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How To Write A ToK Essay - Updated 2023

Ace your ToK Essay with our expert tips & tricks! Get the latest and greatest techniques on "How To Write A ToK Essay" and impress the IB examiners.📝💡

Table of content

• Introduction

Purpose Of ToK

Assessment of tok, the game plan, execution of the gameplan, planning for tok essay, structure of tok essay, conclusions, bibliography.

Introduce your topic accurately and state your thesis statement for the essay carefully.  A thesis statement is like a teaser to your entire essay wherein you define your key terms and introduce your interpretation of the question. Make sure that you do not reword the prescribed title in your thesis. Instead, it needs to, as the word says, INTRODUCE your readers to what your essay is about. A strong introduction allows the reader to deduce what knowledge question(s) you are trying to answer.

So, in a nutshell

• Write interesting things about the given TOK essay title .
• Define key terms
• Narrow in on the particularly interesting aspect
• State your thesis statement . This will be your short answer to your given title if you don't know how to write a killer thesis statement check out this blog from SparkNotes .
• State your Roadmap. This will help the readers in understanding the direction of your essay.

How to write a TOK Essay? 

To answer that, you must familiarise yourself with what a TOK Essay is about.

Before you start reading this article,  Amanda  has some excellent TOK tips for you!

Theory of Knowledge is one of the most meta subjects that IB offers. Despite its complexity, TOK helps in providing a base for holistic learning and allows students to have a multidisciplinary experience. 

To understand TOK is to understand the essence of IB, a task that most people consider unattainable.

But not for you! 

Thank your lucky stars who made you land on Nail IB. How exactly will Nail IB help you? 

Well, nailing International Baccalaureate is something we will discuss later. 

Let's focus on cracking your TOK essay, shall we?

TOK demonstrates how students  can apply their knowledge  with  greater awareness  and  credibility .

Big words, huh? 

Now that we know that we cannot just slide through the Theory of Knowledge, let's understand how we can conquer this battle all guns blazing.

ToK essay’s primary objective is to answer the  why  behind our studies. 

It makes one aware of the real-life implications of their subjects. The students gain greater awareness of their personal and ideological assumptions and appreciate the diversity of different perspectives. It helps the students find their unique perception, a prerequisite for excelling in the IB TOK essays.

Before we dive into our gameplan, let’s overview the rules of the game.

There are two assessment tasks in the TOK: an essay and a presentation . While a presentation encourages students to explore a real-life situation through the lens of TOK, an essay is written on the basis of the various questions provided by the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

• The presentation is to assess a student’s ability to apply TOK thinking to a real-life situation whereas IB TOK essay is more conceptual.
• The essay is externally assessed by IB and must be on any one of the prescribed TOK essay titles issued by the IB for each examination session.
• Word limit of a TOK essay is 1600 words ( excludes extended notes, footnotes, bibliography).

Now that we have unleashed the game, let’s move ahead towards the gameplan of acing both, your presentation and your essay.

One of the fundamental tasks of TOK is to examine different areas of knowledge and find out their similarities and differences.

The TOK essay requires the students to investigate two Areas of Knowledge (AOK)  and two Ways of Knowing   (WOK) . AOKs and WOKs are investigated via questions such as:

• How do we know what we know? (WOK)
• What counts as evidence for X? (AOK)
• How do we judge which is the best model of Y? (WOK)
• What does theory Z mean in the real world? (AOK + WOK)

The aforementioned are  Knowledge Questions  which help combine the Areas of Knowledge and the Ways of Knowing that they are using. This eliminates the superficial way of learning and makes an individual sensitive to the nature of the information.   Our acquisition of Knowledge can be broadly divided into Shared Knowledge and Personal Knowledge.

Shared knowledge: What WE know It is the product of more than one individual. Although individuals contribute to it, shared knowledge does not solely depend upon the contributions of a particular individual—there are possibilities for others to check and amend individual contributions and add to the body of knowledge that already exists.

Personal knowledge: What I know It is essentially dependent on the experiences of a particular individual. Also known as procedural knowledge, it is gained through experience, practice and personal involvement and is intimately bound up with the particular local circumstances of the individual such as biography, interests, values, and so on.

The best hack to ace TOK essay is to develop a habit of making connections between the construction of knowledge, its acquisition and its relevance in the real world. 

After that one needs to develop an interest in understanding the difference between diversity and cultural perspectives and personal assumptions.

One also needs to critically reflect on their own beliefs and assumptions, leading to more thoughtful, responsible and purposeful lives.

Yes, this is what you signed up for. It may sound a little intimidating but once you get the hang of it you will be able to see the matrix and understand this beautiful world a little better.

Understand that to provide the best version of your writing, it will take you more than one or two drafts. First and foremost, you need to pick your essay topic diligently. Try to choose an essay topic that best interests you. The topic should also allow you to explore the Areas of Knowledge towards which you are naturally inclined. Here are a few sample questions:

a) 'Ways of knowing are a check on our instinctive judgments.' To what extend do you agree with this statement?

b) With reference to two areas of knowledge discuss the way in which shared knowledge can shape their personal knowledge.

c) How can we know if knowledge is produced more through 'Passive Observation' or 'Active-Experiment' within the Human and Natural-sciences under a Mathematical-Perspective?

d) "The whole point of knowledge is to produce both meaning and purpose in our personal lives". Assess the validity of this statement.

Great things take time. It took me more than a couple of weeks to finalize this TOK essay guide. It is completely okay if the first few drafts may not look pleasing or award-winning to you. You will require sharpening your perspective towards the topic each time you polish your draft. Your writing journey from a dull draft to a masterpiece will be a whole process that you will have to be patient with. Have faith in yourself and proceed stepwise.

You need to consider the opinions of others who have devoted hours of research and a lifetime of dedicated studying the topic that surrounds your writing. Unravelling the realms of your mind palace is so Sherlock but let’s not deny the fact that at times, Watson is the one whose expertise helps Sherlock through pretty difficult times. I mean even Batman needs a Robin. In support of my awesome sauce examples, the point I am trying to make is that  finding support for our claims and counterclaims through research is a good thing .

Use real-life examples to support your claims and counterclaims. These examples need to be documented researched examples like studies, experiments, articles, presentations by well-known people, etc. Examples that stem from your diploma subjects are highly encouraged, but those will need to be supported by research as well.   

It is suggested that you choose a title, stick to it, tackle it and not be afraid. Do not change your mind unless there is a good reason. Also, try choosing Areas of knowledge that you truly enjoy. You know slaying a known devil is much easier than an unknown one. Allot a TIMELINE to your essay. Start with creating an outline of your essay. This will help you to track your progress and accomplish your goals

You can use tools like  Trello  to organize your ideas and plan your TOK essay.

Areas of Knowledge (AOKs): TOK distinguishes between eight areas of knowledge. They are mathematics, the natural sciences, the human sciences, the arts, history, ethics, religious knowledge systems, and indigenous knowledge systems. It is suggested that students study and explore six of these eight.

Ways of knowing (WOKs): TOK identifies eight specific WOKs- language, sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, faith, intuition, and memory. It is suggested that studying four of these eight in-depth would be appropriate. WOKs underlie the methodology of the areas of knowledge and provide a basis for personal knowledge.

Moving ahead, let us discuss the structure of your TOK essay.

Your essay will consist of 4 broad segregations

Before breaking down further on the pillars, keep the following in mind

• Please note what the TOK essay title is asking you. (Read it a couple of times. We highly recommend that you brainstorm ideas with your TOK coordinator)
• Make sure you understand the command term and the question it is asking.
• What kind of knowledge is being elicited?
• When choosing your areas of knowledge (AoK) and ways of knowing (WoK) make sure that you are able to draw contrasts and comparisons, that is, you are able to find evidence that supports as well as challenges your claims.
• Identify key terms in your TOK essay title. Make sure you define them. Your essay will gravitate around them. Key terms/words in your titles are your essay anchors. Your response should be built around them.
• Your writing skills come in handy while you work on your IB TOK essay. Like any other essay make sure you have proper thesis statements and topic sentences to guide the evaluator through your work.
• Respect the TOK essay title. Rephrasing the topic is not encouraged . Your main job is to address the title.

The body can be mainly divided into 3 segments.

Body (1st Segment)

• AoK Claim:  Here you investigate your first Area of Knowledge and draw parallels between your AoK and the question. This is done by stating your claim. Claims can be general in nature and need not reference a particular area of knowledge. They help you shape your essay and investigate the question further. 
• Evidence: Example of a real-life situation, describe thoroughly and accurately, which supports your stated claim. (AoK)
• Counter-Claim: State your counter-claim: like claims, those can be general and need not reference a particular area of knowledge. Counterclaim helps you show the other side the coin and gives your essay a holistic nature. 
• Evidence: A referenced real-life situation/example. Describe thoroughly and accurately, show how this supports your counterclaim (AoK ).
• Don’t forget to weave in your WoKs:  You need to take into account the source of your knowledge. Here you can also investigate if your nature of acquiring the knowledge has, in any way, affected it. It is good practice to question if your knowledge would be different had it been acquired through a different source/method
• Mini-conclusion: Here you analyze your examples in reference to your claims and counterclaims. You must connect to your thesis statement and the prescribed title. How does your proposed argument, in this particular part of the body, connect to the prescribed title and the knowledge questions you are trying to answer?

Body (2): Follow the above process for your second AOK.

• Use this part of your essay to compare and contrast your varying AoKs. You need to connect them to your thesis and your prescribed title clearly showing how your arguments respond to the PT.

Your conclusion section will make your essay come together. It is the glue that will make your essay stick together. Herein, you need to

• Reiterate your thesis (initial response).
• Use your mini conclusions to write a final conclusion.
• Tell the reader what the significance is for knowing what we know in this particular PT.
• Discuss implications as well.
• Offer another perspective, how will the perspective of a different person affect the claims/counterclaims you make in the essay?
• Don’t forget to make the end strong.

We recommend all the ib students use the  citation machine  (It's FREE) to organize or generate a bibliography for your TOK essay. Please go through this extensive guide provided by the IB before you start working on your citations.

If you are still struggling heaps with your TOK essay feel free to subscribe to our tok notes bundles or get access to more than 500+ IBDP notes and past papers here .

Nail IB is your virtual companion that helps you hustle through your diploma and provide you with the right resources at the right time. To know more about acing IB, click  here .

I hope this article will become the foundation for figuring out how to write a TOK Essay.

Remember to have faith in yourself.

I hope you NAIL your TOK essay!

Quoting the great Napolean Hill

"Whatever the mind of a man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

IB Resources you will love!

IB TOK Essay examples

Type a search phrase to find the most relevant TOK Essay examples for you

Not sure what to search for? You can always look through our example Theory of Knowledge coursework below for inspiration.

All TOK Essay Examples

Filter exemplars, is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., are visual representations always helpful in the communication of knowledge discuss with reference to the human sciences and mathematics., want to get full marks for your tok essay allow us to review it for you 🎯, for artists and natural scientists, which is more important: what can be explained or what cannot be explained discuss with reference to the arts and the natural sciences., does it matter if our acquisition of knowledge happens in "bubbles" where some information and voices are excluded discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., fast track your coursework with mark schemes moderated by ib examiners. upgrade now 🚀, to what extent is the knowledge we produce determined by the methodologies we use discuss with reference to history and one area of knowledge., tok essay: 5. “how can we distinguish between good and bad interpretations discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge”, nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them, do we need custodians of knowledge discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., how can we reconcile the opposing demands for specialization and generalization in the production of knowledge discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge., do we need custodians of knowledge discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge, nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them discuss with reference to the human sciences and one other area of knowledge., is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history discuss with reference to the arts and history., are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge., is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history, do we underestimate the challenges of taking knowledge out of its original context and transferring it to a different context discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge., is subjectivity overly celebrated in the arts but unfairly condemned in history discuss with reference to the arts and history, nothing is more exciting than fresh ideas, so why are areas of knowledge often so slow to adopt them discuss with reference to the human sciences and the natural sciences..

How To Write a ToK Essay IBDP – Step-By-Step Guide

• Created on October 3, 2019
• Blog , IBDP , Learning Tips

Let’s learn how to write a ToK Essay with Tutopiya. The IB ToK Essay contributes to the overall score of a student’s IB Diploma. The award of points for the IB ToK Essay is in conjunction with the extended essay. A maximum of three points is awarded according to a student’s combined performance in both the TOK and Extended Essay. 

Tutopiya will help and guide our IB Diploma students on the following:

• How to Start a ToK Essay
• Cover the ToK Essay Structure
• How to Write a ToK Essay Conclusion
• Analysis of a ToK Essay Example 

Choosing Your Essay Title 

Before you can dive into structuring or writing your essay, you will need to spend time to decide on a topic you wish to write on. For the IB ToK Essay, you are required to compare and contrast different ways of knowing through perception, language, reason, emotion with different areas of knowledge (AOK). 

1 – Selecting your prescribed title and knowledge question

Before you hastily decide on a title you wish to write, take some time to read each title carefully on the list and brainstorm ideas. 

Tip #1: Brainstorming

Get some initial ideas you have of each and every title/ question down on paper. Ask yourself some simple questions when brainstorming for each title. 

Am I confident to write an essay about this? Is the question asking what I am thinking? Do I understand the keywords or concepts in the title?

You may not be clear on what the title is asking you to do. Go through the title and highlight any keywords and concepts you are unsure about or may have missed out. 

Do you have a strong interest in the title? We recommend that you should at least be interested since you will be spending time and effort on researching this topic, pick something you are willing to research more about!

Can you relate anything to the title? Though the IB Tok Essay should be as objective as possible, you can always inject the essay with personality and character.

You can always do so by adding in ideas or topics you have learned or studied in class or even personal experiences. 

Tip #2: Understanding the question in your own words

The titles of these essay questions can sometimes be long and difficult to grasp when you first read them so before you write the IB ToK Essay, consider paraphrasing the question in your own words.

You may struggle to understand the keywords and concepts in the title, you may even be unsure about the perspective, comparison and contrast of the title. 

To help our IB students, we recommend breaking down the question/ title by first, understanding the keywords in the title. Then, put the title together and understand what they are asking. 

This way, you will be able to understand the title more in-depth than before and able to answer the title sufficiently. 

Structuring your Essay

1 – knowing the assessment criteria .

Overall Assessment 

2 – Theory of Knowledge Essay 

The rubrics require students to be able to understand the knowledge questions and their quality of analysis of knowledge questions. View the TOK Essay Mark Scheme here .

You will have to choose two Areas of Knowledge (AOK) to explore.

There are 8 different Areas of Knowledge are as follows:

• Mathematics
• Natural Sciences
• Humane Sciences
• Religious knowledge systems 
• Indigenous knowledge systems 

You can also use Ways of Knowledge (WOK) in your essay and the are as follows:

• Sense Perception
• Reason 
• Imagination

Analysis of a Sample Essay 

Question: “Doubt is the key to knowledge (Persian Proverb). To what extent is this true in two areas of knowledge?

Important Keywords in the Title 

“To what extent” 

When keywords like this appear, note that you need to present 2 different perspectives to the question, a for and against argument in your essay. 

Paragraph 1: Introduction 

You would provide an explanation and interpretation of the title and identify the key terms in the title. You would also need to state your thesis and explain or identify the areas of knowledge you will be exploring in your essay.

1 – Start the essay by saying something relatable or interesting

By doing that, you can capture the reader’s attention and make them want to read more by evoking a sense of curiosity to find out more about your essay. 

2 – Your Thesis/ Stand

You can also state your thesis (that is different from mainstream ideas – to capture the reader’s attention). You can make the decision to be a for or against stand in your essay. If you decided 

In your own words , give an interpretation of the title and show that you are able to identify the key terms of the question.

“The problem with doubt as the key to knowledge is that doubt isn’t a way of knowing. Doubt is an emotion we feel that motivates us to seek knowledge.” 

3 – Outline of the paragraph

Give the readers an idea of what you will be going through in your body paragraphs , a sentence that gives the readers a preview. Let the readers know which AOKs you will be exploring, making it easier for the examiner to know what to look for. 

“However this motivation can manifest itself differently in contrasting areas of knowledge like Mathematics and Religion.” 

Your introduction should not be too long, use around 150 to 200 words for your first paragraph would be sufficient. 

Paragraph 2: First Area of Knowledge. 

1 – begin your paragraph with a claim or topic sentence.

This helps you to outline your argument about the title. 

“Mathematics is an area of knowledge that is only concerned with reason.” 

2 – Explain and Elaborate

Now, give explain and elaborate on your topic sentence/ claim. 

“In a right-angled triangle a²+b²=c² and that’s it. There are no alternative answers or personal interpretations. An answer to a mathematical problem is either right or wrong. This is because the main way of knowing in math is reason and evidence is required for a mathematical statement to be true or false.” 

3 – Give an example with an explanation

This helps you to further elaborate and explore your topic sentence or claim.

The example you give should be personal, specific, precise and real.

This way you can make your claim believable and relatable in some sense. This also helps to evoke a sense of authenticity in your essay. 

“When we first learned about negative numbers in math class it made no sense to me. How could a bigger number have a lower value than a smaller one? It was illogical and it contradicted all the math I had learned before that day….. Either the previous mathematical information was wrong or the new information about negative numbers were wrong. But he explained the concept of a number line with a central point 0 and that they were both right.”

4 – Linking back

Remember to link back to your claim and the question after you are done exploring this example. 

“My doubt led to understanding and was the key to my knowledge.”

Paragraph 3: Counter

1 – state your counterclaim.

This paragraph would focus on counterclaim . You are supposed to discuss 2 different perspectives to your claim, a for and against. You are to argue against your claim above this paragraph.

“On the other hand, doubt in mathematics can be detrimental to education.”

2 – Give an Example and Explanation

Add in an example and explanation to support your counterclaim. 

“For example, after I do a question from the International Baccalaureate mathematics textbook I always look at the back in order to check if my answers are correct because it has answers in the back. If I do not have the book and I am in class then I ask my mathematics teacher for the correct answer. I do this when I am uncertain of my answer to a question and my doubt allows me to gain knowledge i.e. whether my answer is wrong or right. My doubt also helps me to assess how much of the mathematical concept I have understood by marking myself. However, this can be detrimental to progress because I started to become dependent on the answers at the back of the book or my mathematics teacher. Every time I do a question I feel like I have to verify my answer with an authoritative source which I have now come to understand leaves no room for exploration or the development of my own methods.”

3 – Linking back

Link back to your prescribed title and your claim of this paragraph. 

“My doubt caused a loss of confidence in my mathematical abilities and dependence on authoritative sources.”

Now, follow this format and carry on writing for the next two body paragraphs, exploring on another Area of Knowledge, in this case, this student will have to write one more AOK on Religion and a counterclaim for it. 

Aim to write a maximum of 600 words for each Area of Knowledge (Paragraph 2 and 3, Paragraph 4 and 5). 

Paragraph 4: Second Area of Knowledge

• Topic Sentence
• Example + Explanation 

Paragraph 5: Counterclaim 

• Topic Sentence (Counterclaim)
• Example + Explanation
• Link to prescribed title and your initial claim of this Area of Knowledge 

Finally, write your ToK Essay conclusion in one paragraph totalling 200 to 250 words .

Paragraph 6: Your conclusion

Explain the different insights you have gained or have come out of this essay. 

“As illustrated by the example of dependence on authoritative sources in mathematics doubt can be detrimental and cause a loss of confidence. Similarly, doubting conjectures has also proven to be unfruitful. However, within mathematics individual doubt can lead to the acquisition of knowledge.” 

Implications and significance

Tell the readers why it is important to know that and how does it matter that they understand this when you write your IB ToK Essay.

Perspectives and Extension

If you can, try to input a very different perspective on your conclusion. Perhaps recognizing a different way of approaching the question, which could have resulted in different insights. 

You can mention the limitations of your essay saying there are one or two unresolved questions that this essay has revealed. It’s about showing the readers that the conversation is not over yet. And that, there is more to the question and more rooms that you can explore. 

“Furthermore, in areas like religion where we do not yet have the tools to prove it one way or the other simply doubting something by itself is a step towards acquiring knowledge because by suggesting that certain view is not absolute it makes room for new knowledge.”

A Quick Tip for writing a ToK Essay

Tip: try not to use dictionary definitions in your essay.

You want to show the examiners that you are writing a reflective essay, not a textbook definition heavy essay. Don’t rely too much on dictionary definitions to prove your argument or support a counterclaim. This will demonstrate that you did not engage with the topic and bypassed complexities around the topic. 

Instead of using standard answers or cliche examples, you can try to use your own personal experiences to make it original and insightful for your readers. Though the essay should be objective, your essay should still have a personality and character. 

Try Getting Expert’s Help

Tutopiya is a 1-1 Live Online Tutoring for all students aged 8 to 18 years old. Tutopiya offers the IB Diploma Program curriculum to all students, visit our IB curriculum page to find out more about the subjects we teach here. We also have a blog full of useful IB resources for our students, why not read another sample essay for IB TOK ?

Interested to try our online learning with our expert IB tutors? We provide FREE 60 minutes trial lesson to all new students. You can sign up or simply fill up a trial form application here to begin learning with Tutopiya! Come learn how to write a ToK essay with Tutopiya today!

About The Author

I am currently a full-time student studying at a local university in Singapore while freelancing as a writer. I enjoy writing and sharing useful education-related tips with my fellow studying peers. During my leisure time, I enjoy doing creative arts and volunteering work. I am passionate about sharing my experience as a student! ☺

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Guide to the TOK Essay

What’s covered:.

• What is Theory of Knowledge (TOK)?
• What is the Theory of Knowledge Essay?

How is the Theory of Knowledge Essay Scored?

How to structure your theory of knowledge essay.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB/IBDP) is a rigorous and rewarding internationally based educational program that offers courses in numerous studies, from humanities to chemistry. Students take part in a two-year curriculum that includes external examinations, internal assessments, research papers and community service hours. Essentially, students will have to do a bit of everything, especially with IB’s core, which is CAS, TOK, and the extended essay (EE). Understanding how TOK, IB’s flagship class, is assessed with its essay is important to success in the course overall. 

What is Theory Of Knowledge (TOK)?

Theory of Knowledge is IB’s way of introducing a more intuitive way of thinking into classrooms. TOK is at its surface as simple as it sounds: you essentially learn the “what” and “why” of how we learn and understand knowledge. In order to assess students of their skills in TOK, IB uses an essay and a presentation. The essay makes up 67% of your total TOK score, making it the most important task to focus on for getting a high score. 

What is the Theory Of Knowledge Essay?

The TOK essay is a 1600 word essay written about topics usually given to students from their teachers from a list of numerous options. It is an essay that promotes arguments and counterarguments for the topic at hand. Understanding your ways of knowing (WOKs) and areas of knowledge (AOKs) is extremely crucial before you even start choosing a topic to write on, as your essay will revolve around and structure itself based on these two concepts. Being able to demonstrate higher-level thinking and using examples to solidify the points you make in your essay is also important. Additionally, you’ll need to reference every source of information that you use, since that is something examiners look for as well.

As said earlier, 67% of your grade is from the essay, and your overall TOK score receives a letter grade using a calculated score out of thirty. Your essay score and presentation score are each out of ten. The grades for your TOK presentation and essay are determined by sending material to the board of IB, from which they designate a grader/examiner to read your essay and grade based on a rubric that determines the level of knowledge you exhibit in your writing.

The following formula should better explain how to find your TOK grade. 

(presentation score) + (essay score * 2) = overall score out of 30

The grade boundaries out of 30 that determine your letter grade can vary each year so checking in with your school for the most recent ones is the best course of action, but an example set would be like this:

Once you have a letter grade for IB, your extended essay, which is another part of the core, is also included into a larger grading schema to calculate your core score, which is three additional points required to complete and earn the diploma. The following table details this grade further:

Doing well in the core is important to passing IB and getting three points out of the total 45 attainable points. 

There’s a trick that most IB students use in writing the TOK essay, and it boils down to understanding four key components of learning:

• Content : Understanding knowledge issues
• Clarity : Structuring your essay in a legible and clear/easy to read manner
• Creativity : Using your personal ways of thinking and applications of knowledge specific to your understanding of the knowledge issue
• Critical Thinking : Using a counter argument for every argument you have to analyze your own claims constantly 

Dividing your actual essay into three main chunks helps, starting with an introduction. Your introduction should be where you state your knowledge question, the central point of your essay, and you should make use of jargon specific to the concept. As the basis of your essay, the introduction should be where you form claims and counterclaims that either support or challenge the knowledge question through heavy analysis and evaluation. 

The body of the essay follows the introduction, and it is where most of the conceptual analysis of your knowledge question takes place. Every argument and its counterargument should have a dedicated paragraph of its own, and make sure to not jump back and forth too much throughout the essay. to avoid creating messy transitions for the reader and potentially harming your score. Understanding the essay from the reader’s point of view is important, as it will help you better understand how to structure the body of your essay.

A conclusion in the TOK essay is mainly for finding closure among the numerous arguments that have been taking place thus far in the essay. Make sure to summarize but not repeat previous information entirely to refresh the reader. A conclusion should essentially loop back to the beginning of the essay, the knowledge question. The knowledge question’s answer should be the conclusion and the stopping point of the essay, and by now the answer you provide should be backed by paragraphs of supporting claims and counterclaims. If done right, concluding the essay can be how you earn most of your points. 

Start Early

Starting early is an obvious and effective advantage to students. Aside from TOK, let alone the presentation, IB has substantial work that requires focus and allocated time dedicated to it, such as external examinations and the extended essay. These tasks are equally as important as the TOK essay, so starting your outlining, drafting or even just planning early will set you up for success.

Send Your Drafts to Your Teacher

Your TOK teacher is a great resource for drafting essays and making edits to perfect your final product. Making use of time outside of the classroom to catch your teacher for a quick review of your essay could be a bigger advantage than you realize. Making use of an outside perspective is essential to forming a great essay. 

While your final IB grade isn’t as important as you’d think regarding college admissions, understanding how to pass TOK and using the lifelong practices you’ll learn in the class is even more important. TOK creates students who think outside conventional methods, making them excellent candidates in the eyes of college admissions offices. Taking TOK and showing proof of understanding it as well as capability of academic rigor is what colleges are looking for. For more information on how your chances of college admissions might look, use CollegeVine’s admissions calculator !

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How to Write a TOK Essay

Last Updated: December 28, 2023

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been viewed 251,441 times.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Theory of Knowledge essay is a 1200–1600 word essay on prescribed topics or titles created by the IB. As the name suggests, your Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay should focus on knowledge issues (what is knowledge? why and how do we know things?) and link to other areas of knowledge as well. About two-thirds of your final TOK grade is determined by your score on your TOK essay.

Choosing Your Essay Title

• Mathematics
• Natural sciences
• Human sciences
• Religious knowledge systems
• Indigenous knowledge systems

• “Compare the roles played by reason and imagination in at least two Areas of Knowledge.”
• “When mathematicians, historians and scientists say that they have explained something, are they using the word ‘explain’ in the same way?”

• Do you understand the keywords or concepts in the title? You may not be clear on what a title is asking you to do. Go through the title and highlight any words or concepts you are unsure about. Some titles will use keywords from TOK courses, such as “belief”, “knowledge” “truth”. You may want to check back on your class notes and consider what these words mean in the context of the title.
• Do you have a strong interest in the title? The title should play to your interests and you should feel you can write about the title with care and diligence. For example, if you are skilled or interested in the arts, you may choose a title like “Compare the roles played by reason and imagination in at least two Areas of Knowledge” and pick the arts as one area of knowledge. Keep in mind, however, you should balance your passion for the title with an objective perspective.
• Do you have something relevant to say about the title? It’s important that you relate the question to the ideas you have covered in your TOK course, as well as the topics you have studied in class, and your own personal experiences or thoughts. The essay should have an objective tone, but you will still need to inject it with personality, passion, and clarity.

• For example, in a title like: “When mathematicians, historians and scientists say that they have explained something, are they using the word ‘explain’ in the same way?”, you may rephrase it into two sentences. The title refers to three AOK: mathematics, history, and science. It is then asking you to compare and contrast the way these three AOK use explanation as a way of knowing about a topic or issue.
• By breaking down the title into short sentences, you now have a clearer picture of what the title is asking you to do and how you might go about answering the title sufficiently.

Structuring the Essay

• Understanding the knowledge issues: your essay must be focused on the knowledge issues, link and compare at least two knowledge issues, show relevancy between at least two knowledge issues, and demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the knowledge issues.
• Knower’s perspective: your essay must demonstrate independent thinking, self-awareness, at least two different perspectives, and several supporting examples.
• Analysis of the knowledge issues: your essay must show insight and depth, justify your main points, present arguments and counter-arguments, and explore any assumptions and implications of your topic.
• Organization of ideas: your essay must be well structured, explain key concepts, be factually accurate, and cite references where applicable.

• You may also be asked “to what extent” or “in what way” a statement is justified. You will then need to present for and against arguments for the statement.
• If you are asked a direct question, your essay should address to what extent or in what ways you are for and against an argument or position.

• Start by doing a general, open brainstorm. Write down everything that comes to mind when you think about the title without passing judgement on any of the ideas, or stopping to read over your brainstorm.
• After five minutes of brainstorming, read over your notes. Identify ideas that relate to each other or that contradict each other. If you are evaluating or assessing a claim in the essay title, create a for column and an against column. Group your brainstorming ideas into either column. Create a third column for grey area ideas, or ambiguities, and place ideas in that column.
• Note any examples of the ideas that you wrote down. For example, you may be addressing a title like: “When mathematicians, historians and scientists say that they have explained something, are they using the word ‘explain’ in the same way?” You may create a brainstorm for each area of knowledge (mathematics, history, science) in relation to the idea of explaining something. You may then use examples of “something” that can be explained in each AOK: a mathematical equation, a historical moment in a battle or a trial, and a scientific theory.

• You should also identify the areas of knowledge you will be discussing in your essay. For example, for a title like: “Compare the roles played by reason and imagination in at least two Areas of Knowledge” you may choose two AOK: the arts and science. You may then compare and contrast the function of “reason” and “imagination” in the arts and in science.

• Paragraph 1: Introduction. You would provide an explanation and interpretation of the title and identify the key terms in the title. You would also state your thesis and explain or identify a knowledge issue related to the title.
• Paragraph 2: First Area of Knowledge. For example, the arts. Discuss how the arts answers the title and provide supporting examples. You should also note any counter-arguments against the title or any limitations of the supporting examples.
• Paragraph 3: Second Area of Knowledge. For example, mathematics. Note how mathematics answers the title and provide supporting examples. You should also note any counter-arguments against the title or any limitations of the supporting examples.
• Paragraph 4: Third Area of Knowledge (if applicable)
• Paragraph 5: Conclusion. Summarize your main ideas and restate your thesis. Conclude by answering the title fully, taking into account the counter arguments and limitations of the areas of knowledge.
• You may also decide to structure your essay based on a main argument and a main counter-argument. Your outline may contain four paragraphs total:
• Paragraph 1: Introduction and explanation of the knowledge issue.
• Paragraph 2: Main argument, with justification and one to two supporting examples.
• Paragraph 3: Main counter-argument, with justification and one to two supporting examples.
• Paragraph 4: Conclusion.

• Some students find it useful to draft their thesis statement once they have finished writing a first draft of the essay. By this point, you will likely have a better sense of the main arguments in the essay and be able to write a clear, concise thesis statement.
• For example, you may need to create a thesis statement for this title: “Compare the roles played by reason and imagination in at least two Areas of Knowledge.” You have chosen two AOK: the arts and mathematics. Consider how reason and imagination function in the arts and in mathematics, as well as the different ways they function in each AOK. Your thesis may be: “Through reason and imagination play an important role in both mathematics and the arts, the imaginative thoughts of mathematicians must be provable, while the imaginative thoughts of artists need only be reasonable.” [5] X Research source

Writing the Essay

• You may want to also refer back to your brainstorming notes to identify the supporting examples for your two areas of knowledge, or your main argument and your main counter-argument.

• For example, you may be discussing the use of reason and imagination in the arts. Rather than discuss a familiar artist, like Picasso, or a familiar example of imaginative thinking, like the Sistine Chapel, use supporting examples that feel original and insightful. Though the essay should be objective in nature, it should also feel reflective and personal. Using a supporting example that you feel passionate about, like Pollack’s kinetic movement paintings, or Rodin’s sculptures, will show you have taken the time to explore unique examples.

• Reference surprising or little known claims, but not well known facts or commonly held opinions. For example: “The sun is the center of the solar system” is a well known fact you will not need to cite. But “Rodin was a traditionally-schooled artist and had a craftsman-like approach to his work” will require a citation as it is maybe a little known fact.
• Reference any sentences or sections where you are closely following someone else’s train of thought or argument, even in your own words.
• Reference exact quotes, and use quotation marks.
• Be consistent with your citations and the way you reference certain sources.

• As you read your essay out loud, make sure there are no vague or abstract sentences or terms. You want to ensure you use your 1600 word count in a clear and concise way. Every word will count in your TOK essay.
• Confirm you have addressed knowledge issues in your essay. Your essay should answer the question “How do you know?” and assess the strengths and weaknesses of knowledge claims in at least two areas of knowledge. You should also use arguments and counter-arguments to support your thesis statement, as well as strong supporting examples.

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• ↑ http://www.dirk-solies.de/TOK/how%20to%20write%20a%20ToK%20essay%20cambridge.pdf
• ↑ http://www.toktalk.net/2009/11/20/starting-and-planning-the-tok-essay/

About this article

To write a TOK essay that compares several areas of knowledge, start with an introductory paragraph that explains your title and states your thesis. Then, write 2-3 main body paragraphs, discussing in each a single area of knowledge and how it relates to your title. Try to provide supporting examples in each case, and address any potential counter-arguments, as well. Finally, end your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your main ideas and restates your thesis. When you’re done, check to be sure that you’re within the 1,200-1,600 word limit for the essay. To learn from our English reviewer how to choose an essay title and create your thesis statement, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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IB TOK Essay Structure in Detail

Theory of Knowledge is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on understanding the different ways of knowing and how our knowledge is acquired, developed and used. It involves exploring the connections between different disciplines, such as the sciences, humanities, mathematics, and the arts, and recognizing the complexities of real-world problems and issues. Through TOK, students are able to gain a deeper understanding of the world around them, as well as develop their critical thinking skills.

TOK helps people understand the links between different disciplines, allowing them to see a broader perspective on the world. By equipping students with the tools to think critically, TOK prepares them for meaningful dialogue about complex issues. Additionally, it serves as a valuable way for students to assess and evaluate their own knowledge and beliefs, as well as question and challenge the knowledge of others. In essence, TOK encourages exploration of the different ways of knowing and understanding the world.

For teachers, understanding the importance of TOK can help to create more effective learning environments. By introducing and discussing different theories and perspectives, teachers can provoke deeper exploration and thought, which can help to ground students’ understanding and open up new sources of knowledge. Moreover, introducing TOK in the classroom can develop students’ ability to think critically, allowing them to form logical arguments and see the connection between different areas of knowledge.

To sum up, Theory of Knowledge is an interdisciplinary field of study that encourages exploration of the different ways of knowing and understanding the world. It provides students with the skills to think critically and examine the complexities of real-world issues. Additionally, it is a useful tool for teachers to help develop students’ abilities to think critically and explore different perspectives. Now, let’s take a closer look at the TOK essay structure.

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Outline of the TOK Essay Structure

The International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge essay is a 750 to 1600 word requirement on the student’s knowledge of the world, and how they analyze and evaluate it. The TOK essay structure is designed to help students express their ideas in an organized, concise and effective way.

The TOK essay has a distinct structure that should be followed throughout the paper. The basic structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each of these parts should be a separate section within the outline and should include specific points.

The introduction should clearly define the topic and provide an overview of the essay’s purpose. It should also introduce the three Are of Knowledge (AOKs) that are relevant to this essay and describe how they will be connected in the essay.

Following the introduction, each body paragraph should contain an argument, evidence to support it and then a conclusion that ties back to the main argument. Body paragraphs should cover each AOK mentioned in the introduction, with the arguments relating to each AOK. In addition, body paragraphs should state how each AOK is related to each other.

Finally, the conclusion should summarize all of the arguments made in the body of the essay and suggest ways to further explore the topics presented. This should be done with a focus on how these areas of knowledge intersect to create a more holistic understanding of the world.

By following this structure, students can ensure that their TOK essay is well organized and effectively communicates their ideas. Additionally, it will help students stay on track with the essay’s requirements and ensure that their essay meets the grading criteria.

Overview of the Grading Criteria for TOK Essays

The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay is one of the most important components in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, and it carries a significant chunk of the overall score. Writing a compelling TOK essay requires much more than simply understanding the topics and reading about them. If you’re hoping to get an excellent grade, it’s crucial to understand how your work will be assessed.

Knowledge Questions and their Relevance

The key part of any TOK essay is the knowledge questions – these need to be answered directly with a clear focus and relevance to the question. A well-structured essay will address the question from various points of view and as far as possible. It should also provide appropriate examples and evidence for your points, any counterclaims or alternative viewpoints and your own knowledge experiences.

Organization and Structure

The essay should be logically organized and structured with clearly defined sections. Every section needs to have a purpose and its own independent set of arguments. It should also include citations and sources where appropriate, as well as personal knowledge experiences. The overall essay should be written in an academic style, consistent with the rest of the TOK curriculum.

Reasoning and Argumentation

Make sure you use complex reasoning to develop a strong argument that supports your main point in the essay. To do this effectively, you’ll need to reference other sources, research documents and your own personal experiences. Your essay should also discuss the validity and reliability of the sources used, and whether they are relevant to the particular knowledge issue being discussed.

Grammar and Language

Finally, the essay should be written using a formal language, grammar and punctuation. When writing the essay, it’s important to keep in mind that TOK is designed to be studied from an international perspective. Grammatical accuracy, clarity and consistency in language will help to make sure your points come across effectively, and allow you to get the best score.

Understanding the grading criteria that are used to assess TOK essays is crucial if you want to earn a high grade. Make sure you pay close attention to each of the criteria discussed here and ensure your essay covers them all. This will help you get the most out of your TOK essay and ensure you reach the grade you deserve.

Step-by-step Guide to Writing a TOK Essay

Writing a Theory of Knowledge essay can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. By breaking the essay writing process down into small, manageable steps, you can make it easier and less stressful. This step-by-step guide shows how to use the Areas of Knowledge (AOKs) to write an effective TOK essay.

Step One: Brainstorm

The best way to start your TOK essay is to brainstorm ideas. Take some time to think about your experiences and create a list of potential topics that could be developed into an essay. Don’t worry if the ideas don’t relate directly to the question – this is just for brainstorming purposes.

Step Two: Research

Once you have an idea of what kind of essay you are going to write, it is time to do some research. Look into the different AOKs and try to pinpoint which ones are relevant to your topic. This should give you a basic knowledge of the topic and the various perspectives that need to be considered in the essay.

Step Three: Outline

Now that you have researched the topic, it is time to create an outline. Make sure to include the main points you want to cover in the essay, as well as any counterarguments that may be presented. Also, include any evidence or examples that will support your argument. The outline should be as detailed as possible to ensure that you stay on track when writing the essay.

Step Four: Writing

Now that you have completed your research and created an outline, it’s time to start writing. Remember to remain focused on your main argument and use evidence from your research to support your claims. Be sure to explain how each AOK applies to the essay, and how they interact with each other. Consider how the different perspectives can be combined to form a complex argument.

Step Five: Proofreading and Editing

Once you have completed the essay, it is important to proofread and edit. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes, and make sure your argument is well structured and logically consistent. Also, make sure to address any counterarguments that you outlined in the essay. Finally, consider adding any new information or ideas that you discovered during the writing process.

By following these steps and using the AOKs as a guide, you can be sure to craft a high-quality TOK essay that meets the assessment criteria. With the right amount of effort and dedication, you can succeed in writing an effective TOK essay.

Using Personal Knowledge Experiences in TOK Essays

The International Baccalaureate or IB TOK essay is an important component of the student’s diploma. When selecting a TOK essay topic and writing a response, it is essential to include personal knowledge experiences.

A student’s individual experiences are just as important as the facts and theories presented in an essay. Personal knowledge experiences help to bring life to the paper and make it stand out from the rest. For example, if you are writing about the concept of truth and objectivity, your personal experience may help to provide insight into how different perspectives could be interpreted.

When using personal knowledge experiences in your TOK essay , it is important to consider how these experiences could contribute positively to your argument. Ask yourself questions like ‘how has this experience informed my viewpoint?’. By reflecting on your experiences, you can demonstrate your understanding of the TOK essay question and explain why your view is important.

In addition to reflecting on relevant prior experiences, you should also think about any current research or experiences you can draw upon. If there is an opportunity to conduct interviews or visit a local museum, these activities can be used to support your argument.

It is important to remember that the personal knowledge experiences you choose should not take away from the overall structure of the paper. These experiences should be used to reinforce the points you have made and to supplement your argument. Make sure to check your essay for any grammatical errors or typos and ensure that your points are backed up by logical reasoning.

Ultimately, using personal knowledge experiences in your TOK essay can help to differentiate it from other papers. It is a great way to demonstrate your understanding of the subject and your ability to present evidence to support your views.

Tips on Thinking Critically for TOK Essays

Writing a successful Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay requires the ability to think critically and develop strong arguments. Critical thinking can be difficult and complex, so here are some tips to help:

• Gather evidence: Any successful argument needs evidence and facts to back it up. Research your topic thoroughly and make sure you have solid evidence to support your argument.
• Analyze evidence: Consider the source of the evidence and evaluate it objectively. Does this information support or contradict your argument?
• Be creative: Think outside the box when constructing your argument. Analyze different perspectives and viewpoints to gain a deeper understanding of your topic.
• Think logically: Once you have gathered all your evidence, it’s time to build an argument. Structure your argument in a logical way, leading from one point to another.
• Question assumptions: It is important to be open-minded and question any assumptions you may have about the topic. Reflect and challenge ideas to create an argument with diverse points of view.
• Anticipate counterclaims: Not all readers will agree with your argument, so be prepared to address objections or counterarguments. Showing how you thoughtfully considered the other perspective demonstrates critical thinking skills.

By following these tips, you will be able to submit a high quality TOK essay with a carefully crafted argument. Remember that clear and logical thinking is essential for a successful essay.

Creating a TOK Essay Outline

Creating an outline for a Theory of Knowledge essay can be challenging, but it will help you make sure your essay is structured clearly and logically. An outline allows you to break down your essay into sections that are easy to understand and follow. This helps to ensure that your essay takes a clear path from the introduction to the conclusion.

When creating your TOK essay outline, there are a few key steps you should take to ensure you are producing an effective outline. The first step is to brainstorm what topics and ideas you want to include in your essay. Once you have identified the topics you want to include in your essay, it is important to determine how they fit together and how you want to present them. This helps you to come up with a basic structure for your essay.

Once you have a structure in place, you should move on to developing more specific subtopics. These topics will form the basis of the main body of your essay, and help you to further develop each point you’re making. This is a crucial step in creating a TOK essay outline, as it helps to ensure that all of your ideas are clearly expressed and logically organized.

The final step in creating your TOK essay outline is to develop an effective thesis statement. This statement will serve as the main focus of your essay, and should encapsulate the main point that you are trying to make. Once you have developed a thesis statement, you will be able to start putting together the outline of your essay in a logical and organized manner.

Creating a TOK essay outline is a great way to ensure your essay is well-structured and logically organized. Following the steps outlined above will help you create an effective outline that ensures your essay is organized in a clear, logical manner.

Using Language Effectively to Support Claims in a TOK Essay

Using language effectively is an important part of crafting a quality Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay. To ensure that your essays are thought-provoking and well-structured, you should use language to support claims and strengthen arguments.

Recapping Your Key Ideas

When writing a TOK essay, it is important to restate your key points throughout the text. This helps to remind the reader of the main argument and highlights the evidence used to support it. Using simple language to effectively explain the idea again ensures that your ideas are not lost within the essay.

Using Strong Vocabulary

To make sure that your essay stands out, it’s a good idea to use strong vocabulary and varied sentence structures. This can help to emphasize a point and add detail to your essay. However, it is important to be aware of using too much “big” words; using language that is too complex can confuse your reader and obscure the point you are trying to make.

Making Connections

Connecting ideas together is another key element when writing an effective TOK essay. Using language to make connections between concepts, personal knowledge experiences and evidence can help show how each point supports the overall argument.

Making Assumptions Explicit

It is important to remember that the reader may not necessarily be familiar with the same knowledge as you. Making assumptions explicit means that you explain the source of your idea or opinion and why you believe it is valid. This also allows you to explore different perspectives on the topic.

Summarizing Your Argument

In conclusion, you should use language effectively in your TOK essay to ensure that your arguments are clear and concise. Repeating the main points, using strong vocabulary and connecting ideas together will make your argument more compelling. Additionally, making assumptions explicit and summarizing your argument at the end of the essay will help the reader understand and appreciate your unique viewpoint on the topic.

Introduction to TOK Essay Assessment Criteria

Writing a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay can be a challenging task for students. It requires careful thought, research, and organization – not only of the facts and arguments but also of the assessment criteria.

In TOK essays, students are assessed on their ability to think analytically and critically. The International Baccalaureate (IB) has developed a set of criteria that are used to evaluate each TOK essay. It’s important for students to have a good understanding of each of these criteria so they know what to focus on when writing their essay.

The Criteria

The TOK essay assessment criteria are split into two categories: C & P (communicate and present) and A & R (argument and reason).

• Communication and Presentation (C&P): This criterion evaluates a student’s ability to communicate their ideas effectively and demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic. Points awarded for this criteria are based on how well the essay is structured, use of evidence, clarity of language, and strength of argument.
• Argument and Reasoning (A&R): This criterion assesses a student’s ability to apply logic and rational thinking to their essay. Points awarded for this criterion depend on the student’s capacity to use evidence to support their argument, make well-thought-out conclusions, and reference counterclaims (where relevant).

Advice For Meeting These Criteria

When writing your TOK essay, it is important to follow the criteria carefully and make sure that you address all of the points. Here are some tips to help you do this:

• Read the question correctly and make sure you understand what it is asking. Analyze the keywords and think about how you can use them in your essay.
• Research relevant AOKs (Areas of Knowledge) and create an outline to plan your essay. Make sure all of your arguments are supported by logical reasoning, evidence, and examples.
• If relevant, think of counterclaims and provide effective refutations to them.
• Write your essay using clear language and organizing your thoughts in a way that is easy to read and understand.
• Proofread your essay several times and make sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes.
• Write a strong conclusion that ties together all of your arguments and summarizes your main points.

By following these steps, you should be able to create an essay that meets the TOK essay assessment criteria and earns you the grade you deserve!

The Role of Counterclaims in a TOK Essay

When attempting to answer a TOK essay question, it is essential that you consider various counterarguments and opposing viewpoints. These counterclaims can help in developing a TOK essay that is well-reasoned, logical and backed up with evidence. Looking at counterclaims can also help to create a balanced argument and give your TOK essay added depth.

Including counterclaims in your TOK essay can help you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. Through considering opposing points of view, you can develop ideas that are less biased and more convincing. For example, if you are discussing the impact of technology on modern life, perhaps you could argue that technology has had both positive and negative implications for society. This can add an interesting layer to your essay and make it stand out from the crowd.

When introducing counterclaims into your TOK essay, it is important to make sure that your arguments remain impartial. Rather than simply stating that one point of view is wrong, it is better to present both sides of the argument and discuss their merits or drawbacks. It is also a good idea to use evidence or personal experiences to back up your argument.

When addressing counterclaims, be sure to include any opposing opinions on the topic, as well as potential solutions should a conflict arise. For example, if you are discussing a particular ethical dilemma, it is important to present both sides of the argument and explore any potential solutions or proposed compromises.

All in all, considering counterclaims and their potential implications is a vital part of constructing an effective TOK essay. Through engaging with opposing viewpoints and exploring possible solutions, you can produce an argument that is thought-provoking, balanced and convincing.

Summary of key points for crafting a high-scoring TOK essay

To craft a high-scoring Theory of Knowledge essay that is structurally sound, there are a few key points to consider. To begin with, it is important to have an in-depth understanding of the TOK essay structure, as well as its grading criteria. Once you understand the structure and criteria for a TOK essay, you must ensure that your essay includes the appropriate Areas of Knowledge. You should use personal knowledge experiences to answer TOK essay questions and make sure that you think critically when forming arguments.

It is also necessary to form a clear TOK essay outline, as this allows the essay to be structured properly. This means that, when writing the actual essay, it is important to use language effectively to support claims and arguments and also to include counterclaims. Finally, it is essential to meet the TOK assessment criteria set out by the instructor, as these criteria will be used to determine your grade.

In summary, to craft a high-scoring TOK essay that is structurally sound, it is important to understand the TOK essay structure, the grading criteria, and how to use the AOKs within the essay structure. Additionally, using personal knowledge experiences, thinking critically and creating a clear outline can help to ensure that the essay is written correctly. Furthermore, the essay should use correct language, include counterclaims, and meet all assessment criteria.

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Theory of Knowledge

Faqs about the essay.

Common questions asked about how write an effective essay

• How many words should the TOK essay be?

The maximum number of words for the TOK essay is 1600 words. The challenge is not reaching that word count (as, perhaps it is in the EE), but fitting everything you have to say into it. Your final version of the essay should therefore be as close as possible to 1600 words. Anything less, and you are probably leaving out useful content.

• How should the essay be structured?

There’s no one definitive way of structuring a TOK essay, but however you do it, it should be clear to the examiner what purpose each element of your essay serves, which almost certainly means an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. The context of the main body should be two or more different areas of knowledge, which should be fully interlinked.

• How should I write my essay introduction?

Essay introductions are always important, but they are arguably even more so in the TOK essay. Because you are dealing with words and terms in the title that might have abstract or subjective meanings, it’s vital to pin these words and terms down, and explain exactly how you will approach them in your introduction. Not only will this give your readers a clear idea of the flow and direction of your essay, it will also help you to figure out the flow and direction of your essay.

Don’t use cliched or dictionary definitions to pin down meanings; give your own interpretation, proving that you have a sophisticated understanding of the title (with ‘knowledge’ being the best example of this - do not just say ‘justified true belief’!). In addition, you should provide a ‘roadmap’ of where you are going. You do not need to state a thesis or conclusion yet, but you should mention which AOKs you will focus on. Thirdly, give your readers some sort of ‘hook’ to pique their interest. A quote or a challenging statement is an effective way of doing this.

• How do I structure the main body of my essay?

A typical TOK essay will ask you to consider a question within the context of two different AOKs. In order to consider different points of view, you will structure the main body of your essay around arguments (that might support an assertion in the title) and counterarguments (that might oppose an assertion in the title).

After introducing your argument, you need to analyse and discuss it. This should initially be in the form of general argument, with your own ideas perhaps augmented with those of other thinkers you have come across. Only when you have properly discussed your ideas should you refer to your real-life situations. Remember, their role in an essay is to support what you have already said.

Another point worth making is that you should also link your different areas of knowledge. An ideal moment to do this is the transition point from one AOK to another, when you can compare and contrast the nature of knowledge within the AOKs.

• What is the purpose of a TOK essay conclusion?

In the conclusion of your TOK essay you will summarize the main points offered in your essay, try to answer the question definitively, and leave your reader with the sense that their understanding of the world has been genuinely moved on. You might also want to revisit your comparison of knowledge within your AOKs that you mentioned in the transition point of your main body, stressing points of difference or similarity. However, you should not be presenting any new ideas or evidence. In the same way it is advisable to hook your reader’s interest in the introduction, it is good practice to leave them with something memorable, so a profound assertion, quote, or particularly articulate expression is an effective way of finishing off your essay.

• Do I need to draw on lots of sources in my TOK essay?

Your essay will not be evaluated in terms of the level of research used to support its ideas, so you can, in theory, earn an excellent grade without referring to any other sources. However, it is recommended that you do draw on books, websites, and other sources of information, in order to indicate that you approached your essay with the seriousness and commitment that it deserves. Referring to other people’s ideas will also help you to discuss your knowledge claims and counterclaims, before you move on to support them with your real life situations.

• What should the balance of personal experiences to outside experiences be?

Although the IB recommends that you include your own experiences amongst the RLSs you use in your essay, it recommends that the balance of personal and outside experiences should be slightly in favour of the latter.

• How much help is my TOK teacher allowed to give me for the essay?

For the TOK essay, your teacher will meet with you for three ‘interactions’, during which you will discuss the different prescribed essay titles (PTs), form an essay plan, and go over your essay draft. In addition, your teacher will provide you with tips and advice on how to write an effective essay, and field specific questions you have, perhaps on the suitability of arguments, and the quality of examples that you are using. Your teacher cannot give you editorial advice, a predicted grade, or provide you with written feedback on more than one occasion.

• How important is my PPF?

The Planning and Progress Form (PPF) represents an important part of the essay-writing process, helping you to track the development of your ideas, and demonstrate that you are receiving the appropriate level of support from your TOK teacher. Your teacher’s comments are also helpful to examiners as they evaluate the way you have approached your prescribed title. However, whilst it is important to take the PPF seriously, it does not contribute directly to the mark you receive.

• How much teaching time does the essay take up?

The IB says you should spend around 10 hours writing your essay.

• Where can I see essay exemplars?

The IB publishes exemplar essays; your teacher should be able to provide these for you as a model for your own essay-writing.

Last updated 3 years ago

Essay Papers Writing Online

Write a winning tok essay – essential tips and strategies for success.

When embarking on the journey of writing a TOK essay, one must navigate the intricate web of knowledge, exploring its depths and unraveling its mysteries. This intellectual endeavor requires careful thought, critical analysis, and a unique perspective. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the art of crafting a successful TOK essay, equipping you with the tools necessary to flourish in this academic exploration.

At its core, a TOK essay invites you to investigate the ways in which knowledge is constructed and justified, prompting you to question the assumptions, biases, and limitations that shape our understanding of the world. It beckons you to think deeply, to ponder the interplay between personal experiences, shared knowledge, and the varying methods by which knowledge is acquired. Through this inquiry, you will uncover the complexities and controversies that lie at the heart of knowledge production.

With each essay, you embark on a quest for truth, a quest that necessitates a deep understanding of the areas of knowledge and the underlying knowledge claims. As you embark on this journey, it is crucial to develop a clear and concise thesis statement that elucidates your position and guides the structure of your essay. This thesis will serve as the guiding light, illuminating the path to a coherent argument and a well-supported conclusion.

Understanding the Basics of a TOK Essay

In this section, we will explore the fundamental aspects of writing a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay. Gain a comprehensive understanding of the essential components and techniques that will contribute to a successful TOK essay.

When engaging in the writing process of a TOK essay, it is important to familiarize yourself with the core concepts and principles underlying this particular type of essay. Here, we will delve into the key elements that form the basis of a TOK essay.

1. Knowledge Questions: As the cornerstone of a TOK essay, knowledge questions are crucial in examining the nature of knowledge and its implications. These questions inquire about the methods, scope, and validity of knowledge across different areas of knowledge and ways of knowing. They challenge our assumptions and open up new avenues for exploration.

2. Areas of Knowledge: TOK essays require an exploration of various areas of knowledge, such as the natural sciences, mathematics, ethics, history, and the arts. Each area of knowledge offers unique insights into the nature of knowledge and its construction. It is important to consider different perspectives and approaches when analyzing these areas of knowledge.

3. Ways of Knowing: Complementing the areas of knowledge, ways of knowing refer to the different methods we use to acquire, interpret, and evaluate knowledge. These include perception, reason, emotion, language, intuition, and memory. Understanding the role of each way of knowing is essential in developing a well-rounded TOK essay.

4. Claims and Counterclaims: Central to a TOK essay is the presentation of claims and counterclaims. Claims assert knowledge claims or provide arguments that support a particular stance, while counterclaims challenge these assertions or offer alternative viewpoints. Presenting balanced and well-supported claims and counterclaims is important for constructing a persuasive argument.

5. Analysis and Evaluation: In a TOK essay, analysis and evaluation play a crucial role. It is essential to analyze knowledge questions and arguments thoroughly, critically assess the knowledge claims presented, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the supporting evidence. This analytical and evaluative approach contributes to a well-developed and coherent TOK essay.

6. Real-Life Examples: To illustrate and contextualize your arguments and analysis, real-life examples can be used in a TOK essay. These examples help to bridge the theoretical ideas with real-world situations, enhancing the reader’s understanding and engagement with the essay.

By understanding and applying these basic principles, you will be equipped to embark on the exciting journey of writing a TOK essay. Keep these foundations in mind as you explore further and delve deeper into the intricacies of this unique genre of academic writing.

Exploring the Key Concepts and Terminology

Delving into the core concepts and terminology is an essential step in crafting a successful TOK essay. By familiarizing yourself with the key ideas and terms, you will be equipped to analyze and evaluate knowledge claims from a wide range of perspectives.

Understanding the nuances of TOK begins with grasping the fundamental concepts that underpin the subject. These concepts provide the framework for exploring how knowledge is acquired, justified, and communicated. From the idea of knowledge as a human construct to the exploration of knowledge questions, each concept offers a unique lens through which we can examine the complex nature of knowledge itself.

Alongside the key concepts, TOK presents a rich tapestry of terminology that deepens our understanding of the subject. From terms like “epistemology” and “justification” to “ways of knowing” and “areas of knowledge,” this terminology helps us navigate the intricate terrain of TOK discussions.

Exploring the key concepts and terminology allows you to engage critically with the ideas presented in your essay prompt. By articulating these concepts and using the appropriate terminology, you can demonstrate a clear understanding of TOK principles and effectively communicate your thoughts and arguments.

Analyzing the TOK Essay Prompt

Examining and understanding the TOK essay prompt is a crucial step in successfully approaching the task at hand. This section will explore the importance of carefully analyzing the prompt and identifying the key concepts and ideas that need to be addressed in your essay.

• Understand the question: Begin by carefully reading and rereading the prompt to grasp its meaning and scope. Break it down into smaller parts to identify the different elements and themes it incorporates.
• Identify keywords: Look for keywords or phrases that stand out in the prompt. These are the terms that will guide your exploration and analysis of the topic.
• Define key concepts: Take the time to clearly define the key concepts mentioned in the prompt. This will ensure that you have a solid foundation for your exploration and analysis.
• Explore different perspectives: Consider the different perspectives that can be taken on the topic. Think about how different areas of knowledge or ways of knowing can shape your understanding and interpretation of the issue.
• Consider implications: Reflect on the implications of the prompt and its underlying concepts. Consider how they relate to real-world scenarios or examples and how they can be applied in different contexts.

By thoroughly analyzing the TOK essay prompt, you can gain a deeper understanding of the task at hand and develop a strong foundation for your essay. This process will help you identify the key concepts, explore different perspectives, and consider the implications of the topic, enabling you to approach your essay with greater clarity and focus.

Tips for Deconstructing and Understanding the Question

When it comes to tackling a TOK essay, one of the first and most crucial steps is to fully grasp and comprehend the question at hand. Deconstructing and understanding the question is essential in order to develop a well-structured and coherent argument throughout your essay.

Here are some tips to help you deconstruct and understand the question effectively:

1. Read the question carefully: Take your time to read and reread the question, paying attention to every word and phrase. Understand the key concepts and terms being used, as they will guide your analysis and argument.

2. Identify the underlying assumptions: Look for any hidden assumptions or presuppositions in the question. These assumptions can shape the way you approach and explore the topic, so it’s important to recognize them and consider their implications.

3. Define the scope of the question: Determine the scope of the question by identifying the boundaries and limits it sets. This will help you to narrow down your focus and avoid going off-topic. Consider whether the question is asking for a specific time period, region, or perspective.

4. Analyze the key terms: Pay close attention to the key terms used in the question and analyze their meanings. Consider possible interpretations and definitions to ensure that you have a clear understanding of what is being asked.

5. Break down the question into sub-questions: If the question is complex or multi-faceted, it can be helpful to break it down into smaller, more manageable sub-questions. This will allow you to tackle each aspect of the question individually and develop a more comprehensive response.

Remember, deconstructing and understanding the question is the foundation for a successful TOK essay. By following these tips, you can ensure that you have a clear and solid understanding of the question, which will guide your analysis and argument throughout the essay.

Developing a Strong Thesis Statement

One of the most critical aspects of writing a TOK essay is developing a strong thesis statement. This statement serves as the central argument or main point of your essay, and it sets the tone for the entire piece. A strong thesis statement not only captures the essence of your topic but also provides a clear direction for your exploration.

When developing a thesis statement for your TOK essay, it is essential to consider various factors. Firstly, you need to analyze the knowledge question or the problem you are addressing in your essay. This analysis will help you identify the key concepts or ideas that need to be included in your thesis statement.

Further, you should ensure that your thesis statement is specific and focused. It should make a concise claim or argument that can be explored and supported throughout the essay. Avoid making general statements that lack clarity or precision, as they can weaken the overall effectiveness of your argument.

In addition to being specific, your thesis statement should also be arguable. This means that there should be room for discussion or debate regarding your claim. A strong thesis statement invites multiple perspectives and encourages critical thinking among readers.

Furthermore, your thesis statement should be logical and coherent. It should present a clear and logical progression of ideas, guiding your readers through your argument. This can be achieved by organizing your thoughts and supporting evidence effectively.

Lastly, it is important to revise and refine your thesis statement as you go through the writing process. Don’t be afraid to make changes and adjustments to ensure that your thesis statement accurately reflects your evolving argument and the evidence you have collected.

In conclusion, developing a strong thesis statement is crucial for writing a successful TOK essay. It sets the stage for your essay, guiding the reader and providing a clear focus for your exploration. By considering various factors such as specificity, arguability, logic, and revising as necessary, you can create a thesis statement that effectively captures the essence of your essay.

Strategies for Crafting a Clear and Engaging Thesis

When it comes to writing a TOK essay, one of the most important elements is the thesis statement. This sentence or two sets the tone for the entire essay and provides a clear and concise representation of the argument or main idea. Crafting a strong thesis requires careful thought and consideration, taking into account the complexities of the topic at hand. Here are some strategies to help you create a thesis that is both clear and engaging.

1. Understand the prompt: Before diving into the creation of your thesis, it is crucial to fully grasp the prompt or essay question. Take the time to analyze the wording and identify the key concepts and ideas being presented. This will give you a solid foundation from which to build your thesis.

2. Brainstorm and research: Once you have a thorough understanding of the prompt, begin brainstorming ideas for your thesis. Consider different perspectives and arguments related to the topic, and conduct research to gather evidence and support for your claims. This will help you develop a well-rounded and informed thesis statement.

3. Be specific and concise: A clear and engaging thesis is one that is specific and to the point. Avoid vague or general statements that lack substance. Instead, focus on narrowing down your argument and expressing it succinctly. This will allow your readers to easily understand the main point you are trying to convey.

4. Consider counterarguments: When crafting your thesis, be aware of potential counterarguments or opposing viewpoints. Acknowledging these opposing perspectives and addressing them in your thesis demonstrates a thorough understanding of the topic and adds depth and complexity to your argument.

5. Use language effectively: The language you use in your thesis can greatly impact its clarity and engagement. Choose strong and specific words that convey your argument effectively. Additionally, consider using rhetorical devices such as parallelism or antithesis to add emphasis and intrigue to your thesis statement.

6. Revise and refine: Crafting a clear and engaging thesis is an iterative process. After writing your initial thesis statement, take the time to revise and refine it. Consider the feedback from others and make adjustments as necessary. This will ensure that your thesis is strong and compelling.

In conclusion, a well-crafted thesis is essential for a successful TOK essay. By following these strategies, you can create a thesis that is clear, engaging, and sets the stage for a strong argument. Remember to take your time and think critically about the topic at hand. With careful consideration and revision, you can craft a thesis that will captivate your readers and guide your essay to success.

Structuring Your TOK Essay

Arranging your TOK essay in a well-organized and logical structure is essential for effectively conveying your ideas and arguments. A strong structure not only helps your reader navigate through the essay effortlessly but also builds a solid foundation for a coherent and persuasive piece of writing.

One of the key elements of structuring your TOK essay is dividing it into distinct sections. This allows you to address different aspects of the prescribed title or knowledge question and present your arguments in a systematic manner. Consider breaking down your essay into introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

• Introduction: Start your essay with an engaging introduction that provides background information on the topic and introduces the knowledge question. You can also include a brief outline of the arguments you will discuss later in the essay.
• Body paragraphs: Divide your main arguments into separate paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect related to the knowledge question. Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence and support your arguments with relevant examples, evidence, and counterarguments. Make sure to explain the significance and implications of each argument to strengthen your overall analysis.
• Counterclaims: It is important to acknowledge and address counterarguments or alternative perspectives in your essay. This demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate different viewpoints and strengthens the overall credibility of your arguments.
• Conclusion: Summarize your main arguments and provide a concise conclusion that answers the knowledge question. Reinforce your thesis statement and leave the reader with a thought-provoking ending, inviting further reflection.

In addition to organizing your essay into sections, it is important to maintain a clear and logical flow throughout. Use appropriate transition words and phrases to connect your ideas and ensure a smooth progression of thought. This helps the reader follow your line of reasoning and effectively engages them with your essay.

Remember, a well-structured TOK essay not only demonstrates your understanding of the Theory of Knowledge but also enhances the overall impact of your arguments. Take the time to carefully plan and structure your essay, and you will be on your way to a successful and impactful piece of writing.

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US IB Theory of Knowledge: TOK Essay

• Knowledge Framework in TOK
• TOK & The Learner Profile Attributes
• The Learner Profile Attributes Quiz
• Areas of Knowledge
• Optional Themes
• Knowledge Questions
• TOK Exhibition
• TOK Exhibition Prompts
• TOK Exhibition Rubric
• Ways of Knowing (Pre 2022)
• Recommended Reading
• RSS News Feeds

TOK Prescribed Titles

The International Baccalaureate Organization releases six TOK essay titles, twice a year for submission either in May or November. So you need to know which cohort you're submitting with. The essay titles for submission in May are released in the previous September. The essay titles for submission in November are released the previous March.

• May 2022 topics
• November 2021 topics
• May 2021 topics
• November 2020 topics
• May 2020 topics
• November 2019 topics
• May 2019 topics
• November 2018 topics
• May 2018 topics
• November 2017 topics

"A" example Essays

• Reason vs Emotion in Ethics
• Breaking Conventions
• Context is All
• Moral Wisdom
• Valuable Knowledge
• Experience & Culture

Essay Guidelines

The word count is 1600 words. This includes quotations. You have to write down the number of words when you submit the essay. The examiner will not read past 1600 words. References, maps/charts/illustrations and bibliographies are not included in the word count. You can choose any standard referencing system, but be consistent with the one you chose.

Assessment Criteria: Markscheme from the TOK Guide (as of Class of 2022)

TOK Essay Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions that students and teachers frequently ask about the TOK essay. Read through these questions and the answers to check that you are doing the right thing.

What’s the most important thing to bear in mind?

The first thing is to BE CLEAR! Most students do not even manage to communicate their ideas clearly to the examiner. Regardless of whether or not your answer is stunningly original or crammed with a variety of interesting examples, if it is clear then you will already have a massive head start over the majority of other students from elsewhere in the world. That is why it is absolutely vital to plan in detail – if you have a clear plan you will write a clear essay. If you start the essay without a clear plan then the chances are you will not do very well.

The second thing is to remain focused on the question. It is really easy to lose focus and when you do your score will instantly drop. A slight switch from discussing ‘what we believe is true’ to ‘what is true’ might be enough to make most of your answer irrelevant to the question that you have been asked so you have to be really, really careful here. Always ask yourself whether you are correctly focused on the question.

If my answer is not completely different to everyone else’s will I lose?

Most good essays will offer well balanced, plausible and convincing answer to the knowledge question that has been asked. Clearly there is not an infinite variety of plausible and convincing answers to any question and so you should not expect your answer to be completely different to everyone else’s and nor should you strive to make it bizarrely and outlandishly strange in an attempt to seem original. A good answer will usually point out that x is true in some case cases because of a certain set of reasons, while it is less true in other cases and pretty much completely untrue elsewhere. Students who take very extreme positions tend not to do so well in TOK because, unlike in English where you can usually find some evidence to back up even the most unusual reading, TOK is meant to be firmly grounded in the real world and so, for instance, it is not really that plausible to argue that we can never know anything because that just doesn't fit with how we live our daily lives. Similarly, answers which are overly simply probably won't do that well because most things in TOK just aren’t that clear cut. For example students who claim that Art is completely subjective and that we can never know whether one painting is better than another have trouble when accounting for how the IB award some students Level 7s in art while failing others.

So in this sense your essay might be balanced in the same way as someone else’s but the difference between your essay and everyone else’s should be in exactly how you strike that balance, exactly which discriminations you make and the kinds of evidence that you use to persuade me that your answer is correct. The more convincing your position: the better you will do.

How many examples do I need?

In terms of number of examples there is no set answer. However, in a 1600 word essay you should try to have about 4-6 main body points with one clear example that is central to each one. The best marks will not go to those students who have lots of examples but those who choose examples that support their point really well and then go on to consider the counterclaims against this position (possibly using the same example or a different one) and then respond to this counterclaim (again using the same example or a different one - however three examples in paragraph might be getting a bit too much).

How important is it to talk about myself?

It is important to demonstrate personal engagement, indeed the highest marks will really only be awarded to essays that create a sense that the writer has really engaged and got to grips with the question that they have chosen to answer. However, there are a number of different ways to do this. Using the personal pronoun ‘I’ and talking about something that has happened to you is one way to do this but it will not score highly unless it is a strong example that convincingly supports the point you are trying to make. For example, you will are unlikely to get any points for a personal example about your summer holiday or your Mum’s noodle soup unless it clearly and convincingly supports your answer to the question.

Other ways to demonstrate personal engagement and independent thought are by offering personal definitions of key words and researching original examples that you have come up with yourself rather than the obvious example or the one that everyone else in your class is using because that is the one that the teacher gave you.

Ultimately the best way to demonstrate your personal engagement with the question is through your tone of voice and the sense that you have really ‘got’ what this question is asking and honestly offered your own answer to it. However, this can be hard to identify for an examiner so it is probably best if you try to cover all of the different methods mentioned above in order to come across as a student who is thinking for themselves and relating this question to experiences in their own education.

Should I offer definitions of all the words in my title?

Obviously not – beginning your essay with a list of personal definitions does not make for a very engaging start.   However, there may be some terms in your question title that it is important to define and so you might need to start by doing this. In these case it is best to offer a   brief   personal definition (avoid Dictionary.com!), but be careful with going into any more detail than that. Otherwise the best way to show that you understand what the words in the title mean is to continually link back to the key words from the question throughout your essay. Just like in an English essay you would usually do this at the beginning or end of a paragraph but the best students will be able to make the link clear throughout.

One handy trick to bear in mind when thinking about definitions is that, considering different definitions of key words can actually be a good way of incorporating different perspectives into your essay. For example, if your essay question asks you whether progress is equally possible in the sciences and the arts then how you answer that question might depend on how you define progress and a good structure for the essay might be to start by considering one definition of progress (i.e. progress from one perspective) and then go on to contrast this with the answer that we get if we consider a different definition of progress from another perspective.

Is it a good idea to argue that it’s impossible to know anything at all?

Generally no … TOK examiners tend to be quite dismissive of essays that argue either that we can’t know anything at all or that you can have your ‘truth’ and I can have my ‘truth’ and that these truths are both true. The first of these approaches is often called ‘lazy scepticism’ and the second ‘easy relativism’ and you can see that the names imply that these are not particularly impressive positions to adopt. This is not to say that it’s impossible to be sceptical about knowledge and argue that there are problems with it because clearly there are. It’s also not to say that it’s impossible to argue that in some situations the ‘truth’ might actually be different for different people. However, by and large TOK is looking at how we can know things despite the problems we face when acquiring with knowledge or in spite of the different opinions that exist. TOK is in many ways a pragmatic and realistic subject that is trying to move away from creating the impression that we just can't know anything at all. As such, the best essays will admit that the acquisition of knowledge may not be straight-forward, but will go on to consider how we can overcome these obstacles in the successful pursuit of knowledge.

Do I have to cover every AOK and WOK in my essay?

No, you won’t have enough space. However, you should start by considering all of the   AOKs   and   WOKs   when you begin planning your essay and then narrow it down to the 2 or 3   AOKs   or   WOKs   where you can say the most interesting things. Make it clear that this narrowing down is a conscious decision that you have made and you can even briefly explain the reasons why you have made the choice that you have, if you think that it is relevant. Remember that the highest marks will go to the students who explore a few really key ideas in depth rather than those who try to cover everything. Remember also that the best and most original ideas are not necessarily going to be the ones that spring to mind first so try to use   AOKs   or   WOKs   that not everyone else is using – as long as they work.

So how do I know which   AOKs   or   WOKs   would be good ones to pick?

In general, it can be good to compare an AOK where a statement 'x' really applies well and contrast that with one where it doesn't or doesn't seem to. So for example 'All knowledge is subjective' seems to fit well with The Arts and Ethics, but less with Maths and Science so if you just talk about The Arts and Ethics then you are just going to have an essay that keeps saying ... and this is also true in Ethics, and we can see another example of subjectivity in the Arts, etc. It would be much better to say that this is true in the arts because of xyz reasons and not true in Maths because of   abc   reasons.

If you are really confident with TOK you might try inverting an obvious stereotype about an AOK and seeing if you can find examples where that isn’t true. For example, most students’ first reactions are that the Arts are a subjective subject whereas Maths is a subject which contains objective, universal truths. While there is some   truth to this stereotype   it is not true all the time and the best students will be able to explore where that stereotype breaks down and why it breaks down.   For example, while judgement in art is subjective, some truths – e.g. that this picture was painted by   Da   Vinci - are empirical and so we can have objective agreement about them. Additionally, even the subjective truths aren't allowed to be absolutely anything - even my Mum doesn't think that my Primary School paintings are as good as   Da   Vinci's. This kind of subtlety is what marks out the best answers.

In addition, do not make sweeping statements about aspects or areas of knowledge that imply that what you are saying is always and absolutely true without exception. Instead, phrase things in a way that acknowledges the limitations of your own knowledge and experience: for example ‘Accepting for the moment the premise that … then we can say …’

Do I have to use TOK words like ‘Areas of Knowledge’ in my essay?

Yes you do as this will demonstrate a good understanding of the course but be wary of just throwing them in everywhere: judicious and correct use of TOK terminology is better than going over the top. The words that should come up more frequently are the key words from the question to show that you are remaining focused on the question and not getting distracted by anything else.

Do I have to include any Philosophy or Philosophical words?

No   - the IB have made it clear that TOK is not a philosophy course, instead it is meant to be grounded in the real world and your own experiences as a student. As such you should try to avoid including complex philosophical points unless you really understand them and they really are fully relevant to the essay, even then it is often to put these points into your own words rather than quote philosophers because TOK is about you thinking for yourself rather than quoting someone else’s thoughts.

Do I have to research the quotations in the question title?

It is a good idea to know where the quotation came from, who said it and why but you wouldn’t necessarily include any of this in your essay. In fact, the quotation may not really be relevant at all to the essay question as they are sometimes just used to give you a flavor of   the what   the essay is about. For example in the ‘What I Tell You Three Times is True’ question – the number ‘three’ and the fact that this comes from Lewis Carroll are not necessarily as important as the point about repetition and so detailed research into the works of Lewis Carroll will not really help you with this question.

Can I use quotations from famous people to back up my argument?

Students often like starting essays, concluding essays or supporting points with quotations from famous people like Oscar Wilde or Albert Einstein. The fact that these people are experts tends to lend an air of credibility to your argument. However, the opinion of someone like Oscar Wilde is only going to be relevant in certain, very specific circumstances, for example, if you are exploring esthetics (the theory about what makes beautiful things beautiful) then it might be worth considering Oscar Wilde’s perspective on this topic as he was an artist… but you have to remember that his view is only one perspective and just because Wilde said it, it doesn’t mean that he has the best or most convincing theory about beauty. You should also remember that, outside of the topic of esthetics, it might not be a such good idea to quote Oscar Wilde at all: his opinions on how to live a good life, for example, can be sharply witty and sound quite appealing ... but we need to remember that he did die penniless and alone in Paris so is he really someone that we want to listen to?

Similarly, Einstein is a hugely important figure in the history of science and it might be worthwhile quoting him if you were exploring the forces that drive or inspire genius. However, again you should bear in mind that Einstein’s personal statement about what inspires him is not necessarily something that is going to be true of all thinkers. On top of that you should remember that it has been almost 100 years since the publication of Einstein’s last great work, the General Theory of Relativity, so if you are looking for an up to date comment on the nature of scientific knowledge then it might be best to look elsewhere.

In general the rule with quotations is that you should only quote from someone when they are an expert in the relevant field and even then you have to bear in mind that their opinion is nothing more than that, an opinion. Just like your opinions have to be backed up with evidence and proof, so do the opinions of experts… just because Einstein said it, it doesn’t mean it’s true until you show me the proof. One danger you should also be aware of if you quote too much is that the expert’s voice can come to replace your own and so you should only quote opinions sparingly. One additional way to prevent the expert’s voice from dominating your essay is to use quotations from them in your counterclaims; if you go on to disagree with the expert then that’s usually a clear indication that you are thinking for yourself.

Finally, be careful where you get your quotation from. ‘Brainyquote.com’ might be a repository of thousands of fantastic and completely accurate quotations but it doesn’t create a great impression of your ability to select reliable sources so try to find the original source for your quotation and quote that!

Do I need to include different perspectives in my essay?

Definitely, although remember that ‘different perspectives’ can mean a range of different things. One nice way to include different perspectives is by considering the question from the ‘perspective’ of the different   AOKs . So, for example, you might answer the question from the perspective of the sciences and then compare this with the perspective of the arts – this is a particularly nice trick because it also enables you to draw in some comparisons between the   AOKs   at the same time. However, there are other perspectives that you considering and exploring different cultural, political, philosophical, historical and intellectual perspectives or different schools of thought within an AOK can lead to a more interesting and more convincing essay.

Do I have to distinguish between ‘personal’ and ‘shared’ knowledge in my essay?

It’s definitely a good idea to consider these ideas in your planning but, as with anything, you should only really include them if they are relevant to your essay. One effective way to include these different kinds of knowledge in your essay is to treat them as different perspectives on the same issue. For example, if you are looking at whether it is possible to make progress in the arts then the answer might be quite different depending on whether I am talking about progress at a personal level (clearly I can get better at drawing) or at a shared / communal level because it’s not entirely clear what it would mean for art overall to get ‘better’. This links nicely with the previous point as a way of considering different perspectives on the same issue and can be a good way of killing two birds with one stone.

From www.mrhoyestokwebsite.com

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Writing & uploading the TOK essay

TOK Home > Free TOK notes > TOK essay guidance > Writing & uploading the TOK essay

After you have grasped the essay rubric , chosen your title , and have a clear plan and structure , you can start writing your TOK essay. You’ll be doing this alongside the three interactions, so keep these in mind as you proceed.

Read the points below to get some advice on how to write your essay, and avoid common mistakes made by students.

STEP 4: Write and upload your TOK essay

Get started.

The most important part of writing your essay is getting started. You can procrastinate for ages, thinking about whether you’ve chosen the right title, which areas of knowledge to explore the question in, key thinker and ides to draw on, and so on. Obviously you need to choose the right title, and have an effective plan, but this means nothing until you have put your thoughts down on paper. You will find that many of your uncertainties start to resolve themselves when you start writing.

The introduction is all important

Your introduction should begin with a ‘hook’ to engage the reader, offer your interpretation of the key words or ideas from the title (don’t just copy a definition out of a dictionary – give your take on what the title means), outline the scope of the essay. Get your introduction right, and you will have set up the foundations for a great essay. If you rush it, or not view it with the importance it really requires, you’ll struggle to develop clear ideas in the main body of the essay.

Follow a clear essay plan

By two, you should have formulated a clear essay plan. This means knowing which  AOKs  you are using as the context of the essay, the arguments and counterarguments you’ll be presenting, the real-life examples you’ll be drawing on to justify discussion points, how you’ll indicate the implications of your arguments, and the way in which you’ll challenge assumptions in the question. Agree with your teacher on this plan, and let them know if you are deviating significantly from it.

Justify each point you make

Each of the discussion points you make should be supported by a real-life example. These can come from your own experiences as a knower (inside, and outside of the school), or from events, issues, and topics you’ve read about or encountered from the news and other media sources.

Don’t jump straight into your examples

A common mistake made by students is to move straight onto real-life examples without offering a proper discussion about knowledge. Discuss your own take on the question, perhaps referring to a key thinker or theory, before relating this to a real-life situation.

Consider counterarguments

You need to offer a consideration of different points of view, and the way to do this is via counterarguments. For each of your claims or arguments, you should offer a counterclaim or counterargument, weighing up how the issue could be considered from another point of view. Make sure you evaluate these counterarguments, and don’t just mention them.

Find your own voice

Make sure that you offer your own opinions, give your own interpretation of the title, and offer your own experiences to support your arguments. This will demonstrate your skills as a critical thinker, and distinguish your essay from those that rely on generic and cliched discussions.

Make full use of the interactions

In order to develop your ideas, and ensure that you’re on the right track with your essay, make sure you make full use of the with your teacher. It’s during these one-to-one sessions that you can discuss your arguments, evaluate your examples, and consider which key thinkers and concepts work in your essay.

Don’t neglect the non-assessed elements

 Make sure that you format your essay in the right way, offer a decent bibliography, hit the word limit (without going over it), and follow all the other protocols for submitting your TOK essay. This will present a great impression to examiners, and show that you are ready and willing to follow the IB requirements for the assessment task.

A four-step guide to the TOK essay

Click on the buttons below to take you to the four steps of creating a great TOK essay. Don’t forget that we have plenty of videos on this and other aspects of the course, and members of the site have access to a huge amount of other resources to help you master the course and assessment tasks.

Check out our three-minute explainer video on the TOK essay here . The video goes over the basics of the TOK essay, such as how it’s assessed, the word count and other practical details, terms such as ‘perspectives’ and ‘implications’, and the role of real-world examples in justifying claims and arguments.

You’ll find more videos on this and other aspects of TOK here , and you can dive into much more depth via our free and premium webinars, here .

Watch our essay & exhibition webinars

Click on the images below to access these premium webinars on how to create the essay and exhibition. Access more webinars here , and watch our videos on the assessment tasks on this page .

FAQs about the TOK essay

How do i choose my tok essay title.

You choose your essay from six prescribed essay titles, that are released at the beginning of your second DP year. We give a few tips on how to choose a PT that will work for you here . But briefly, choose one that links to your pre-existing knowledge, and that you find personally engaging.

What will I be writing about in my TOK essay?

You’ll be answering your prescribed title, within the context of two areas of knowledge, considering how different perspectives might affect our response to the question, and what the implications of your arguments are.

Can I use ChatGPT to write my essay?

You can use ChatGPT to help you gather materials for your essay, but you should definitely not be using it to write the essay. Be very careful with ChatGPT. It bases its answers on online material, and much of this is inaccurate or out-of-date. For example, depending on what you ask it, it may tell you that you have to explore multiple areas of knowledge (rather than the two stipulated by the titles), and that you have to identify a separate knowledge question to the title (which is absolutely not the case).

How much help should I expect from my teacher?

Your teacher should run through the PTs when they are first released, and then meet you for three interactions, during which you’ll discuss your progress. They are allowed to give you one set of written feedback. But you can consult them at other times with specific questions.

Do I need to use real-world examples in my TOK essay?

Yes, real-life examples help illustrate your points and make your arguments more tangible. They can be drawn from personal experiences, historical events, scientific discoveries, etc.

Should I include my personal opinion in the TOK essay?

While the TOK essay is not about your personal opinion per se, it’s important to reflect on your perspective and how it shapes the way you understand the title. However, you should avoid using the essay as a platform for rants or unsubstantiated claims.

Is it necessary to include counter-arguments in my TOK essay?

Yes, including counter-arguments shows a deeper understanding of the complexity of the topic and demonstrates your critical thinking skills. It also enables you to consider different perspectives, and evaluate the implications of arguments.

Should I include the 12 key concepts in my essay?

Yes, as much as you can, draw on the key concepts such as justification, evidence, perspective, bias, certainty, and objectivity within your arguments linking them to the title, and to the real-world examples you draw on.

How do I ensure that my TOK essay reflects my own original thinking, and avoids plagiarism?

Clearly attribute ideas and sources that are not your own, and strive to present original insights and interpretations supported by evidence and reasoning. See our point above on using ChatGPT – never view this as more than a tool to help you gather material for your essay, rather than a tool to write it for you.

What are some common pitfalls to avoid when writing a TOK essay?

Avoid oversimplifying complex issues, relying solely on personal opinion without justification, neglecting counter-arguments, veering off the question, and failing to include a consideration of different perspectives.

How long do I have to write my essay?

You’ll have 6 months from the time the prescribed titles are released, to the deadline date for uploading your essay to the IB. However, most schools will set their own deadline for completing the essay, so that everyone has plenty of time to complete your PPF, and upload it on time. Follow what your school tells you about this.

How important is the TOK essay PPF?

The PPF (‘Planning and Progress Form’) is the document that you fill in to outline your discussions during the three essay. Although this is not directly assessed, it is an important part of demonstrating that you have approached the TOK essay in an ethical way, which is now particularly important in the era of ChatGPT.

What are some effective strategies for revising and editing my TOK essay to improve clarity and coherence?

Take breaks between revisions, seek feedback from peers or teachers, and carefully proofread for grammar, punctuation, and coherence.

Should I include references or a bibliography in my TOK essay?

While not required, referencing sources appropriately adds credibility to your essay; use footnotes or endnotes for citations.

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• Can anyone save Macy’s?

America’s biggest department store has rejected a takeover. Now what?

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I n the 1990 s Macy’s, a chain of department stores based in New York, began gobbling up rivals across America. By the late 2000s that strategy had turned it into the biggest fish in a steadily evaporating pond. Sales across American department stores fell from $232bn in 2000 to $133bn last year as consumers switched to buying their frocks and fridges online. Many of Macy’s rivals have collapsed along the way. Sears, once America’s largest retailer, went bankrupt in 2018. JCPenney followed in 2020, as revenues dried up amid lockdowns. Recent years have brought little relief. The surge in the cost of living has led shoppers to seek cheaper alternatives to department stores.

The future of Macy’s has been in question since December, when Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management, two buy-out firms, were reported to be circling the retailer. After their takeover offer valuing it at $5.8bn was rejected in January, the duo began to agitate for a shake-up of its board. Macy’s then agreed to talks on a sweetened proposal and handed two seats on its board to the interlopers. On July 15th, however, it called off discussions, blaming uncertainty over how the deal would be financed. Its share price plummeted by 12%, lowering its market value to $4.7bn.

The barbarians at Macy’s gate were lured not to the business itself—its sales declined from a peak of $28bn in 2014 to $24bn last year—but to its treasure trove of properties. It operates 718 stores, including those of Bloomingdale’s, its swankier sister brand, and Bluemercury, a high-end cosmetics boutique it bought in 2015. It owns 286 of these buildings, among them its flagship store on Herald Square in New York. CoStar, a property-research firm, reckons those assets are worth between $7.9bn and $10.5bn—more than Macy’s current market value. The figure would be towards the higher end of the range if Macy’s were to offload the properties and then rent the floorspace.

Such transactions yield a quick buck for investors, but can be disastrous for a company’s long-term prospects as rising rents erode profit margins. That may explain why Macy’s has been slow to sell off properties. Sears, under the stewardship of Eddie Lampert, a hedge-fund boss, embraced the strategy enthusiastically in the years leading up to its bankruptcy.

Macy’s has instead opted to stick with the turnaround plan unveiled in February by its newish chief executive, Tony Spring. It will close 150 Macy’s stores and improve its online shopping experience while expanding Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. In other words, it will continue doing precisely what it has done for years. The company has already shrunk its footprint of stores, which peaked at 868 in 2015. It began selling online in 1996 and has revamped its offering many times since then. Its e-commerce sales last year accounted for less than 1% of America’s total.

Macy’s has expanded Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury to a total of 216 stores, up from 192 in 2017, and wants to add at least another 45. But growth will not be easy. Many luxury brands have been shifting towards selling directly to customers through their own ritzy shops. On July 4th Hudson’s Bay Company, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue, a posh department store, announced it would buy Neiman Marcus, another upmarket emporium, and merge the two. That will stiffen competition for well-heeled shoppers.

In November Macy’s will celebrate the centenary of its Thanksgiving Day Parade, in which giant inflatable balloons representing cartoon characters are marched from Manhattan’s Central Park to the Macy’s on Herald Square. The spectacle, which New Yorkers will attend in droves, will be uplifting as usual. Its organiser, though, is looking increasingly deflated. ■

To stay on top of the biggest stories in business and technology, sign up to the Bottom Line , our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Shop lifting”

Business July 20th 2024

China is the west’s corporate r&d lab. can it remain so, can burberry put its chequered past behind it, what a $600m wedding says about india’s attitude to wealth, google wants a piece of microsoft’s cyber-security business, how a ceo knows when to quit, tech bros love j.d. vance. many ceos are scared stiff.

From the July 20th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

More from Business

Foreign firms want Chinese boffins. America and China may have other plans

The British label’s new boss has his work cut out

A $23bn acquisition of Wiz, an Israeli startup, is the search giant’s biggest ever

Bosses have a shelf life and plenty of incentives to misjudge what it is

Donald Trump’s running-mate has a deep-rooted resentment of big business

The Ambani nuptials enticed everyone from Justin Bieber and Shah Rukh Khan to John Kerry

Investigators Unlock Gunman’s Phone in Search for Motive in Trump Shooting

The F.B.I. said it had gained access to the would-be assassin’s phone, but it was not immediately clear if it had yielded clues. The Homeland Security secretary said the Secret Service would beef up Donald Trump’s security.

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Glenn Thrush ,  Peter Baker and Jacey Fortin

Republicans call the Secret Service director to testify. Here’s the latest.

The F.B.I. said on Monday that it had gained access to data on the cellphone of the man who tried to assassinate Donald J. Trump, as investigators continued to search for a motive in the shooting at the former president’s weekend campaign rally.

Attention remained focused on the Secret Service’s apparent failure to secure the rally site in western Pennsylvania. The homeland security secretary, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said that “adjustments have been made” not only to Mr. Trump’s protection detail but also to those of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate, will now also be granted Secret Service protection.

As Mr. Trump’s nominating convention kicked off in Milwaukee, Republicans in Congress vowed to investigate the Secret Service’s decisions ahead of the shooting in Butler, Pa., that left Mr. Trump grazed by a bullet, a rally-goer dead and two others gravely injured.

Mr. Biden has called for an independent review of security measures before and after the shooting, and on Monday he and Ms. Harris received a briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials. In a speech on Sunday night, the president said: “We can’t allow this violence to be normalized.”

Here’s what else to know:

Republicans have called the director of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to testify in Congress next week about the assassination attempt. Among the questions facing the agency are why it didn’t secure the building where the gunman fired from the roof, and whether its agents acted appropriately in the moments after the shooting.

Video taken by a bystander and analyzed by The New York Times shows people pointing to the suspected gunman and frantically warning law enforcement, two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out. The video adds to questions about how much warning time the Secret Service had before its agents shot and killed the gunman. A witness described watching the gunman get into position.

Federal law enforcement officials identified the shooter as a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa. F.B.I. officials said they believe that he had acted alone but have repeatedly cautioned that they cannot rule out the possibility that he was connected with other people until they conclude their investigation.

Classmates who attended Bethel Park High School described the gunman in interviews on Monday as a smart but solitary and quiet student who did not want attention, walking through the halls with his head down and rarely raising his hand in class. Some students teased him, the classmates said.

Mr. Trump said he had thrown out the “tough speech” that he planned to deliver later this week at the Republican National Convention and was drafting one that was more unifying.

Convention officials said there was no need to strengthen security in the wake of the shooting because it was extremely tight already. But the Secret Service said the agency had altered Mr. Trump’s security detail “to ensure his continued protection for the convention and the remainder of the campaign.”

Glenn Thrush

Reporting from Washington

The F.B.I. is analyzing all of the gunman’s electronic devices, not just his phone, for evidence of his motive.

The motives of the young man who tried to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump remain a mystery, even after the F.B.I. gained access to his cellphone on Monday and began analyzing its contents for clues, law enforcement officials said.

Investigators hope the phone, which was password-protected, will help explain why Thomas Matthew Crooks, an unassuming 20-year-old from Pennsylvania with no criminal history or known strongly held political beliefs, would open fire at Mr. Trump at a rally on Saturday. The gunfire left the former president’s ear bloodied, killed a bystander and seriously injured two other people.

Technicians at the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Va., sifting through the gunman’s texts, emails and other data did not immediately find clear evidence of a potential motive, or significant new details about possible connections to other people.

The F.B.I., in a statement on Monday, cautioned that the investigation was still in the early stages. Technicians are in the middle of analyzing all of the gunman’s electronic devices, not just his phone, for his communications, browser history and social media activity, officials added.

As Mr. Trump’s attention shifted to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, dozens of agents and technical specialists in the Pittsburgh area scoured photos and videos taken by rally attendees and law enforcement personnel. The bureau has interviewed more than 100 people in the last two days, and completed a search of the gunman’s car and residence.

What they have assembled so far is less a portrait of him than an empty frame.

Records show that Mr. Crooks, a nursing home employee, registered to vote as a Republican. But people close to him have told investigators that he rarely spoke about politics, and even then did not seem to voice easily definable positions, according to a person briefed on the investigation.

While the bureau officials said they had found no evidence that the shooting was part of a larger plot, F.B.I. and Justice Department officials said they had not ruled out any scenario.

“While the investigation to date indicates the shooter acted alone, the F.B.I. continues to conduct logical investigative activity to determine if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack,” the F.B.I. wrote in an email to reporters late Sunday. “At this time, there are no current public safety concerns.”

F.B.I. officials said Mr. Crooks did not have a history of mental illness or criminal activity.

He does not appear to have left behind any written statement that could easily explain his motivations or provide clues to any external connections or influences, according to a senior law enforcement official.

Along with his phone, investigators sent the AR-15-type rifle found near the gunman’s body — the weapon had been purchased by his father — to the bureau’s lab, as well as several explosive devices discovered in his car and home.

The homemade devices were believed to contain highly explosive material in relatively small amounts, according to a law enforcement official.

Amid increased scrutiny of security lapses that allowed the gunman to come within inches of ending Mr. Trump’s life, videos and photographs taken at the scene provided new details of the moments leading up to the shooting.

Footage by one bystander shows people apparently pointing to someone and alerting the authorities, minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

“Someone’s on top of the roof,” one person is heard saying. “There he is, right there.”

“He’s on the roof!” says another, warning an officer. “Right here, right on the roof.”

According to the video, the gunman was lying prone on the white roof of a structure, which The Times previously identified as the location from which the deadly fusillade rang out moments later. The gunman’s position was about 450 feet from the stage where Mr. Trump was delivering his speech, but the building was outside the security perimeter of the rally.

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Chelsia Rose Marcius ,  Nicole Hong ,  Jack Healy and Steve Eder

Chelsia Rose Marcius reported from Bethel Park, Pa.

Classmates of the gunman said he ‘didn’t want attention’ in high school.

Before he climbed onto a rooftop and added his name to America’s bloody history of would-be presidential assassins, Thomas Crooks, 20, seemed to try to shrink from view.

Jim Knapp, who was the gunman’s guidance counselor at Bethel Park High School in the suburbs south of Pittsburgh, said Mr. Crooks chose to sit by himself at lunch in the cafeteria and look at his phone, instead of joining other students.

”He just wanted to stay by himself,” Mr. Knapp said.

In interviews on Monday, former classmates had similar recollections. They described Mr. Crooks as a smart but solitary student who walked through the halls with his head down and rarely raised his hand in class. But they said he did not make threats or act violently.

“He didn’t want attention, good or negative,” said Julianna Grooms, 19, who first remembered seeing Mr. Crooks when they were freshmen.

She and other former classmates have spent days texting one another, looking at old high-school photos and racking their memories for some clue about why Mr. Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, killing one attendee, critically wounding two others and grazing former President Donald J. Trump in the ear. Mr. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service.

On Monday, federal investigators did not provide any new answers about the gunman’s motives or ideology, but said they had been able to access to Mr. Crooks’s cellphone and were analyzing it, along with his other electronic devices.

The F.B.I. said it had finished searching the gunman’s home and car, and had interviewed nearly 100 rally attendees, law enforcement officers and other witnesses and received hundreds of photos and videos from the rally and other digital tips.

“That work continues,” the F.B.I. said in a statement. “The investigation is still in the early stages.”

Investigators have said that Mr. Crooks had not been on their radar, and had not revealed any strongly held political beliefs in the posts and texts investigators have reviewed so far.

Mr. Crooks had lived in Bethel Park, the son of two licensed counselors. Jennifer Meredith, a cousin, recalled him as a quiet boy who listened to his parents, but she added that she had not seen Mr. Crooks since he was about 6 years old.

The gunman’s father, Matthew Crooks, registered a family coat of arms online, and said in a biographical statement that he had attended local universities, and was married with a son and daughter. He said that “family is very important to me,” and the design on his coat of arms reflected “the interconnectedness and unity found within the family.”

Ms. Grooms, the gunman’s former classmate, said she did not remember Mr. Crooks from elementary school or middle school, and said she believed he attended a different middle school than most of the students at Bethel Park High School. The Bethel Park School District confirmed that Mr. Crooks graduated from high school in 2022, but declined to release any other details about his school record.

He seemed to stand out when they were freshmen, dressed in wide-legged jeans and SpongeBob T-shirts, Ms. Grooms said. She said some students teased him about his hygiene and awkward, solitary bearing.

“Those other kids would always say, ‘Hey, look at the school shooter over there!’” Ms. Grooms said. “They would tease him about his poor hygiene, his body odor. He was an easy target.”

Eventually he started wearing neutral-colored clothing, she said, and T-shirts with American flags. He sometimes wore camouflage, but so did many other students in a school with a rifle club, and in a region where hunting is a popular pastime.

“He was a very good student,” said Mr. Knapp, who retired two years ago as a guidance counselor. He noted that Mr. Crooks had been enrolled in some honors and Advance Placement classes. “Not once did he ever get in trouble.”

Mr. Knapp said Mr. Crooks sat alone in the cafeteria on his phone because his small group of friends had other lunch periods. “He liked the idea of being by himself because that was his human nature,” Mr. Knapp said.

He also disputed the suggestion that Mr. Crooks had been picked on, saying that the school paid close attention to students’ mental health. “He wasn’t being bullied,” he said.

Anna Dusch, 20, took an Advanced Placement American government class with Mr. Crooks during their senior year, after classes had returned to normal following the pandemic-related disruptions of virtual learning, staggered classes and masking.

She said that Mr. Crooks always seemed to know the class material, but never revealed any political views in class.

“I would’ve never known who he was voting for,” she said. “He seemed to be really intelligent. If there was a fact to be said, he knew it.”

She said that Mr. Crooks seemed to keep to himself, but never gave her any reason to worry.

“He was a little bit odd, but I never would’ve suspected this,” she said. “I don’t think any of us knew who he was.”

Jill Bortz, 56, whose son attended high school with the gunman, said that school closures during the pandemic had taken a toll on Bethel Park’s class of 2022.

“Their class was so traumatized from it. All of these kids were really isolated,” she said. “Those are the prime years. That’s not going to work for every kid, you know?”

Mr. Crooks does not appear to have gone far from home after he graduated from high school in 2022. He had been working as a dietary aide at a nursing home in Bethel Park, and received an associate degree in engineering science two months ago from the nearby Community College of Allegheny County.

He was registered to vote as a Republican, but federal campaign-finance records show he also donated $15 to a progressive cause in January 2021. His mother was registered to vote as a Democrat, and his father as a Libertarian.

The father and son seemed to share an interest in guns.

Mr. Crooks had been a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a gun club that features a 200-yard-rifle range.

Federal investigators said that his father purchased the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting, but said they did not know whether the gunman had taken the weapon without his father’s permission.

An email address linked to his father was used to open an eBay account that made at least a half-dozen purchases from different online vendors that sold gun parts, including some within the last six months. It was not clear what was bought from the vendors.

A representative for one of the vendors, Osage County Guns in Wright City, Mo., confirmed that the account had made one purchase “very long ago” that was unrelated to any type of rifle, but declined to specify the exact item. EBay’s online policy says that vendors are prohibited from listing firearms or any parts and accessories for assault weapons.

Another email account linked to the gunman’s father left a Google review seven months ago for an online guns business, praising it as “the easiest best way to get rid of unwanted firearms.”

The eBay account linked to Matthew Crooks also shows a long list of purchases from businesses that sell coins, gold bars and silver dollars.

Michael Rothfeld and Aric Toler contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy and Julie Tate contributed research.

Christina Morales

‘He’s got a gun!’ A witness describes watching the would-be assassin get into position.

Nathan Steadman and his daughter live not far from the farm show grounds in Butler, Pa., where former President Donald J. Trump held a campaign rally on Saturday. The two were looking to spend some time together, so they decided to check it out.

Without tickets, they joined a crowd hanging out under a tree with a view of the rally, taking photos and videos, Steadman, 45, a senior account manager at a consulting firm, said in an interview on Monday.

Within minutes of Mr. Trump taking the stage, Mr. Steadman said, he noticed people pointing at a nearby warehouse building, and he went to take a closer look. The people who were pointing said someone had gone to find a police officer, who said he couldn’t see anyone up there.

Then, Mr. Steadman said, he saw the gunman crawl across the roof and pull out the black barrel of a gun. Mr. Steadman looked at his daughter, who was about 30 feet away, and screamed: “He’s got a gun!” His voice can be heard in a bystander video that has been repeatedly featured in news reports.

The gunman then rolled over onto his back, Mr. Steadman said, and fired two shots toward the other end of the building he was on. Mr. Steadman ran, and heard another flurry of gunshots seconds later, he said.

The Secret Service and local police agencies are facing intense questions about how the gunman was able to get in position to fire at Mr. Trump. President Biden has requested an independent review of the security precautions, and Republicans in Congress plan to hold a hearing next week.

The building where the gunman positioned himself was outside of the perimeter, which meant it would have been secured by local law enforcement.

Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s spokesman, acknowledged on Sunday that before the shooting occurred, civilians reported spotting someone suspicious to the local police. Quickly thereafter, the man opened fire and was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. The gunman, Mr. Guglielmi said, was not “camped out” on the roof.

Thinking back, Mr. Steadman wondered why he, his daughter and the other spectators without tickets were allowed to watch from under the tree outside the secure perimeter of the event.

“We never should have been allowed to go where we were,” he said. “Why that building was not secured, it makes no sense.”

Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff

The gunman wore a T-shirt from a popular gun-themed YouTube channel.

The last shirt worn by the 20-year-old man who attempted to assassinate former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday was a T-shirt officially sold by Demolition Ranch , a gun-themed YouTube channel.

On Saturday, Demolition Ranch’s Facebook account posted a picture of a camouflage-clad law-enforcement officer standing over the gunman’s body with the caption: “What the hell.” Just visible on the gunman’s shirt was the American flag on his right sleeve and the partial spelling of DEMOLITIA, a word commonly used in the channel’s merchandise and branding.

The shirt’s description on the website that sells Demolition Ranch merchandise calls it “the official DEMOLITIA T-shirt,” inviting people to “buy yours today and join the DEMOLITIA.”

Matt Carriker, the creator of Demolition Ranch who has been making YouTube videos for over a decade, said on X that he was “just in disbelief” following the assassination attempt and the appearance of his apparel in the news media.

“Sucks seeing articles about this and they are naming 3 people,” he posted on Sunday. “The shooter, trump and somehow me.”

Little was immediately known about the shooter’s relationship with guns. But Demolition Ranch is a well-known YouTube channel with over 11 million subscribers, one of many similar channels known as guntubers. Videos include gun-themed experiments, like shooting watermelons or ballistic dummies, and slick Hollywood-style videos that almost look like action movies.

As military-themed gun content, including video games and movies, lost their appeal as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on, guntubers formed a sort of online bridge between military-themed footage and lighthearted content.

Now, some guntubers make thousands of dollars per video as they showcase different firearms and highlight lucrative sponsorships. And like many social media influencers, guntubers like Demolition Ranch often collaborate with others in their sphere and have fervent followings.

Annie Karni

Since the assassination attempt, few lawmakers have called for tougher gun laws.

When James Brady, a presidential aide, was shot during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the moment sparked a national movement to confront gun violence.

In the 48 hours since former President Donald J. Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania and a supporter in the crowd was killed, Democrats have spoken out about the plague of political violence in the United States and the need for civility and respect in American politics. But notably missing has been any concerted outcry from elected officials to implement tougher gun laws.

“We cannot — must not — go down this road in America,” President Biden said in an Oval Office address on Sunday in which he focused on a unifying message to the country, steering clear of any mention of the intractable issue of guns. “Violence has never been the answer.”

Many Democratic lawmakers, who are normally quick to respond to such tragedies by calling for stricter gun safety measures, were notably quiet on the topic. Gun safety activists said the muted reaction was disappointing.

“It’s deeply concerning that our leaders aren’t responding to this horrific act of political violence with urgent calls for prevention,” said T. Christian Heyne, the vice president for policy at the Brady: United Against Gun Violence organization.

He added: “This assassination attempt was enabled by easy access to a military-style rifle, used precisely as it was designed. Today’s muted response reflects a dangerous normalization of political violence and gun threats.”

An AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle — one of the most ubiquitous weapons in the United States and one commonly used by mass shooters — was recovered by law enforcement at the scene of the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. Little was known about the gunman, leading to some uncertainty about which gun safety issues were directly implicated.

Still, the lack of such details has seldom stopped members of Congress from responding to gun violence with renewed calls for tougher firearm safety measures. Some speculated that the difference now was that at a time of national trauma, when elected officials are trying to focus on what unites the country, calling for policies that the overwhelming majority of Republicans vehemently oppose could be seen as divisive and counterproductive.

A few of the strongest proponents of stricter gun safety policies did not shy away from the issue following the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life.

“Our nation simply does not have to hand assassins and mass murders the weapons that make the slaughter possible,” Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and the lead voice on gun safety issues in Congress, wrote on social media. “You don’t have a plan to end mass shootings or political violence if your platform seeks to make it easier for killers to get high powered military weapons.”

Mr. Murphy helped to spearhead a bipartisan gun safety bill enacted in 2022 that aimed to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people ; lawmakers tried but failed to get Republicans to agree to add a ban on the sale and possession of assault weapons for individuals under the age of 21. The National Rifle Association lobbied hard against that provision.

In a statement, Everytown for Gun Safety, the leading gun control counterweight to the N.R.A., wrote: “No one is immune from experiencing gun violence. When guns are everywhere, for anyone, with no questions asked — no one is safe.”

Some Democrats privately said that even an assassination attempt on the leader of the Republican Party was likely to only further cement the longtime congressional gridlock on guns . They compared it to the Republican reaction to the 2017 shooting of Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, who was gravely wounded when a gunman opened fire on a congressional softball practice in Virginia.

After that shooting, Republicans doubled down on the need to loosen gun laws , introducing legislation to allow members to carry a concealed weapon anywhere except in the Capitol and in the presence of the president or the vice president.

An earlier version of this story misidentified a leading gun control group. It is Everytown for Gun Safety, not Everytown for Gun Violence.

How we handle corrections

Tiffany Hsu ,  Sheera Frenkel and Ken Bensinger

Tiffany Hsu and Sheera Frenkel report on online disinformation. Ken Bensinger reports on politics.

Conspiracy theories about the shooting quickly erupted online.

Four minutes after the first report of a shooting at a rally for Donald J. Trump on Saturday, an anonymous account on X posted, “Joe Biden’s antifa shot President Trump.”

Within half an hour, another account on X with links to the QAnon conspiracy theory claimed without proof that the attack against Mr. Trump had most likely been ordered by the Central Intelligence Agency. Shortly after that, the far-right activist Laura Loomer posted on X about some recent remarks that President Biden made about Mr. Trump and then wrote, “They tried to kill Trump.” She did not provide evidence.

An hour later, with official details of the assassination attempt still scant, the narrative that President Biden and his allies had engineered the attack on Mr. Trump was being amplified by Republican lawmakers, Russian sympathizers and even a Brazilian political scion. By the time 24 hours had elapsed, posts about the unverified claim had been viewed and shared millions of times.

The idea that President Biden was behind the shooting of Mr. Trump was perhaps the most dominant conspiracy theory to emerge after the attack in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The unproven conjecture surfaced almost instantly, hardened into a narrative and then catapulted between platforms large and small, even as information about the incident was limited. It was a striking example of the speed, scale and stickiness of rumors on social media, which often calcify into accepted truth far more efficiently than efforts to debunk or pleas for restraint .

That the subject this time was Mr. Trump, who frequently claims to be victimized by powerful forces while demonizing his enemies , only helped fuel the conspiracy theory. Its acceleration was also enabled by years of distrust stemming from tales of shadowy cabals of elites — which Mr. Trump has called “the deep state” — engaged in nefarious plots.

“The result was a perfect storm of righteous fury, blame-casting and conspiratorialism, at a moment when absolutely everyone was paying attention,” said Emerson Brooking, a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, who studies online ecosystems.

Baseless claims of a left-sanctioned hit job on Mr. Trump were only part of “a massive online spread of false claims” about the shooting, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit research group. References to false assassination narratives amassed more than 100 million views in 24 hours on X alone, the group said on Monday. That far exceeded the 35.1 million views for content related to false flag rumors and other conspiracy theories after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.

Other unsubstantiated theories about the shooting were fueled in part by left-wing accounts, including that Mr. Trump had deliberately staged the shooting to improve his election chances, slashing his ear with a hidden razor, popping a concealed blood capsule or otherwise fabricating a fake gunshot wound. Fingers were also pointed at other imagined culprits, including the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Jews , trans people and Ukrainians.

But the unverified story line that President Biden and the Democrats were responsible stood out. According to the data firm PeakMetrics, the largest portion of discussion about the shooting on X and Telegram in the first seven hours — about 17 percent — involved expressions of solidarity and prayers for Mr. Trump. The next largest chunk, about 5 percent, accused Democrats of instigating the violence.

On July 12 and July 13 — the day of the shooting — there were 83,000 mentions on X of the phrase “inside job,” a 3,228 percent increase compared to the 48-hour period immediately prior, according to NewsGuard , which monitors online misinformation.

In a statement, a Biden campaign official said that after “this horrifying attack, anyone — especially elected officials with national platforms — politicizing this tragedy, spreading disinformation, and seeking to further divide Americans isn’t just unacceptable — it’s an abdication of leadership.”

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Adam Berinsky, a political science professor and misinformation expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the rapid spread of conspiracy theories online reflected widespread political division.

“It says a lot about our current political moment that the politicization at the extremes is the natural default,” he said.

The timeline of the conspiracy theory focused on Mr. Biden and the Democrats’ culpability was documented by think tanks, private companies that monitor misinformation and research groups, including Advance Democracy, the Anti-Defamation League, the Atlantic Council and Cyabra.

The first signs of that unproven idea emerged minutes after gunshots sounded at Mr. Trump’s rally on Saturday.

6:11 p.m.   Gunshots ring out.

6:15 p.m.   An anonymous X account pointed fingers at Mr. Biden’s “antifa,” a reference to the loosely organized left-wing anti-fascist movement, for the attack.

6:33 p.m.   A pro-police group with 107,000 followers on X criticized “those who have been using inflammatory, dehumanizing rhetoric creating an atmosphere for violence.”

6:45 p.m.   Laura Loomer wrote on X about President Biden’s comment to donors earlier in the week that “it’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye.” She did not mention that Mr. Biden had made the remark as part of an appeal to pivot public focus away from his disastrous debate performance last month and toward his political rival.

Minutes later, Ms. Loomer, who has just under one million followers on X, said that “they tried to kill Trump,” suggesting that the attack was arranged by the Democrats to take attention away from Mr. Biden’s age.

“Do I think the rhetoric led to this? Yes, I do,” Ms. Loomer said in an interview on Monday. “A bull’s-eye is a target. It doesn’t matter if it’s a different context, it’s the imagery.”

7:12 p.m.   Only an hour had passed when the oldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, the far right former president of Brazil whom Mr. Trump had endorsed, weighed in. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on X that “the left” tried to kill Mr. Trump.

8:30 p.m.   At least six Republican members of Congress had blamed the assassination attempt on rhetoric from Democratic politicians and the media. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, who was named by Mr. Trump as his vice-presidential pick on Monday, wrote on X that the language used by the Biden campaign “led directly” to the shooting.

Some of the conservative voices who lodged the accusations against the president and other Democrats have long histories of aggressive rhetoric themselves. Ms. Greene repeatedly called for executing Democrats before she was elected to Congress. Mr. Collins has endorsed violence toward immigrants. Several, including Ms. Greene and Mr. Vance, are scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.

Outside the convention on Monday, Senator Steve Daines, a Republican of Montana, said the speculation online was “not helpful,” adding that “I see no evidence of” Mr. Biden or other Democrats inciting violence.

The conspiracy theories have since continued evolving.

One strain focused on accusations that Mr. Biden’s team had rejected earlier requests to bolster Mr. Trump’s protective detail, which have been denied by a Secret Service spokesman .

Video clips of Candace Owens, a conservative political commentator, declaring that the shooter “was allowed to scale that roof” have also drawn hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok and Instagram. Similar claims surfaced on the video platform Rumble.

By Monday, some social media accounts were hawking merchandise promoting the conspiracy theories. T-shirts with images of a bloodied Mr. Trump raising his fist , with the words “Not Today Deep State,” were on sale on Truth Social. On TikTok, baseball caps with “STAGED,” using the same image of Mr. Trump, were also on offer for $25.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs

The shooting was a security ‘failure,’ the homeland security secretary says.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said on Monday that the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump was a “failure” of security, as the Secret Service confronts scrutiny over its efforts to protect government officials.

“An incident like this cannot happen,” Mr. Mayorkas told CNN, adding: “When I say something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure.”

The comments, from the head of the department that oversees the Secret Service, came after President Biden called for an “independent review” of the security planning for the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where the shooting occurred on Saturday.

The Secret Service is facing intense questions over the security perimeter at the rally, which did not include a warehouse roof where the would-be assassin fired shots at Mr. Trump. The gunman, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pa., was killed.

The Secret Service has said that the warehouse was outside its perimeter, meaning that local law enforcement had responsibility for sweeping and securing the building. But former federal law enforcement officials have said that the Secret Service — whose foremost responsibility is protecting current and former U.S. leaders — should have ensured that building was secured before the rally took place. The agency often relies on local law enforcement for security at events.

Mr. Mayorkas also rejected accusations from some Republicans that his department had denied a request by Mr. Trump’s security detail for more resources from the Secret Service. “That’s a baseless and irresponsible statement and it is one that is unequivocally false,” Mr. Mayorkas said.

Later on Monday, addressing reporters at the White House, Mr. Mayorkas offered few details of the independent review Mr. Biden had ordered but committed to it being conducted “externally of the government.” He said that since the shooting, Mr. Trump’s Secret Service protections had been “enhanced” and “adjustments” made to those of Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He said that Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate, would be granted Secret Service protection for the first time.

He also expressed support for the agency and for its director, Kimberly Cheatle, saying: “I have 100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 percent confidence in the United States Secret Service.”

Privately, some agents have complained that Ms. Cheatle has not been seen prominently since the shooting. On Monday morning, Ms. Cheatle released a statement saying that the agency was coordinating with the protective details of both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.

“Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter-sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump,” Ms. Cheatle said in the statement.

She added that the agency was working with federal and local law enforcement to “understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again.” The Secret Service would cooperate with any congressional investigations, she said.

On Sunday, the Secret Service sent a memo to its agents reminding them to retain text messages sent around the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials who dictated the memo to The New York Times. The Homeland Security’s inspector general found in 2022 that text messages sent and received by Secret Service agents around the time of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol had been erased.

Peter Baker contributed reporting.

Peter Baker

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, did not answer directly when asked if President Biden regretted any of his rhetoric on the campaign trail. But she indicated that he would continue to criticize Donald Trump. “Nothing different than what he’s done in the last almost four years,” she said, adding, “It is OK to speak to someone’s record and someone’s character.”

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, expressed support for the embattled Secret Service and Kimberly Cheatle, its director: “I have 100 percent confidence in the director of the United States Secret Service. I have 100 percent confidence in the United States Secret Service.”

Mayorkas had few details of the independent review that President Biden has ordered, but said he planned to reach out soon to people he hoped would lead it and committed to it being conducted “externally of the government.”

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security secretary, said that Robert F. Kennedy, the independent presidential candidate, will be granted Secret Service protection, and that protection of Donald Trump will be “enhanced.”

Mayorkas said that both Trump and President Biden are “constantly the subject of threats.” He said that since Saturday’s shooting, “adjustments have been made” not only to Trump’s protection detail, but to those of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as well.

F.B.I. technicians have managed to gain access to the data on the cellphone of the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, the agency just announced. But it is not clear if what they obtained has provided evidence of the gunman's motive, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the situation.

In a brief update, the F.B.I. said agents had fully searched the gunman's car and residence, conducted nearly 100 interviews of “law enforcement personnel, event attendees and other witnesses,” and received “hundreds of digital media tips,” including photos and videos.

Luke Broadwater

At least three congressional committees announce inquiries in the assassination attempt.

Members of Congress pressed for answers from the Secret Service on Monday about how a gunman got within 500 feet of former President Donald J. Trump before opening fire at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, quickly ramping up a series of investigations into the matter.

At least three congressional committees said they had begun preliminary inquiries, and some lawmakers called for an independent commission to oversee them. High-level talks were underway about what path the investigations should take. And the House Oversight Committee announced that the first hearing would occur next Monday, when Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is scheduled to testify.

“The American people deserve to know the truth,” Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on social media shortly after the assassination attempt on Saturday evening. In addition to Ms. Cheatle, he said lawmakers would ask “appropriate officials” from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and the F.B.I. to appear at a hearing “ASAP.”

The Secret Service was scheduled to brief members of Congress on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the plans. Lawmakers are already criticizing the agency for allowing the attempt on the former president’s life.

“The United States Secret Service has a no-fail mission, yet it failed on Saturday when a madman attempted to assassinate President Trump, killed an innocent victim and harmed others,” Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the Oversight panel, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the brave Secret Service agents who acted quickly to protect President Trump after shots were fired and the American patriots who sought to help victims, but questions remain about how a rooftop within proximity to President Trump was left unsecure.”

Later Monday, Mr. Comer also demanded that Ms. Cheatle produce a trove a documents by Thursday, including a complete list of all law enforcement personnel with roles in protecting Mr. Trump in Butler; all audio and video recordings in the Secret Service’s possession related to the rally; and any memos Ms. Cheatle issued to agency personnel regarding the assassination attempt.

The House Homeland Security Committee was also investigating. Representative Mark E. Green of Tennessee, its chairman, demanded that the Secret Service turn over documents to his committee by Friday.

In a letter to Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, Mr. Green asked a series of questions about the shooting and the agency’s preparedness. Mr. Green requested the agency’s security plan for the event and all documents and communications — including text messages and emails — among federal law enforcement regarding Mr. Trump’s security.

“The seriousness of this security failure and chilling moment in our nation’s history cannot be understated,” Mr. Green wrote. “No assassination attempt has come so close to taking the life of a president or presidential candidate since President Reagan was shot in 1981. Had the bullet’s trajectory been slightly different, the assassination attempt on President Trump might have succeeded.”

Mr. Green spoke with Ms. Cheatle on Sunday and with a top official from the F.B.I. Monday.

On Monday, the leaders of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said it would also investigate. Senators Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said their panel would carry out a bipartisan inquiry.

“There is no place for political violence in our nation, and Saturday’s shocking attack should never have been allowed to happen,” Mr. Peters said in a statement.

Mr. Trump was injured on Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pa., after a gunman opened fire while perched on a nearby rooftop. One rally attendee was killed and two others were hospitalized.

The gunman was also killed by federal law enforcement officers.

While many have thanked the Secret Service for its swift response, serious questions remain about how the gunman got so close to Mr. Trump.

“A direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur,” Mr. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said on Monday on ABC News. “That is precisely why President Biden directed that an independent review of the incident occur.”

Representative Jeff Duncan, Republican of South Carolina, said he had spoken with Mr. Johnson about forming an independent commission to examine the shooting and security breakdowns.

“We cannot rely just on Congressional Oversight hearings or even Agency Inspector Generals to get the answers that Congress and the American people deserve about the failures to protect President #Trump adequately,” Mr. Duncan wrote on social media, adding: “An American died, and others were injured yesterday because you allowed a shooter to access an unsecured rooftop perch a mere 140+/- yards from the stage. The bottom line is that the security perimeter was inadequate, as security coverage should be beyond 500 yards or more.”

Mr. Duncan said an independent commission could be formed in the model of the Warren Commission, which was appointed after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to investigate law enforcement failures.

“The American people deserve answers from an Independent Commission,” he wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that it would respond to congressional inquiries “directly via official channels, and the department will continue to respond appropriately to congressional oversight.”

Republicans have called the head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, to testify next week about the Trump assassination attempt. Representative James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, said in a statement that the agency had failed in its duties and must answer tough questions before the Oversight Committee that he leads.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Eileen Sullivan

Here are some questions facing the Secret Service.

The Secret Service, the agency tasked with protecting current and former U.S. presidents, is facing renewed scrutiny after a gunman fired at Donald J. Trump from the top of a building during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Mr. Trump was grazed by a bullet, a rallygoer was killed and two others were severely injured.

Here are some of the questions facing the agency:

Why didn’t the Secret Service secure the building where the gunman fired from the roof?

The agency made the decision to exclude the building from the “inner perimeter” area it was in charge of protecting after agency personnel visited the rally site ahead of Mr. Trump’s appearance on Saturday. Such advance visits are standard procedure.

A supervisor later approved the decision about the perimeter, despite the fact that the building was about 500 feet from the stage and a relatively easy shot for a sniper.

The Secret Service has not identified the supervisor or explained why the decision was made.

Who was responsible for securing the building?

The local police. It is unclear whether they were prepared for this kind of high-stakes assignment, or how much they understood the building was their responsibility.

The Secret Service often relies on local law enforcement agencies to help provide security at events.

Was there a breakdown in communication between local law enforcement and the Secret Service?

The Secret Service has said that local law enforcement was told of a “suspicious” person by rally attendees but could not find him. It is unclear whether or when this was relayed to the Secret Service.

People at the rally pointed out the suspect on the roof to local law enforcement. How did they react?

People at the rally say they tried to point out a gunman on the roof to local police. There have been varying reports on whether and how the police responded. Video taken by a bystander and analyzed by The New York Times shows people pointing to the suspected shooter and warning law enforcement two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out.

Investigations will likely raise questions about how much warning time the Secret Service had before its agents shot and killed the gunman.

Did the Secret Service respond appropriately after the shooting started?

The Secret Service killed the gunman soon after the first bullets were fired from his gun. Mr. Trump, who was grazed, grabbed his ear, which was spurting blood, then dove to the ground beside the podium. Secret Service agents quickly covered him.

Once Mr. Trump was back on his feet, he called for his shoes and raised a fist in a show of defiance to his supporters.

Former federal law enforcement officials have questioned the Secret Service’s decision to allow Mr. Trump to pause and raise his fist, exposing his head, rather than immediately moving him to his vehicle.

Michael Crowley

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken convened top department officials on Monday morning to discuss their response to the assassination attempt. Matthew Miller, a department spokesman, said Blinken instructed the officials to deliver the message abroad “that America has faced trying times before, but that we have emerged from them stronger because of our core values that we share as a nation.”

David Botti ,  Malachy Browne ,  Haley Willis ,  Riley Mellen and Dmitriy Khavin

A video shows people warning law enforcement about the gunman minutes before he fired at Trump.

“Look, they’re all pointing. Yeah, someone’s on top of the roof — look.” “There he is right there.” “Where?” “Right there, you see him? He’s laying down. You see him?” “Yeah, he’s laying down.” Trump: “Instead, I’m here with you, fighting like hell to get a sense —” “What’s happening?” Trump: “Because if we do, we’re going to make America better than ever before. We’re going to make it —” “Yeah, look, there he is. Trump: “Because we have millions —” “Officer.” Trump: “People in our country that shouldn’t be here. Dangerous people. Criminals, we have criminals.” “He’s on the roof. Right here, on the roof.” Trump: “It’s much tougher —” “On the roof.”

Video taken by a bystander shows people pointing to the man suspected of shooting at former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and frantically warning law enforcement, just two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis of the footage by The New York Times.

“He’s on the roof!” says another, calling to an officer. “Right here, right on the roof.”

The footage shows the suspected gunman lying prone on the roof of a white structure, which The Times previously identified as the location from which shots were fired. The building is roughly 400 feet from the stage where Mr. Trump was standing, but was outside the rally’s security perimeter.

The video was taken at 6:09 p.m., two minutes before Mr. Trump was shot, according to the Times analysis. As the camera zooms in, the man crawls from the edge of the roof toward its peak. At that moment, he was likely out of sight of Secret Service sharpshooters on another building’s roof about 400 feet away.

At one point in the video, at least one law enforcement officer appears to be walking near the building, but it’s unclear if the officer heard the warnings or knew a potential shooter was on the roof.

Another video, captured about 57 seconds after the first video ends, shows the side of the building that faced the rally. An officer is seen walking toward the building slowly from a different direction; it’s unclear if this is the same officer as in the first video.

Trump: “Probably 20 million people. And, you know, that’s a little bit old, that chart. That chart — That’s a couple of months old. And if you want to really see something that said, take a look at what happened —” “Get the fuck down.”

At least three police vehicles are also seen parked in the lot next to the building, including one directly outside an entrance to the building. It is unclear if any officers are inside the cars.

Thirteen seconds into the video, while the officer walks alongside the building toward the gunman, the first shots ring out. The shooter is briefly visible on top of the roof. The officer flinches at the shots, and appears to turn away from the building.

Nailah Morgan contributed video production.