Writing the Exhibition

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The TOK exhibition is an essential component (worth 33% of final grade) of the IB TOK course, providing students with an opportunity to connect abstract knowledge questions with 3 tangible, real-world objects. Showcasing your exhibition to your teachers and peers is not part of the official grading. This guide covers everything from understanding the purpose of the exhibition to exemplar writings, ensuring a high-quality submission.

Purpose: To explore how TOK concepts manifest in the real world by analyzing three specific objects in relation to a prescribed IA prompt.

Scope: The exhibition is not a personal opinion piece; it’s a critical reflection on how knowledge is produced, shared, and applied in everyday contexts, using tangible objects as evidence.

Word Count Limit: 950

Assessment Criteria

Does the exhibition successfully show how TOK manifests in the world around us?

Level 1 - Rudimentary (1-2)	Level 2 - Basic (3-4)	Level 3 - Satisfactory (5-6)	Level 4 - Good (7-8)	Level 5 - Excellent (9-10)
The exhibition presents three objects, but the real-world contexts are not stated, or the images presented may be highly generic images of types of objects rather than of specific real-world objects. Links between the objects and the IA prompt are made, but these are minimal, tenuous, or unclear. 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 identifies three objects, but the real-world contexts may be implied rather than explicitly stated. Basic links between each object and the IA prompt are made, Explanations of these links are 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 may be inappropriate as evidence and/or irrelevant to the IA prompt. There may be significant repetition across the justifications of the different objects.	The exhibition identifies three objects, although the real-world contexts may be vaguely or imprecisely stated. There is some explanation of links between each object and the IA prompt. There is some justification for the inclusion of each object in the exhibition. Some points are supported by evidence and references to the selected IA prompt.	The exhibition identifies three objects and their real-world contexts. Links between each of the objects and the IA prompt are explained. These explanations may lack precision and clarity in parts. There is justification of the contribution that each individual object makes to the exhibition. Many points are supported by appropriate evidence and references to the IA prompt.	The exhibition clearly identifies three objects and their specific real-world contexts. Links between each object and the 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 IA prompt.

Possible Characteristics

• Ineffective • Descriptive • Incoherent

• Simplistic • Limited • Underdeveloped

• Adequate • Competent • Acceptable

• Focused • Relevant • Coherent

• Convincing • Lucid • Precise

IA Prompts (last updated: 2022)

The 35 IA prompts for the TOK exhibition are thought-provoking questions that explore how knowledge operates in real-world contexts. Students choose one prompt to anchor their analysis, using three specific objects to illustrate their response and demonstrate their understanding of key TOK concepts.

While the prompts remain largely consistent over time, the IB reviews and updates the list periodically (currently assumed to be around 4-5 years) to ensure relevance and alignment with evolving educational goals. It is important for students to confirm they are working with the most current set of prompts for their assessment year.

Selecting the right IA prompt is critical for crafting a compelling ToK Exhibition. The prompt serves as the foundation for your exploration of real-world objects and their connection to ToK Concepts.

Understand the Purpose of the Prompt

The prompt serves as the foundation of your exhibition. It frames your analysis of knowledge concepts and how they relate to real-world objects.

Each prompt is an open-ended question that allows you to explore knowledge questions. Your goal is to create a clear, thoughtful, and personalized response through objects.

Identify Your Strengths and Interests

Your personal interest will make the process more engaging and meaningful.

Think about your strengths, preferred Areas of Knowledge (AOKs), and objects that fascinate you.

Consider personal experiences, current events, or stories from the news that could become your objects.

Reflect on your favorite subjects (e.g., history, science, art, etc.) and the AOKs you feel most confident discussing.

If you love biology, a prompt like "What counts as good evidence for a claim?" could work since you can potentially explore how scientific experiments or scientific models serve as evidence in justifying knowledge claims in natural sciences.

If you love psychology, a prompt like “Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs?” could work since you can potentially explore how discoveries in psychology challenge traditional views on human behavior such as shifting attitudes on mental health.

If you love history, a prompt like “Are some things unknowable?” could work since you can potentially explore the limitations of producing knowledge only through historical artifacts.

If you love mathematics, a prompt like “Are some types of knowledge more useful than others?” could work since you can potentially explore how mathematical knowledge is often seen as universally applicable compared to more context-dependent knowledge in other fields.

If you love art, a prompt like “What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?” could work since you can potentially explore the influence of memory and emotions in the creation of art.

Shortlist ~3 Prompts

By narrowing your options, you reduce choice paralysis and focus on the most promising prompts.

Pick prompts that you feel comfortable answering with potential objects in mind.

For each prompt, think of 2-3 possible objects that could connect to it.

If you can’t think of any objects for a prompt, it may not be the right fit.

Choose 1 Prompt with Strong Objects and Concepts

You want a clear and manageable focus.

Select the prompt that feels most personal, interesting, and conceptually rich.

There are no prompts you should or should not pick that guarantees a higher score. It’s more important to pick a prompt that you fully understand and personally interested in.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I find this topic interesting to explore for several weeks?

Do I have at least 3 strong objects that clearly connect to the prompt?

Can I link at least 3-4 key TOK concepts to this prompt?

If you answer "yes" to all three questions, you’ve found your prompt!

2.2 Selecting the Best IA Prompt

Selecting effective and strong objects is essential for a high scoring exhibition. Your objects should not only be personally relevant and interesting to explore your chosen prompt but also allow for meaningful connections to ToK concepts.

Since demonstrating personal connections with your chosen objects is crucial for the exhibition, using ideas for objects from AI sources is not recommended (since it will not know what objects you own). However, using them as idea starters to help you find objects that convey a similar idea is okay.

Checklist for Individual Objects:

Is your object tangible and specific?

Objects must be real, not hypothetical or abstract.

Objects should have a clear story or background that connects to the prompt.

Good Example: A scientific article with peer-reviewed findings.

Weak Example: A generic image of a globe.

Does your object align with the prompt?

2.3 Choosing Effective Objects

The TOK exhibition is centered around one IA prompt, explored through three specific objects that exemplify the chosen prompt. Each object requires a written commentary of approximately 315 words, where students explain how the object connects to the prompt and illustrates key TOK concepts. The exhibition does not require an overall introduction or conclusion. Instead, the focus is on clear, concise analysis of each object in isolation, while maintaining a consistent connection to the chosen prompt throughout.

a. Background

Introduce the object and identify its specific real-world context.

What is it? Where is it from?

Explain your personal connection with the object.

Keep the paragraph shorter than 100 words.

2.4 Structuring the Exhibition

Essay

“What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?”

The TOK prompt I have selected is: “What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge?”. This exhibition explores this prompt by reflecting on knowledge and language, and more specifically on whether subtext and connotation always create confusion rather than help us to communicate knowledge. The language we use in our everyday lives can often be interpreted many different ways by different people, depending on their cultural background, beliefs, ideologies, affiliations, personal experiences etc. In particular it seems that subtext and connotation can be particularly challenging as they are often only recognised by people that share some particular knowledge or experiences, and it seems that they can easily be interpreted very differently by different people which can cause confusion and hinder communication of knowledge.

Object 1. Starbucks holiday cup

This cup was used by Starbucks in 2017 and was controversial because some people viewed the symbol of the two hands holding hands on the cup as a sign that Starbucks was promoting a homosexual agenda, because they saw the cups as having an LGBT subtext. However, many other people just saw the cup as spreading joy and love during the holiday season and did not think that there was any particular subtext at all.

This cup is particularly interesting for this exhibition because a Starbucks spokesman said that they had intentionally designed the cup so that customers could interpret it in their own way, which suggests that they were deliberately trying to communicate in an open or vague way rather than seeing the disagreement this might cause as being negative/ a challenge. In this way, the cup highlights how confusion arising from the use of subtext can be useful or can actually even be used by people intentionally to provoke discussion. The cup generated a lot of media attention for the company while still allowing them to say that how the cup was to be interpreted was up to their individual customers to decide.

Essay

“Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers?”

Object 1: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel that was published in 1958. It tells the story of the Igbo people (a Nigerian tribe) and their deeply rooted cultural and religious practices. Achebe infuses his writing with cultural references and literary devices (such as “Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan”) that show how the Igbo people understand their world. Their economy is based on agriculture, so they have specific words like “harmattan” which represents the dry and dusty season. This knowledge may seem strange and foreign to me, but this is crucial knowledge for the Igbo people to have because if they plant their yams during this season they will not survive. Achebe was born in an Igbo town and is part of this community of knowers, so he understands the Igbo people and shares their knowledge.

As a white girl from an affluent town, I read about other cultures and through studying them in school, I respect and appreciate them. However, I also must acknowledge that I will never be able to fully understand them, as I was not born into this culture and I don’t think that anyone outside of a culture or community can truly know things in the same way as someone inside it. People see the world through the paradigms that are created through their personal experiences, so culture is a lens that every person sees the world through.