5.3.1 Breakdown & Cheat sheet Notes

IB May 2026 (M26) TOK Essay Title #3 Outline

Is the power of knowledge determined by the way in which the knowledge is conveyed? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.

The Core of The Question

1. The most important part of the question here is “power of knowledge.”
2. It's intentionally vague, so don’t rush to pigeonhole yourself into a single definition of "power."
3. The better strategy would be for you to show how “power” can mean different things: practical application, reach across communities, ability to persuade, enduring validity.

“Conveyed” Is Confusing

1. Again avoid a rigid definition.
2. Communication looks different in mathematics, history, the arts, and sciences.
3. It might mean symbols, language, publication, teaching, or even digital media.

Avoid Binaries At All Costs

1. Weak essays naively stack "yes's" and "no's"
2. Strong essays will probe why conveying matters in some cases and not in others.
3. The power of knowledge may sometimes depend on how it’s conveyed, sometimes resist poor communication, and sometimes change over time as reinterpretation happens.

For Mathematics

1. Yes cases:
   1. Mathematical notation is concise and universal within the community of mathematicians.
   2. This precision is what gives knowledge portability across cultures.
   3. If Euler wrote π differently, or if calculus notation wasn’t standardized, its power would be harder to apply.
2. No cases
   1. A mathematical truth (e.g. prime number distribution, Pythagoras’ theorem) is powerful regardless of how it is written.
   2. It retains validity even if conveyed badly.

History Works Well As A Second AOK

1. Yes cases:
   1. How knowledge is conveyed can make it powerful by shaping collective memory (knowledge).
   2. The story of the Nanjing Massacre is one example.
   3. For decades, survivors’ testimonies and documentary films like Nanking (2007) amplified its global recognition in ways that raw military reports never did.
   4. The emotional power of oral histories and film made the knowledge more widely acknowledged.
   5. Here, the conveyance through testimony and media determined how the event became embedded in both local and international consciousness.
2. No cases:
   1. Other knowledge retains its power regardless of style.
   2. The archaeological discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization’s urban planning, grid systems, drainage, standardized weights, transformed historical understanding of South Asia’s past.
   3. The records are hardly conveyed in a polished narrative but still immense.
   4. The power of this knowledge lies in the material reality it revealed, not in how it was communicated.

Structuring Your Essay

1. When drafting, make sure each paragraph explicitly answers:
2. “To what extent is the power of knowledge determined by conveyance in this case?”

Option A: Yes/No Contrast (Safer)

1. Yes: Mathematical notation makes knowledge portable and powerful.
2. Yes: History shows how storytelling can amplify or diminish impact.
3. No: Mathematical truths remain powerful regardless of language.
4. No: Historical records retain power even when conveyed poorly.

Option B: Nuanced Spectrum (More Abstract, But Pushes Higher)

1. Considerable extent: In mathematics, the power of knowledge in practice often depends on clarity of notation and standardization.
2. Moderate extent: In history, power can be shaped by narrative and accessibility, but evidence itself retains weight.
3. Minimal extent: Some knowledge (axioms, brute facts, archival truths) holds power regardless of presentation.
4. Mixed extent: Over time, reinterpretation and repackaging can make previously ignored knowledge powerful. Conveyance is not always decisive in the moment but can be later.

Conclusion

1. State your stance clearly: eg. “I agree to a considerable extent that the power of knowledge depends on how it is conveyed, but this is not universal.”
2. Draw out the big lesson: the power of knowledge is dual, one part lies in what it is, another in how it travels.
3. Bonus: make it personal. As a student, your own TOK essay is proof of the argument, the knowledge in it only has power if it's clearly conveyed to the examiner.