*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

• Steps to write a perfect exhibition paragraph
• Don’t compare objects

How should you write the TOK Exhibition.. now that you have an object?

Here’s my recommended paragraph structure.

How to write a TOK Exhibition paragraph (in 300~350 words):

Follow these steps:

1. Introduce the object in one (max two) sentence. State the what, when, where, and who. ex: “This object is a … used in 1950s by a team of biology researchers at … in the United States”/”My second object is a … that I used during a theater performance as part of backstage crew in Grade 11”
2. To make the job of examiners easier (your TOK teacher in this case), include more background information about the object in a few sentences, as you see fit. Think from the perspective of the person grading this, who may know nothing about your object: ask “how much more should I explain so that the examiner won’t get confused about my object?” ex: “It was used in … experiment that aimed to achieve… “/”I used this object to clearly organize set changes during the performance … which helped me …”
3. Directly state how the object is linked to the prompt in one sentence. ex: “This object is directly related to the prompt because…”/”I chose this object because…” (use your own wording..!) Also, I suggest you use the keywords from the prompt directly in this sentence.
4. Pull additional evidence to further justify its inclusion, and explain how it answers the prompt in a unique way (either personal experience or sources you find online). Make sure to cite any external sources you used.
   • Here, it’s NOT about name-dropping as many TOK concepts as possible. It’s about using the keywords that the prompt already provides for you effectively and repeatedly. Bring in other TOK concepts only if they are really relevant to your answer.
   • Try to use at least one of the keywords from the prompt word-for-word in as many places as possible. Is ‘ethics’ one of the keywords? Use this word again and again in your paragraph.

I know the hardest, most frustrating (and most important) part is linking your object to the prompt throughout your paragraph. A couple things need to come together to make this work.

• First and foremost, the object needs to be specific and relevant. Without an acceptable object, it’s impossible to link it to the prompt no matter how well you analyze it.
• There’s no one method to link it well, but I think you can at least get 70% there by doing the things in Step 4—actually using the prompt keywords directly in your sentences.

Avoid unnecessary comparisons between the objects

It’s a good idea to choose three objects such that you can make three different and unique points answering the prompt. There’s an actual case where examiners didn’t award a higher grade because there were ‘duplicate ideas.’

But, also remember to avoid comparing or contrasting objects, because 1) it’s unnecessary (not in the rubric) and 2) wastes word count. Simply think of it as three independent paragraphs.

Updated: April 12, 2025

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