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Trying to verify my sanity

Hi all!

I just got the component grade for my ToK essay: 14/40!

This is a D, although my teacher (PhD) predicted an A!

Here's what my teacher had written: "It was a pleasure to read such a clear and well-argued essay. With a few improvements I believe it will get an A. We can dicuss it. It's a very interesting subject, and you handle it in a very intelligent manner."

Please tell me what you think of my essay? Is it really that crap?
Here is a link to it: http://koti.mbnet.fi/nicholas/TOK%20Essay%20Title%206.doc

I intend to put forth an enquiry on the result. Do you think I stand a chance?

Thank You.

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Reply 1

ASNaC

Darkside

Hi all!

I just got the component grade for my ToK essay: 14/40!

This is a D, although my teacher (PhD) predicted an A!

Here's what he wrote: "It was a pleasure to read such a clear and well-argued essay. With a few improvements I believe it will get an A. We can dicuss it. It's a very interesting subject, and you handle it in a very intelligent manner."

Please tell me what you think of my essay? Is it really that crap?
Here is a link to it: http://koti.mbnet.fi/nicholas/TOK%20Essay%20Title%206.doc

I intend to put forth an enquiry on the result. Do you think I stand a chance?

Thank You.

If you want I can ask my old IB coordinator (who is now a good friend of mine) to glance over it. I'm not sure when I'll next see him, but probably in about two and a half week's time. He is a 'group leader' or something like that in terms of ToK marking (i.e. he examines other examinors marking).

From a quick look at your essay I have to say that I don't think it should be a 14. No offence intended, but I'm not sure if it should really be an A (I've never marked an essay so don't take it personally, it's just that I think the essay is too example drive to get the points for structure). Still I would have thought than an appeal should get you a B or at least a C.

Reply 2

_EMMA_

i want to start off by saying that i haven't read your essay yet, anyway there are a lot of tok threads on this forum you can have a look on them and see if anyone has discussed that question. there is also a member called DavidATaylor (tok teacher) he helped me with my essay. he hasn't been here since februari but maybe there is a mail adress, what i'm trying to say is that you can ask if he wants to look at it.

btw what school are you going to? or went to?

Reply 3

Tomek

Darkside

Leave me your email, I'll gladly send you my comments

Reply 4

vavavoom

Darkside

The examiner is weird. How can a 'few' improvement suddenly bump an essay up to an A? If so, your essay should have been a B.

Reply 5

Lamok

You know we've had the same problem at our school, loads of people have gotten waay lower tok Essay grades than predicted or unexpectedly higher... In terms of TOK theres no real consistency between expectations. One of our teachers is an examiner and from looking at essays from different schools he can already tell that some schools have been taught to write it in different ways than other schools, if we're all taught differently how can we be marked consistently?? i was predicted an A and all my TOK teachers thought my essay was good. despite that i got a D.

Reply 6

Darkside

vavavoom

The examiner is weird. How can a 'few' improvement suddenly bump an essay up to an A? If so, your essay should have been a B.

These are the words of my teacher, not an examiner!

Reply 7

Darkside

ASNaC

If you want I can ask my old IB coordinator (who is now a good friend of mine) to glance over it.

Hearing some expert opinions might be nice, although my only real way of changing the grade is obviously by making an enquiry. That I am going to do.

Yes, it may be a bit too example-based, but our teacher specifically liked that sort of essays (and didn't like a more theory-based essay I wrote earlier). I believe it is worth a B anyway, and this would be enough for me (got an A in Maths EE):

Reply 8

Darkside

_EMMA_

btw what school are you going to? or went to?

I went to SYK, Finland's most successful IB school, I believe. I also have an offer to study Maths at Trinity, Cambridge.

Reply 9

ASNaC

Darkside

I went to SYK, Finland's most successful IB school, I believe. I also have an offer to study Maths at Trinity, Cambridge.

Wow... hopefully I'll see you in October then - I'm going into my second year at Trinity.

Reply 10

_EMMA_

Lamok

we can be marked consisrently if all follow the IB criteria. write in different ways do you mean the layout or the content?

darkside, i asked cause my school had an exchange thing with a school in finland

Reply 11

Darkside

_EMMA_

we can be marked consisrently if all follow the IB criteria. write in different ways do you mean the layout or the content?

Sorry to answer this for you, Lamok (you can add to this freely): We can all think we are following IB criteria, but might have interpreted them entirely differently. Quite ironically, a Problem of Knowledge arises here-- the marker's cultural background, state of mind, prejudices etc. act as filters of knowledge, especially in such a subjective type of task as marking a philosophical text.

Reply 12

ASNaC

Darkside

I agree that many markers are not using the criteria correctly, but I do not agree with youthat cultural backgrounds are acting as filters. My ToK teacher has been to grade award (where the set boundaries) and is one of the more senior examinors, and he and the other senior examiners do consistently mark texts the same manner, despite different academic and social backgrounds. The problem is that starting markers are given insufficient training, and moderation factors never properly compensate for erratic marking.

Reply 13

Andi

Do you have any advantages if your get your essay remarked? If not, why bother? If you still get in the same uni it makes no difference. But it's your choice.

Anyway, where did you get the actual marks for you essay from? I only got my IB marks but I would quite like to know how much I got in the papers and coursework. Is there any way you can find out about this, without asking the Ib coordinator? (I don't really like him.)

Reply 14

Darkside

Andi

Yes, since several people can have similar offer, 42 points and 1s in STEP (Cambridge extra Maths exams). If many narrowly fail STEP, the one with more than 42 points may have an advantage. Also a D in ToK is a slight embarrassment in one's diploma.

Sorry, only the coordinator (and maybe other teachers) has access to component grades. But try asking individual teachers -- they are most likely to deal with it for you.

Reply 15

Manaf

Hi there, I just want to ask how you got your mark (14/40), did they publish it anywhere or did u enquire about it?

When would we know the exact marks of our exams, is it after the sep 15th deadline for remarking.

Reply 16

_EMMA_

Manaf

i asked my coordinator and she mailed ne the grades that i had on the different papers.

Reply 17

grace

_EMMA_

i asked my coordinator and she mailed ne the grades that i had on the different papers.

i didn't realise they were allowed to do that...my coordinator showed me mine, all the while muttering that she wasn't supposed to! (i'm glad she did though...i got 100% on my HL english A1 papers one and two! woohoo)

in some ways i reckon it's better not to know the breakdowns ---> i was gutted to find out that i was only 2 points off getting a 7 in history, 1 point off an A in my TOK etc :frown: