IB Theory of Knowledge 3.6 Introductions, Definitions, Conclusions Notes

3.6 Introductions, definitions, conclusions

Using an introduction to begin the argument

1. The essay is assessed as a whole for a clear, coherent and critical exploration of its title. There is no prescribed introduction or conclusion format. The suggestions here are optional ways to make the argument easier to follow.
2. An opening can identify the issue, clarify a contested term, state a provisional position or explain the route through the question. Keep a preview if it gives the reader useful direction; cut one that only repeats headings.
3. Stating a position early can help the reader see what you will defend and what might count against it. You may also develop the position through the discussion if the reasoning remains clear.
4. A reasoned position does more than rank areas of knowledge. If you claim that mathematics has a particular kind of certainty, explain how the claim depends on proof, assumptions or the scope of what is being asserted.
5. Introducing the required areas of knowledge can help orient the reader. Explain why they matter to the question instead of treating their names as a checklist.
6. Read the end of your introduction. Does it establish a question, claim or useful direction for what follows? Keep the work it does and remove any repeated announcement.

Defining a term only when the argument turns on it

1. Twelve concepts thread through the course: evidence, certainty, truth, interpretation, power, justification, explanation, objectivity, perspective, culture, values and responsibility. When a title turns on one of them, that is usually the word worth defining, and only some of them in any one essay.
2. Clarify a term when different readings would affect the argument or when a reader could reasonably misunderstand your use. You need not define every concept named in the title.
3. Consider certainty. Immunity from all possible doubt is a different standard from confidence sufficient for a particular decision. If your comparison relies on one of these senses, explain it and examine what the examples can support.
4. You are not expected to know particular philosophers or philosophical texts. Use a philosophical account when it sharpens the question you are examining, and explain the idea rather than relying on its name.
5. State how a disputed term will be used and why that use suits the title. Keep the meaning consistent unless your argument explicitly examines and explains a change.
6. If certainty means one thing in the mathematics discussion and another in history, acknowledge the difference. Otherwise the comparison may appear to establish a result by changing the standard midway.

Stipulative definitions and their cost

1. A stipulative definition assigns a term a particular meaning for the discussion. It can make a contested question manageable, but you need to justify any restriction it places on the title.
2. For example, defining knowledge solely as what a community agrees to accept would restrict the discussion to communal acceptance. It could exclude individual knowing or the possibility that the community is mistaken.
3. A definition can also settle the conclusion before you consider evidence. If the answer follows only from your chosen wording, ask whether you have explored the title or defined away its difficulty.
4. Keep the definition proportionate to the argument. A lengthy technical account of knowledge may consume words without helping you examine the particular question.
5. Explain what your definition includes and sets aside when that choice affects the conclusion. The reader can then evaluate the scope of your answer.
6. When two areas use a word differently, you can compare those meanings or justify a shared working definition. Do not force them into one sense merely to make the comparison easier.

When a dictionary definition helps

1. A dictionary records usage. That can help clarify a term, but the entry alone does not answer a knowledge question about how claims are produced, justified or shared.
2. Use a definition to support the exploration, not as an isolated opening ritual. Explain why the selected meaning is appropriate and where another reading would change the argument.
3. A quoted definition counts towards the 1,600-word limit, as does your explanation of it. Keep only the wording you need to examine.
4. Distinguish a claim about established usage from a meaning you propose for the essay. Source the first where needed and identify the second as your choice.
5. Where the argument concerns how a community uses a word, a documented account of that usage can be evidence. Cite the account and examine how well it represents the community.
6. You can also begin with the distinction or problem the title raises. A dictionary opening is one possible tool, not a required first step or an automatic weakness.

Conclusions that resolve rather than restate

1. A conclusion can draw together the judgement reached, the conditions under which it holds and its implications. A brief recap may help, but it should lead to a reasoned answer.
2. Keep the ending focused on the title. If a new topic or major example is needed to support the conclusion, develop it earlier rather than introducing it without room for analysis.
3. A conditional answer can resolve a question by stating when the claim holds and when it weakens. Explain those conditions through the evidence you have discussed.
4. Saying that both sides have a point leaves the evaluation unfinished unless you explain their relative strengths, scope or unresolved tension. A reasoned limit to your conclusion is more informative than a vague compromise.
5. Answer in terms that address the title. If the evidence supports only a qualified judgement, explain the qualification rather than forcing a categorical answer.
6. Use the ending to draw together implications already supported by the discussion. Do not leave all consideration of consequences until the last paragraph.

How much of 1,600 words these three can afford

1. The maximum is 1,600 words. Introductions, definitions and conclusions can advance the argument, but their length should reflect the work they do. None has a fixed word allocation.
2. As one possible budget, 150 words for an introduction, 50 for clarifying a term and 150 for a conclusion would leave 1,250 words. Adjust or discard that split if it does not suit the argument, and avoid counting an embedded definition twice.
3. If the opening and ending take a large share of the allowance, check whether the required areas of knowledge still receive enough development. The proportion alone does not decide this.
4. Quotations count towards the limit. An epigraph or quoted definition needs a contribution worth the space it uses.
5. References and the bibliography are excluded from the word count. Explanatory prose about a source still counts, so keep the argument in the main essay and acknowledge sources in an appropriate referencing style.
6. Check whether the first sentence of the conclusion begins the final judgement or only announces that the essay is ending. Shorten a redundant announcement.

Rewriting an introduction after the essay is finished

1. Revisit the introduction after drafting. Your examples and evaluation may have changed the question you emphasise or the position you can defend.
2. Read the conclusion beside the introduction. If your position changes, decide whether the essay explains that development or whether the opening now misrepresents the argument.
3. One option is to introduce the final position as a claim the essay will defend. Another is to frame the issue and let the reasoning establish the position. Keep the route clear whichever you choose.
4. Check the opening against the title. A synonym is useful only if it preserves the meaning you need; explain any change of emphasis instead of answering a different question.
5. Check the areas of knowledge against the prescribed title first. If the title requires the arts, replacing an introductory promise of the arts with the human sciences does not fix an essay that omits the required area.
6. After revising the opening, check that its claims, terms and areas of knowledge match what the essay develops. Keep any signposting needed to follow the argument.