IA prompts
The IA prompts are a set of 35 high-level knowledge questions. Students must select one of the following IA prompts on which to base their exhibition, and all three objects must be linked to the same prompt. These IA prompts apply for all examination sessions for the life of this guide—they do not change from session to session. Students are required to create an exhibition of three objects that connect to one of the following IA prompts.
1. What counts as knowledge?
2. Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?
3. What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability?
4. On what grounds might we doubt a claim?
5. What counts as good evidence for a claim? TOK assessment details 40 Theory of knowledge guide
6. How does the way that we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know?
7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge?
8. To what extent is certainty attainable?
9. Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?
10. What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?
11. Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?
12. Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge?
13. How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge?
14. Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?
15. What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?
16. Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?
17. Why do we seek knowledge?
18. Are some things unknowable?
19. What counts as a good justification for a claim?
20. What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?
21. What is the relationship between knowledge and culture?
22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge?
23. How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
24. How might the context in which knowledge is presented influence whether it is accepted or rejected?
25. How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion?
26. Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers?
27. Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it?
28. To what extent is objectivity possible in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
29. Who owns knowledge?
30. What role does imagination play in producing knowledge about the world?
31. How can we judge when evidence is adequate?
32. What makes a good explanation?
33. How is current knowledge shaped by its historical development?
34. In what ways do our values affect our acquisition of knowledge?
35. In what ways do values affect the production of knowledge?
The chosen IA prompt must be used exactly as given; it must not be altered in any way.
The maximum overall word count for the TOK exhibition is 950 words.
This word count includes the written commentaries on each of the three objects.
It does not include:
• any text contained on/within the objects themselves
• acknowledgments, references (whether given in footnotes, endnotes or in-text) or bibliography.
If an exhibition exceeds the word limit, then examiners are instructed to stop reading after 950 words and to base their assessment on only the first 950 words. Extended footnotes or appendices are not appropriate to a TOK exhibition.
Prompt 1: What counts of knowledge?
Prompt 2: Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?
Prompt 4: On What Grounds Might We Doubt A Claim?
Prompt 7: What are the implications of having or not having knowledge?
Prompt 9: Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others?
Prompt 10: What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?
Prompt 12: Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge?
Prompt 14: Does Some Knowledge Belong to Communities Of Knowers?
Prompt 15: What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge?
Prompt 23: How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge?
| Does the exhibition successfully show how TOK manifests in the world around us? | |||||
| Excellent 9-10 |
Good 7-8 |
Satisfactory 5-6 |
Basic 3-4 |
Rudimentary 1-2 |
0 |
| The exhibition clearly identifies three objects and their specific real-world contexts. Links between each of the three objects and the selected IA prompt are clearly made and well explained. There is a strong justification of the particular contribution that each individual object makes to the exhibition. All, or nearly all, of the points are well-supported by appropriate evidence and explicit references to the selected IA prompt. | The exhibition identifies three objects and their real-world contexts. Links between each of the three objects and the selected IA prompt are explained, although this explanation may lack precision and clarity in parts. There is a justification of the contribution that each individual object makes to the exhibition. Many of the points are supported by appropriate evidence and references to the selected IA prompt. | The exhibition identifies three objects, although the real-world contexts of these objects may be vaguely or imprecisely stated. There is some explanation of the links between the three objects and the selected IA prompt. There is some justification for the inclusion of each object in the exhibition. Some of the points are supported by evidence and references to the selected IA prompt. | The exhibition identifies three objects, although the real-world contexts of the objects may be implied rather than explicitly stated. Basic links between the objects and the selected IA prompt are made, but the explanation of these links is unconvincing and/or unfocused. There is a superficial justification for the inclusion of each object in the exhibition. Reasons for the inclusion of the objects are offered, but these are not supported by appropriate evidence and/or lack relevance to the selected IA prompt. There may be significant repetition across the justifications of the different objects. | The exhibition presents three objects, but the real-world contexts of these objects are not stated, or the images presented may be highly generic images of types of object rather than of specific real-world objects. Links between the objects and the selected IA prompt are made, but these are minimal, tenuous, or it is not clear what the student is trying to convey. There is very little justification offered for the inclusion of each object in the exhibition. The commentary on the objects is highly descriptive or consists only of unsupported assertions. | The exhibition does not reach the standard described by the other levels or does not use one of the IA prompts provided. |
| Possible characteristics | |||||
|
Convincing |
Focused |
Adequate |
Simplistic |
Ineffective |
|
Refer to the offical IB guide P. 46 for more information
