The TOK essay is an external assessment component. Each student’s essay is submitted to the IB to be marked by IB examiners. The TOK Essay must be written in standard 12 type size and be double spaced. It is not primarily a research paper, but it is expected that specific sources will be used, and these must be acknowledged.
The maximum length of the essay is 1,600 words. Extended footnotes or appendices are not appropriate for the TOK essay.
The word count includes:
the main part of the essay
any quotations.
The word count does not include:
any acknowledgments
the references (whether given in footnotes, endnotes or in-text) and bibliography
any maps, charts, diagrams, annotated illustrations or tables.
If an essay exceeds the word limit, then examiners are instructed to stop reading after 1,600 words and to base their assessment on just the first 1,600 words. Students are required to indicate the number of words when the essay is uploaded during the submission process.