited.
Phrases like, “Since the dawn of time...”
Presenting a singular, linear “winning” argument that makes little effort to evaluate different points of view.
Simply quoting a famous philosopher or other authority out of context, and then saying, “therefore”...
The conspicuous absence of any multi-cultural or international point of reference.
Presenting an essay entirely lacking in personal voice.
Enormous paragraphs or no paragraphs at all.
Unjustified broad assertion or generalizations.
Using hypothetical rather than specific real world examples
Actual errors... double check everything.
Banal examples like dead pet stories, school gossip or Disney film characters.
Using obscure terms without even briefly explaining them.
Not using the the words “Know” or “Knowledge” at least once in your essay?
Procrastinating to the last moment so that you unable to edit your own work with a fresh critical eye.