*This article is part of the TOK Roadmap — a visual, all-in-one guide I created to help you ace Theory of Knowledge. [View the full roadmap here.]

In this post, I explain with example

• How to write a good TOK Essay paragraph (PEEL structure)

This is a how-to guide on great TOK essay writing. If you’d like to know how to structure the essay instead, read the previous post.

TOK examiners need to read through hundreds of essays in a short period of time—if they are confused while reading yours, they most likely won’t spend extra time trying to understand you. Clarity is #1 priority.

When I read TOK essays, I love ones that have a clear flow of ideas, not those ‘it will all make sense later’ essays. Let me tell you exactly how you can avoid this by writing a clear and convincing paragraph.

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The “TOK” PEEL structure (200~300 words)

PEEL: Point -> Evidence -> Explain -> Link

Then, add the TOK sauce: Make the “Link” bigger!

I’ll use May 2023 title #1 “Is replicability necessary in the production of knowledge? Discuss with reference to two areas of knowledge” as an example. If you need to understand this title first, I break it down here.

POINT (Main argument)

• State your argument. Only one argument per paragraph
• Though not an absolute must, it’s good to argue about a specific discipline within your Area of Knowledge (in this example, my AoK is Human Sciences). In the human sciences, achieving replicability is often more difficult. Consider cultural anthropology, where fieldwork conducted in specific communities cannot be exactly replicated, yet the knowledge it produces still holds great value.
• Make sure your argument 1) answers the title in some way, and 2) it is related to your thesis.

EVIDENCE

• Find and present an example from a reputable/specific source that supports your main point. e.g., An example in cultural anthropology, where some researchers conducted field work in an environment that cannot be reproduced.
  • (o) BBC Earth. The Smithsonian. The New York Times. Books. Research papers… Other reputable sources in your country. Personal experience (if specific and used carefully)
  • (x) Wikipedia. YouTubers, vague and generic personal experience
• Incorporate evidence into your paragraph by paraphrasing or directly quoting. e.g., Researchers at ABC University conducted research on… and found that… “[quote]”…

EXPLAIN

• Explain how the evidence supports your ‘POINT’ (not thesis or title—save this for later. Keep a narrow focus.) Researchers could not guarantee replicability due to technical challenges of recreating the research environment. However, their research was still widely accepted by peer-review journals and inspired future research in this area, which shows that replicability is not an absolute pre-requisite in production of knowledge in cultural anthropology research.

LINK (the TOK sauce!)

• Link your evidence to your Area of Knowledge, overall thesis and answer the title. While replicability is still valued in human sciences, instances where it is nearly impossible to achieve do not necessarily disqualify the knowledge produced…
• You don’t have to do the following for every paragraph, but think one step further if you can, try evaluating your argument or expanding your idea to “knowledge” in general. This example highlights the need for us, as producers of knowledge, to recognize that not all knowledge is created equal—and that its reliability may depend on the specific context in which it is produced and applied.

Notice how I used the keywords from the title “replicability” and “pursue knowledge” over and over again in my example paragraph? This is important.

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Play around, but keep the order of ideas

Feel free to play around with pieces of this TOK essay writing structure with your own unique style and voice, but the general order of ideas should never change. A good paragraph always has argument -> evidence -> analysis -> then finally linking in that order.

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