One of the cool things about the TOK essay is that you have prompts from which to choose. I got to pick a direction that really interested me, and explore both the topic and how I related to it. Editing will always make an essay better, so don't be afraid to write as much as you want the first time through, cutting might seem difficult at first, but if you don't restrain yourself you'll have some awesome thoughts that you may come across while writing.

I went through many phases with this EE, and I actually picked my topic based on a discussion I had with my parents at the dinner table one night. I was left with so many questions that I knew I wanted to delve deeper. Something I regret is being afraid to show my teachers my essay even when I thought it sucked (which it did at first). If I had, I would have given myself more time to edit and write a better EE. Choosing to write in French on top of it all was a personal challenge, and I distinctly remember moments in the process where I felt like I regretted it. However, one of the biggest things in everything you do is to know your why. I knew why I wanted to write in French --so that when someone like you was reading this you would see that it could be done among other things -- and that meant that even when I felt frustrated I pushed through. In the end, I was left with a sense of accomplishment no one will ever take away from me.

One of the things that was both a pro and a con of this essay topic was that I picked something personally relevant to me. It was super helpful to be able to have a topic that I was super passionate about, however, when it came to writing the IA, I came in with a bias that I had to work to separate myself from. This paper went through a few rewrites because of that -- and lots of cutting and editing for the final draft -- so don't be afraid to have others look over it at any stage in the process.

This was a really interesting IA for me to write, especially because the topic I picked intersected with the theme I was exploring for another IB class at the time. I picked a titration-based lab, but because of all, it entailed I ended up spending 7ish hours in the classroom getting it done. However, I would 100% recommend trying to get your experimentation done in one go. At the end of the Saturday I was exhausted, but knowing that all I had to do was write the rest of my IA was incredibly relieving. One of the things I would recommend in writing out your procedure is to try to explain everything -- even if you don't think it needs to be written down.

In terms of inspiration, I would say to pick something that at the very least you don't mind spending a lot of time studying. One of the things that helped me with this IA was picking something that I'm passionate about (leaving a zero to low footprint on the environment). Cite as you go, and don't be afraid to reach out to professionals working in the area you're thinking of -- or are -- exploring. Sending emails (some of which were not replied to) was one of the ways I was able to learn more about what I was trying to explore, they both directed me to more sources and helped me become more invested.

After reading the prescribed title I felt that I had a good response to the question which would in turn make it easier to write the essay. I found that first discussing ideas with peers and other teachers really aided in the development of my ideas.

I wanted to do something involving a passion of mine because I knew this would make the paper easier to write. In soccer, trapping the ball is one of the most fundamental aspects of the game but people struggle with it so much and I wondered why? What makes it so hard to perfectly trap a soccer ball.

I have always been told that sports drinks are important to keep an athlete at peak performance, but I have never been told which one is the best.

I wanted to do something involving the sport I loved, and I wanted to understand the Physics behind it more. This leads me to figure out how and why a more pressurized soccer ball bounces higher.

I have always been fascinated by tanks, and I wanted to know how one that was meant to win the war for Germany was unable to. I also wanted to do something involving WWII because it had affected my grandmother while she lived in Germany.

My inspiration was my sport, and I found that working with a passion makes it way easier to push through the challenges.

For my topic, I was really interested in studying to see if pre-performance routines had any impact on athletes' performance. My biggest tip for writing a science essay is to collect data ASAP that way you can start to analyze and process sooner rather than later.

My math IA was one of my favorite IA's. I was able to take something that I enjoyed and discover the mathematics behind it. Make sure you have a plan of the math you want to do before completing the IA, or you may have to redo it. Also, make sure you have a personal connection to your topic so you can enjoy writing it.

I loved doing this experiment. The materials were very easy to gather and we got to use real people for the experiment. Make sure to look for a guide because there is a specific organization method for this IA. Also, try to recreate an experiment that is on the simpler side. It is easy to go with a subject such as memory as to not have to worry about ethics.

I chose a topic I was passionate about that was not actually covered by either of the history courses offered. While this posed minor difficulties, it was something I was very interested in and that had good sources to draw from. My main advice is to revise and edit. I went through at least 3 substantial revisions of more than half of the paper. Also, avoid a narrative at all costs, even though it is very tempting.

I was really interested in Chemistry the year before and tried to find a way to apply my knowledge of chemistry to biology. This resulted in mixed results. However, while the experiment could've been better, it was fun to perform.

My biggest tip would be to take the prescribed topic and connect it to the AOKs that truly interest you! There is a lot of room to explore, even with an assigned prompt.

The history IA allowed me to tie my interest in the natural sciences with a subject area that I never really paid much attention to, previously! It was interesting to explore the interconnectedness between different areas of study.

Though my results were statistically insignificant, the process, itself, was incredibly valuable. Having to independently design and conduct an experiment (and write the report) provided me with the skills to succeed in my college chemistry courses.

I decided to do my IA about golf because my dad got me into when I was little, and I love to play it. The math IA seems really daunting at first, but it's really not that bad. Just don't procrastinate. Do it in chunks. Divide it up. Do the math first, and then write it. Trust me- it makes it a lot easier.

My Tips: 1. Start early 2. Conduct several trials 3. It is ok if you have outliers and high percent error 4. Make sure all of the trials are conducted on the same day/ environment

I can't even start on this one. I think finding a topic is the hardest part. Work with your teacher to find something that will work. I ran XC in high school, so this was interesting to me, and I was strong in understanding regressions. This IA doesn't have to be super complex math, but it is tedious.

TBH comparing and contrasting Hitler and Roosevelt was kinda ballsy. I was just interested in how two countries during the same time period with economic troubles had such different outcomes based on the leadership of the countries. I guess looking back, I would have tried to make this more clear. I actually rewrote my essay and changed my topic to this one. It was very hard, and as you can see, I used a lot of resources. I wish I talked to my teacher more, and had more people read through it to make sure I got my analysis across. Also, just read and follow the rubric and you'll do fine.

We looked at how music can disrupt recall. Our sample size was VERY small, which is not the best. I also remember having lots of trouble with the statistical analysis because the group sizes were different. Make sure you are only studying one variable when you are planning the experiment. Our group made a mistake in accidentally testing more than one variable.

Start on your experiment early. Don't wait later in the semester. Find something you are interested in and that would be fun. The plants I used for my experiment were really great because they were fast-growing. Make sure you only test one variable. Understand how to statistical analysis (t-tests or ANOVA). If you need help, seek out a math teacher. Also, ignore my chart for my strengths and weaknesses. Looking back, I should have written this in paragraph form. Also, it's usually not a good idea to include raw data in your report. Instead, put it in an appendix.

I was inspired to write my IA based on something I enjoyed and was curious about. My advice for people writing their IA is to always keep trucking and never be afraid to ask people for help.

I worked a considerable amount of time on the structure of my argument (to what extent) instead of focusing on fancy first sentences or the details of individual sentences. Style and formatting are extremely important, but the overall argumentative ideas you want to convey take center stage and they are really the bone and muscle of your paper's integrity. Take note however that I got a 4 in this class, so take this with a grain of salt.

Understand what you're talking about. If you make the same mistake as me and only skepticize about the phenomena you observe, that's not a scientific process. Detail your findings and ask your physics teacher about how the world works. Follow procedures and plan your testing environment and its controls, and you will be victorious.

This IA had a lot of firsts for me. It was the first IA I had ever done, so it was hard getting to know how to write one without any prior knowledge. Secondly, it was the first time I have had to work with statistics. I had help from my teachers and my peers that really helped me navigate this part, because it was honestly the hardest part. Other than that, I had a fun time trying to figure out different personalities and the relation their personality had to the sports they play.

When we had to write our IA's in Math, they stressed personal interest very often. Personal interest and enjoyment in working with the topic is of course needed for every subject, but it's especially important for math, where literally anyone can show that they've studied and understand the calculations behind the thing they want to answer, but a personal investment in the idea requiring math is what stuffs life into that paper, illustrating instead of just explaining what you're investigating.

In college I am planning on studying pre med to then go into medical school; that being said I wanted to focus my attention on something that would benefit me in the long run. Studying the optimal conditions pancreatic lipase leaned toward my interest of fitness and biology which helped the process substantially. My only suggestion is do something youre interested in and that could help you one day or else it will feel like a drag and won’t be as fun :)

If you chose to write your EE in a foreign language, be careful about how you categorize your EE and what you choose to discuss in it. I walked a thin line on my essay being disqualified because it didn't fit nicely into any one category, and this is even harder when writing in another language because you may have to restrict your category further by registering it as a foreign language EE, instead of as a normal EE that just happens to be in a foreign language. Look exhaustively for any resources concerning your specific predicament and please talk as much as possible with a foreign language teacher at your school for help in the language, because you will find it much harder and riskier writing the essay this way in comparison to the English-language writers' essays. If it starts to look like you might not complete it realistically, rewrite it in English and don't sweat it, you've already done a lot; it's hard. Saludos.

The hardest part of writing the EE was finding a topic to settle on. I wanted to write about a biology topic, and if possible I would want to include some form of experiment that I had never done before. After exploring many resources and talking extensively with my advisor, I discovered the topic of food microbiology, which led to my experiment in cheesemaking. Similar to the IAs, finding a topic that you find interesting or exciting is the only way to make writing the EE bearable.

This IA was inspired by the fact that many students (including myself and my group members) like to listen to music while studying. Thus, we designed an experience to see if music hinders studying by interfering with the memory encoding process. Having a topic that I had some personal engagement in made writing the IA a lot easier. I recommend paying attention to the specific studies you learn about in class, because they can help you settle in on a topic for writing your IA.

I struggled to find an interesting topic for the bio IA, which meant that as time was running out I had to settle on a simple experiment. That is why I decided to grow plants and change a single variable about their growth environment. My suggestion is to find a biology topic that actually interests you, because the graders will be able to see if there is a complete lack of personal engagement.

My experience was really enjoyable because I chose a topic that I have such a strong connection to. I was inspired by all of my out of state baseball tournaments, where I noticed that the ball flies differently depending on where you are in the world. So, I decided to model this. My biggest piece of advice would be to choose a topic you love and that you can spend hours on without feeling stressed or worn-out. The process becomes so much easier when you are able to fully dive into your topic and learn so many new things along the way.

Overall, I didn't have too bad of an experience writing the paper. My teacher dispersed our deadlines (eg. having different sections due every two weeks or so) which helped keep me on top of my work and not rushing last minute. While writing the more general stuff (intro/conclusion, less actual data analysis and more setting the scene) I constantly referenced other papers that received the highest possible score. This helped me understand what I needed to talk about and how to state it. I also had the rubric constantly open next to me as I wrote and often stopped to compare what I needed to have to what I wrote. Though it might make the paper a bit boring to read, sometimes you just gotta be upfront and directly state what DP wants you to say (eg. "The theory this experiment is referencing is...").

I took inspiration from the viewpoints of my classmates. Their's were almost always opposite of mine, and that gave me perspective and a fuller image of the thinking behind what I was claiming in my paper, so I would not shy to ask others' opinions about the questions you have. It's a general rule in life and also very useful in this case.

I was told for the IA to pick a subject that I was passionate about, and so I chose animals! Statistics for me was a really good way to connect something that I liked to math since a lot of math is more theoretical. My Tips: Choosing a topic that you really like is a) one of the most difficult parts and b) really important because writing a math paper on something you enjoy is much better than on a paper you don't like.

I've always been somewhat interested in optics, how they are made and how they work. In this IA I wanted to take the opportunity investigate how a basic telescope might be made and the math that can be used to model the telescope's magnification. My tips for writing a math IA: Make sure that your research question is answerable, worthy of investigation, and fitting for the scope of an IA. In many ways, the research question can be considered the most important part of the process so make sure that you put a lot of thought into it. Do a lot of proof reading and checking your work for errors. Make sure to show your personal engagement in the topic. Make sure that your work logically answers the question instead of jumping to conclusions.

I chose my topic because concurrently with IB® SL Mathematics, I was taking Calculus 3. Because of my exposure to multivariable calculus, I was able to discover the subject of orbital mechanics. My two tips for the math IA are, first, to find a subject that makes you lose track of time, and second, to elaborate with your reflection in your essay.