AVOID:

1. Any example containing reference to Adolf Hitler

2. The Mona Lisa as an arts example (exception L.H.O.O.Q. by Duchamp)

3. Any dictionary definition—even worse if earnestly and pedantically cited

4. Phrases like, “Since the dawn of time...”

5. Citing an internet source without adding the date you accessed it.

6. Altering, or not writing out in full, the prescribed title.

7. Presenting an essay without once using the “I” word.

8. Merely regurgitating Correspondence, Coherence and Pragmatic theories of truth.

9. Neglecting to mention at least twice in the essay, “Ways of Knowing,” “Areas of Knowledge” and, especially, “Knowledge Issues.”

10. Quoting a famous philosopher out of context and then saying, “therefore”...

11. Overusing a TOK text book as a source.

12. Having no external sources whatsoever.

13. the conspicuous absence of any multicultultral or international point of reference

14. Pseudo-examples that are not specific

15. Presenting an essay lacking even a single reference to a direct experience tht arose during one of your IB classes.

16. Making the entire essay a watertight, linear argument that does not acknowledge the alternative perspective and lacks the lively “to and fro” that comes when making counterarguments

17. Writing a philosophy essay

18. Concluding a well wrought essay by resorting to outright relativism; perhaps caused by a last minute loss of nerve.

19. Factual errors... double check everything

20. Hyperbole

21. Banal examples like dead pet stories, school gossip or Disney film characters

22. Using obscure terms without even briefly explaining them

23. Saying that prescientific peoples believed that the earth was flat.

24. Unintentional tautology

25. Procrastinating to the last moment so that you unable to edit your own work with a fresh critical eye

26. Enormous paragraphs or no paragraphs at all

27. Confusing pure and applied mathematics

28. Tackling ethics or artificial intelligence unless you are extremely well versed and confident in those domains

29. Unjustified generalizations

30. Using Wikipedia as final source

31. Relying on cut and pasted pictures. Describe the salient features of the picture in prose. The essay text should be self-contained.

32. Wasting word count by describing a single example at very great length