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Theory of knowledge

International Baccalaureate"
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2023
Baccalaureat lnterrliltlonilll International Baccalaureate® | Baccalauréat International® | Bachillerato Internacional®
Bach1llerato lnternacion•I
November 2022 subject report Theory of knowledge

Contents

Grade boundaries 3
Essay 4
Exhibition 9

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Grade boundaries
Overall
Grade: E D C B A

Mark range: 0-3 4-9 10-15 16-21 22-30

This DP/CP N22 subject report contains overall subject boundaries only, unlike previous reports where
component boundaries were also published, component boundaries for this session are available in IBIS.
The IB advises schools not to use component boundaries for this session as direct indicators of academic
standards for future exam preparation because they have been set in response to the particular needs of
the N22 cohort. Two significant conditions which do not normally feature in grade boundary setting have
had to be satisfied during the boundary setting for the N22 session; the need to apply reasonable
standards to adjusted assessment models for students who have restricted access to learning during the
COVID pandemic and the need to maintain parity with students who undertook the non-examination
route.

International Baccalaureate
Baccalaureat International
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Essay
The Range and Quality of Work Submitted
The first November session of the new TOK course went very well. Congratulations to all the teachers who
have made a smooth transition to the new course and have guided their students to a successful
completion of the course assessments. It is clear that teachers are incorporating the suggestions made in
the M22 subject report and are making use of the resources in the Teacher Support Material (TSM) located
in the Programme Resource Centre.

Teacher feedback on the Prescribed Titles

This session, we received feedback from 227 teachers. We value this input, and the prescribed title
authoring team takes into consideration all the comments made by teachers when writing titles for future
s and about the changes to
the format of the prescribed titles. If teachers wish to comment in future sessions, they will find the link to
the forms in the Programme Resource Centre during the exam period and may contact their Diploma
Coordinator for more information.
This session, the overall popularity of the titles was 1,6,2,3,4,5. Each of the 12,122 responses was naturally
an individual one, so generalizing about performance is difficult. What follows are some of the comments
that appeared on many examiner reports and point to key factors that seemed to contribute to the success
or lack of success of candidates on each title.

Candidate Performance on the Prescribed Titles

1. Within an area of knowledge is it more important to have credibility or power? Discuss
with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge.
This was the most popular title. Although the question is clear and most understood its demands, the
distinctions between credibility and power were not always maintained throughout the essay, and often

successful candidates were able to articulate the difference between the two concepts, discuss where and
how they might blend or overlap and still address the question posed. Many candidates addressed what
gives knowledge credibility and/or power, but less successful candidates did not develop a clear argument
with regards to the importance of having one or the other. What sometimes resulted was a descriptive
response about credibility and power and times when each was important but not a critical evaluation of
which is more important in an area of knowledge. Of course, many successful candidates decided that
credibility and power are equally important and concluded this after a discussion of the relative
importance of each.

2. If pushed too far, can open-mindedness itself become restrictive? Discuss with reference
to two areas of knowledge.
-
well understood and clearly explained. However, less successful candidates either did not address the idea
of open-mindedness being pushed too far, or if
and what that meant for the production or acquisition of knowledge. Some examiners commented that
many candidates failed to see that the question was set up so that a reasonable amount of open-

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mindedness is not the issue that open-mindedness is a positive approach in the production or

lacked the depth needed for a critical evaluation of how much open-mindedness is too much and how
that can become restrictive. Successful candidates gave examples of how extreme open-mindedness
hindered the production of knowledge. Several examiners commented that the knowledge framework
was helpful for some candidates who looked at methodology in an area of knowledge to organize their
response, as they saw that the framework offered built-in safeguards to avoid too much open-
mindedness.

3.

and one other area of knowledge.

The required focus on mathematics meant that many successful candidates discussed the axiomatic
nature
the value of mathematical axioms and theorems as starting points for the advancement and improvement
of mathematical knowledge. As examples of questions that cannot be answered, the essays pointed very
often to the so-called "Millennium Problems" and the examples of the Riemann hypothesis and the
Poincaré and Collatz conjectures, to conclude that the effort by mathematicians to answer these questions
has been very positive in the development of mathematical knowledge. Less successful candidates, who
may have succeeded in explaining the nature of both kinds of questions, did not adequately address the
question of whether it is better to have one or the other. As

- as the title asks - before this conclusion is sufficient.

4. Why do we seek indisputable evidence when it is so often unattainable? Discuss with

reference to two areas of knowledge.
In general, two key points needed to be discussed: why indisputable evidence is so often impossible or
very difficult to attain, and what are the key reasons or motives that drive us to seek such irrefutable
evidence. Successful candidates were able to discuss the importance of seeking indisputable evidence
and recognized that this is often difficult and sometimes impossible to achieve, and they discussed the
reasons why we still seek this evidence even when we know we may never find it. Some less successful
candidates did not clearly specify what the difference was between indisputable evidence and evidence
that was just difficult to find. The result was a paper that spent most of its time addressing the simpler
question: why we seek evidence rather than why we seek indisputable evidence.

5.
swer with reference to the human
sciences and one other area of knowledge.
Although this was the least popular title, there were many excellent essays written on it. In general,
candidates were comfortable in addressing the importance of being able to measure things but were less
comfortable with what it means to make things measurable or why those things that appear to be
unmeasurable should be This prevented many from reaching the depth of argument
needed. In relation to the application of the directive to the human sciences, some candidates cited the
ethical consequences of experiments to justify not carrying out certain measurements in this area,
especially in psychology, even if the variables being studied might be quantified and thus presented an
alternative point of view to that expressed by the directive. Many successful candidates cited examples in

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economics such as the GDP to refer to the positive effects of measuring economic development, and the
existence of alternative indicators such as the Gross Domestic Happiness Index (GDH) to measure concepts
that are more difficult to quantify. As a second area of knowledge, most focused on the natural sciences
to illustrate the need to apply the two parts of the Galilean directive. One aspect that examiners
commented on in relation to this title is that less successful candidates did not answer the question, "to
what extent do you agree with the directive

6. If the artist has freedom to interpret past events in ways that are denied to the historian,
is this an asset or an obstacle to our understanding of the past? Discuss with reference to
the arts and history.
This was a popular title. Successful candidates discussed ways in which both the artist and the historian's
interpretations can be an asset or a hindrance to our understanding of past events and, in general, the
discussions connected the interpretations with the methods and tools used by experts in both areas. The
imaginative and creative freedom allowed to the artist and denied to the historian, whose methodology
must adhere to objective analysis of sources to construct their interpretations, was generally understood
by quite a few candidates. It was frequently pointed out that artistic interpretations, with many examples
referring to paintings or films, but also to poems or novels, allow an understanding of the emotional and
subjective elements attached to past events which historians are unable to express due to the
characteristics of their methodology. Quite a few candidates also suggested the advantages of using the
historical method for a rational interpretation of the past and the obstacles that artistic interpretations
sometimes convey because they distort or include fictitious and imaginative aspects in their work. Some
candidates discussed the possibility that the way the question is worded included an assumption and that
it might not always be the case that the artist has freedom that are denied to the historian, as the question

the assumption in the title and some did this quite effectively. In general, despite the prevalence given to
the treatment of the role of artistic over historical interpretations for the understanding of past events,
many candidates achieved effective comparative analyses.

Recommendations for the teaching of future candidates

submit an essay that has been written by someone else or by a computer program, it is hoped that
teachers will be even more vigilant in following the development of the essay in the three required
interactions with their students. A teacher who has read practice essays, journals, and other formative
assessments written by a student will have the best chance of recognizing an essay that was not the

was submitted as a draft, teachers are asked to investigate this before allowing the student to upload the
essay. Examiners will depend on the teacher to make the best effort to determine originality before signing
off that to the best of their knowledge, the essay is the st
The following excerpt from the Teacher Support Material on the Programme Resource Centre emphasizes
the importance of the TK/PPF:

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Three required teacher student interactions for the TOK essay

Discuss the list of Comment on one draft

prescribed titles with the exploration of their selected title, for
student. example, an essay plan.

The TK/PPF is not seen by the examiner when they are marking student essays. It is submitted to the IB
and is referred to in cases where there are concerns about academic malpractice or concerns about the
preparation of students for the TOK assessment tasks.
The TK/PPF has two key purposes:
1. To help ensure that students around the world are getting a similar level of help and support with
their TOK essays by specifying three required interactions between teachers and students.
2.
Many examiners commented this session that the new driving question is helping candidates focus on the
task of writing a response to the prescribed title and that the new assessment criteria give clear
descriptions of the expectations for achievement at each level. It is clear that successful candidates are
those who are familiar with the assessment instrument and consult it during the essay writing process.
Examiners also commented that there were few issues of factual inaccuracy and very few candidates
reworded the prescribed title or exceeded the word limit.
In general, the essays are clear, but more work is necessary to help candidates understand that the
coherence of their essay depends on how focused the discussion is on the prescribed title, how effectively
the points are linked to the two areas of knowledge and how well the examples support the claims being
made in the discussion. Time after time, examiners comment on the problem of candidates citing
examples that they do not fully understand and how this results in a weak link to the point being made or
an incorrect explanation of the example itself. The more familiar the student is with the example, the more
likely it is that the link to the argument will be meaningful. Also, when a student shows how an example
supports the argument being made, this adds to the analysis needed for a critical exploration. A critical
exploration offers evidence to support the writer's position, and rather than being a one-sided statement
view, there is consideration and evaluation of different points of view.
Evaluating a point of view may come from the candidate pointing out the merits or shortcomings of a
particular claim or perhaps accepting a claim with reservations. This shows both an awareness that there
are other points of view and that they have been considered not just stated. In the past, the language
on the assessment instrument was about counterclaims. While this is one way to indicate awareness of a
different point of view,
of thinking where the candidate presented a point of view and then offered a complete opposite
perspective, which contradicted and often undermined the initial argument and was sometimes simply

allows one to agree completely with a point of view or agree with some reservations or to disagree
entirely for stated reasons. The critical exploration of the title is also enhanced by showing evidence that

claim is made and justification is offered and also toward the end of the essay when concluding the

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Many examiners commented that candidates run into difficulty when choosing a discipline that does not
easily fit into an area of knowledge. In the Human Sciences, for instance, successful candidates often
consider either psychology or economics, which makes sense as they are popular subjects in the Diploma
Programme. If a candidate chooses to link to a less obvious choice such education or law, they must show
the discipline fits into the area of knowledge and the work of that area as an area of study, so the discussion
is about the study of law or the study of religion, not just a description of famous cases or beliefs. The
candidate must discuss the subject in the context of the area of knowledge. This is also true for computer
science or philosophy or business management, etc.; these subjects must be presented as fitting into one
of the five areas of knowledge.

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Exhibition
The range and suitability of the work submitted
This was the first November session with our new internal assessment component and it has been a very
promising one. We have now had two assessment sessions of the revised TOK curriculum and in both it
has been evident that the task is understood and that candidates find it accessible and engaging. There
were, however, instances of exhibitions which seemed to have been hastily done producing work which
was below standard.
It was pleasing to see the wide range of objects selected by the candidates and how they generally made
interesting connections between the object and the prompt. Examiners observed, as they did in May, that
candidates did well when their exhibitions explicitly showed TOK thinking. This would seem obvious, but
it was not always apparent. There were quite a few very descriptive commentaries. It is therefore worth
remarking that the driving question Does the exhibition successfully show how TOK manifests in the
world around us? is more than a guide, it commands the exhibition. More will be said about the driving
question below.
This report makes some of the same points, commendations and recommendations which were made in
the May report.

Candidate performance against each criterion

The exhibition assessment instrument has five levels which range from Rudimentary to Excellent. The 0
marks level is reserved for exhibitions which do not even reach the minimum standard or do not use one
of the prompts. The descriptors in the five levels can be seen to cover four aspects which need to be
explored by candidates. Marking and moderating is holistic but discussing the aspects separately as done
below helps address specific matters or concerns.

A. The identification of three objects and their specific real-world contexts

There were many similar objects identified and they could usually be traced back to textbooks or
webpages which offer examples. This overreliance on external sources is not helpful to candidates and
they do better when they choose their own objects as they are more meaningful to them.
Candidates who selected objects which were specific and identified their particular context in time and
place did well in this aspect. Candidates who used generic objects found it difficult to make links to the
prompt because they were unable to discuss what knowledge the object manifested. If the object selected
is one which can be replaced by any number of objects of the same type it is not one which has a specific
real-world context. Objects used to represent or symbolise something else are also poor choices as it is the
particular object which must manifest knowledge not what it may represent or symbolise.

pecificity seems to have been misunderstood

particular real-world context of the object is identified that the specificity of the object is made clear. That
is when the candidate can show what knowledge is manifested by the object in the real world. To reiterate:
what we are looking for is the knowledge manifested by a certain particular object not general TOK issues
suggested by some general object. Where candidates could put the object in a specific knowledge setting
and could name the knowledge associated with it, they did well.

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Candidates generally did well when they chose objects which were meaningful to them (an heirloom, a
book they had read or studied, a statue or monument of a person they had studied in history or place they
had visited, something from the news which they were interested in, an object at home or a piece in a
museum). When choosing the object, candidates should ask themselves whether it is something which
could be exhibited, what the object tells us, and why it is interesting. Those considerations will ensure a
good choice of object for the selected prompt and help lead the commentary in the right direction.

B. The explanation of links between the objects and the selected prompt
Most candidates succeeded in explaining the link between the object and the selected prompt, but the
level of precision varied. Explicit links need to be made back to the prompt because the objective of the
task is to articulate how knowledge manifests in the real world. For that reason, the knowledge associated
with the object needs to be identified and the object should demonstrate something significant about the
prompt. Some candidates failed to go far enough and made ambiguous and imprecise statements which
tended not to be related to knowledge. Another weakness which was observed occasionally was the
object being ignored after it was identified which led to a discussion of general issues which did not arise
directly from the object.

C. The justification for the contribution of each object to the exhibition

Consideration of the contribution that the object makes to the exhibition lies at the heart of the exhibition
task. It is at this point that the candidate has an opportunity to maintain the connection with the
knowledge that the object illustrates and the specifics of the prompt. Candidates must remember that
they need to explain why their particular object helps unpack or illustrate some interesting point in

makes.

support, either through personal experience, academic reference, or additional detail regarding the object
in relation to the prompt.

D. The supporting evidence and references to the prompt

A few candidates did not include supporting evidence for their points which could be because they were
unsure about what constitutes appropriate supporting evidence. Such evidence may come from academic
reference, but it may also come, for instance, from personal experience or some additional detail regarding
the object in relation to the prompt. A number also failed to make explicit references to the prompt when
supporting their points and it is important that candidates remember to do so.

Recommendations and guidance for the teaching of future candidates

Teacher comments sometimes revealed that the teacher thought the candidate should be choosing
objects that belong to them personally when there is no such requirement, or that implications or areas
of knowledge need to be addressed (a requirement for the essay, not the exhibition). Sometimes there
were no teacher comments and that does a disservice to candidates, given that moderation is about
determining whether the teacher has applied the assessment instrument adequately, the teacher
ification for awarding the marks.

were cases where teachers seemed to be unclear about what the mark should be based on. For example,
teachers sometimes wrote about the lack of personal connections to objects, that implications were not

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drawn, that there was no exploration of different perspectives, that there were no references to areas of
knowledge and no counterclaims. None of these requirements are in the assessment instrument and
teachers must ensure that they adhere to the assessment instrument and nothing else. In their comments
they need to explain their mark and application of the assessment instrument.
There were some teacher comments that were simply copies of phrases from the assessment instrument.
These are unhelpful because they do not tell anything about the assessment of a particular exhibition. A
few exhibitions and teacher comments mentioned the candidate's name or provided details that allowed
the identification of the school. Anonymity is important and teachers are reminded to protect it.

or written and direct the student to how they can improve their work. Teachers must not edit the draft.
Once the student has completed their work, they need to submit the work to the teacher to be marked
and there can be no further modification of the work after that.
Much is learnt from a first experience with an assessment. Some aspects which were overlooked by schools
will be pointed out below as well as areas which have been shown to require attention. They are provided
as bullet points to facilitate reference to them.

• The word count. The more successful exhibitions made good use of the available number of words.
Candidates must write the word count at the top of their exhibition document. Many exhibitions did
not provide it, and this was an inconvenience for examiners. Importantly by keeping note of the word
count candidates will ensure that they do not exceed the permitted total number of words. They should
check the word count on each of the three commentaries to achieve balance between them and aim
for around 300 words for each. There were some unbalanced exhibitions with the third commentary
often being much shorter, and thus often underdeveloped.

• Key points: Candidates must write the word count at the top of the document. They should aim
for balance in their exhibitions with commentaries of about 300 words each.

• Introductions and conclusions. Some candidates appeared to see the exhibition as a mini essay. It is
a commentary, not an answer to a question and that is why there is no need for an introduction or a
conclusion. Most introductions did not contribute to the exhibition as they did not initiate the
connections and justifications between the objects and the prompt and candidates must ask
themselves whether the introduction and/or conclusion they are thinking of writing is worth the words.
What can be useful is a concluding statement for each commentary.

• Key points: Introductions and/or conclusions are not required. Candidates may find it useful
to provide a concluding statement in each commentary

• The prompt. Candidates must write their selected prompt at the top of their document, and it is helpful
if the prompt number is written as well. The prompt must be written exactly as it appears in the guide
and must not be modified in any way. Teachers should have open discussions on the prompts with their
students to ensure that they make informed choices and can select their prompt according to their
interests. Some candidates misread or misunderstood key words in the prompt and these discussions
will aid understanding. Students should be guided to consider all the words in a prompt and not to miss
important concepts. For example, prompt 19, What counts as a good justification for a claim? does

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to see that all the prompts invite them to engage with a complex dynamic of a number of parts; they
should aim to see that dynamic rather just pick out one bit. For example, prompt 12, Is bias inevitable
in the production of knowledge? is not just about the presence of bias in the production of knowledge,
the dynamic is in its suggested inevitability.
• Some prompts were much more popular than others perhaps because students felt they were more
approachable, but this did not necessarily lead to better exhibitions. For example, prompts 20 and 21
were very popular choices. Prompt 20, What is the relationship between personal experience and
knowledge was often simply explored as what the candidate had learned from a particular
experience. For prompt 21, What is the relationship between knowledge and culture? candidates
often discussed different cultures and what is known in a culture, but they did not discuss the
relationship between knowledge and culture. Both of these prompts ask for the consideration of
knowledge and something else, that is the dynamic that must necessarily be observed: knowledge and
personal experience in prompt 20 and knowledge and culture in prompt 21.
• Careful attention must be paid to the wording of the prompt. The questions begin with different

for
their selected prompt candidates need to reflect on the significance and function of the particular
concept in the discussion.
• Candidates must at all times remember that the prompts are genuine knowledge questions and
therefore the commentary, as stressed before, should focus on issues related to knowledge.

• Key points: the prompt must be written at the top of the exhibition document exactly as it
is in the guide. It is helpful to write the prompt number as well. Close attention must be
paid to the wording of the prompt which must be understood as a question requiring
consideration of issues to do with knowledge and the process of knowing.

• Themes. Many exhibition commentaries made no mention of the themes which was perfectly
acceptable. A few commentaries where the themes were stated were more about the theme than the
object and the prompt. Where candidates saw that the themes lend themselves to an exploration of the
world, they tended to produce well-supported commentaries.

• Key points: it is recommended to use one of the themes as a focused starting point for the
exhibition. Care must be taken to ensure that the commentary does not result in a
narrative about the theme.

• Evidence and references back to the prompt. Candidates were moderately successful in providing
evidence for their points. Evidence needs to be factual, not made up to suit the point. There are many
different ways to provide evidence such as details pulled from the objects themselves, connections
between the object and something else such as a study, documentary evidence, a news item, an
informed or expert opinion. How the evidence relates to the prompt must be clearly expressed and
must be characterised as a genuine TOK exploration. That is what is meant by making explicit references
back to the prompt and candidates must ensure that they do not obviate making those explicit
references back to the prompt.

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• Key points: evidence must be explicit and can be from an external source or the candidate’s
own experience. There are many different ways for candidates to back their points.
References back to the prompt need to be made as this is a TOK exploration.

Further comments
Teachers must ensure that their students focus on the driving question, that is what the exhibition is
about: to show how TOK manifests in the world around us. The purpose of the exhibition is to pull specific
things from the real world and have a TOK discussion that is connected to the selected prompt, while
providing evidence/support for all assertions made. Therefore, candidates are not expected to answer the
prompt but to show how their objects are interesting to help reflection about the prompt and explore it.
It needs to be a TOK discussion so candidates should be encouraged to use TOK concepts as these are
tools which will help maintain a TOK focus. Candidates can also refer to the knowledge framework to
anchor their discussion.
Some teacher marking was overly generous, and occasionally overly harsh, showing that the assessment

factor into the assessment. Teachers are reminded to use the exemplars provided through workshops and
in the TSM to help calibrate their understanding of the assessment instrument.
The Teacher Support Material (TSM) is very helpful in providing exemplar material and has been updated
with actual student work. Teachers are strongly encouraged to use the TSM, and it is suggested that they
look at the exhibition samples together with this report in order to see the recommendations and
observations exemplified.
Teachers are urged to give their students guidance in how to present their commentaries to ensure that
they do not forget any of the requirements. A format such as this one is recommended (not necessarily in
boxes):
TOK Internal assessment – the exhibition
Word Prompt Prompt
count number
Theme (recommended not mandatory)

Commentary 1

Image of object 1

Commentary

Commentary 2

Image of object 2

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Commentary

Commentary 3

Image of object 3

Commentary

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