When approaching the TOK PT essay, one of the most critical steps is selecting the appropriate PT and relevant Areas of Knowledge (AoKs) to analyze. Your choice can significantly impact how well you respond to the PT and demonstrate your understanding of TOK concepts.
3 Step Guide to Selecting a PT and Choosing Two AoKs:
1.
Break Down the Titles and Understanding Their Implications
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Understand the type of question and identify the key terms and assumptions in each title.
2.
Rank Titles by Analytical Depth and Scoring Potential
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Select titles with AoKs you’re comfortable investigating in depth, ensuring you understand their methods and tools.
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Remember that each AoK has unique methods of inquiry, standards of evidence, and purposes. Use these characteristics to evaluate which AoKs are relevant to your chosen title.
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Natural Sciences: Empirical data, experiments, and falsifiability.
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Human Sciences: Observation of human behavior, interpretation, and ethical considerations.
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Mathematics: Logical reasoning, axioms, and universal applicability.
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The Arts: Creativity, subjective interpretation, and emotional impact.
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History: Evidence from the past, narratives, and perspectives
3.
Choose a Title That Matches Your Strengths
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Play to your academic strengths and interests. Avoid unnecessarily challenging yourself with titles that do not make clear sense to you.
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Note that you are not limited to selecting AoKs that match your course selection.
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Selecting the right AoK is not about choosing the “best” AoK but the ones that allow you to construct a compelling, well-supported argument tailored to the PT.
May 2025 Prescribed Titles | Key Terms |
1. Do historians and human scientists have an ethical obligation to follow the directive: “do not ignore contradictory evidence”? Discuss with reference to history and the human sciences. | • Ethical obligation
• Contradictory evidence |
2. Is our most revered knowledge more fragile than we assume it to be? Discuss with reference to the arts and one other area of knowledge. | • Revered knowledge
• Fragile |
3. How can we reconcile the relentless drive to pursue knowledge with the finite resources we have available? Discuss with reference to the natural sciences and one other area of knowledge. | • Reconcile
• Pursue knowledge
• Finite resources |
4. Do the ever-improving tools of an area of knowledge always result in improved knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge. | • Ever-improving tools
• Improved knowledge |
5. To what extent do you agree with the claim “all models are wrong, but some are useful” (attributed to George Box)? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge. | • Models
• Useful |
6. Does acquiring knowledge destroy our sense of wonder? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge. | • Acquiring knowledge
• Sense of wonder |