Criterion A: Essay as a whole
10 marks- The response stays focused on the exact title and links to areas of knowledge.
- Arguments are clear and supported by specific examples.
- Different viewpoints and the implications of arguments are evaluated.
IB TOK Essay Grader
Grade your TOK Essay before you submit. Upload your draft and get a mark for each criterion, comments tied to your sentences, and a list of what to fix first.
5 free gradings a month. No card. Private to you.
91%
of Marksy's marks on TOK essays land within one grade of the IB's final mark
Tested on 91 TOK essays the IB had already marked. See how we tested
- Marks
- 10, one mark for the whole essay
- Length
- 1,600 words at most
- Title
- One of six prescribed titles for your session
- Marked by
- An IB examiner
See the mark, and the sentences behind it
Check whether your discussion stays focused, develops arguments, uses convincing examples, and explores implications and perspectives. See what is working and which parts still need sharper reasoning before you submit.
What Marksy checks for each TOK Essay criterion
You get a mark for each IB assessment criterion below. The points under each one are what Marksy looks for in your draft.
Where TOK Essays usually lose marks
Marksy flags these in your draft and links each one to the sentences it is about.
- A title you quietly changedCopy the title word for word. Answering an easier version of it pulls the whole mark down, and an essay that doesn't answer a prescribed title gets 0.
- Key terms left to the dictionaryThe key words in your title need a working meaning for TOK. Say how you use each one, then keep to it for the whole essay.
- Areas of knowledge that don't test the titleChoose areas of knowledge that put real pressure on the title. If the title names one, discuss that one. A link that only mentions an area earns little.
- Examples everyone usesGalileo, the flat Earth and phrenology turn up in thousands of essays. Specific examples from your own subjects or life show your own thinking and are easier to analyse in depth.
- Counterclaims set up to loseA weak opposing view, knocked down in one line, isn't evaluation. Give the other side its best case, then say how far it changes your answer.
- No implicationsThe top band looks at what follows from your arguments. Ask yourself: if I'm right, what does that mean for how we know things in this area?
Before you upload
- Put the prescribed title at the top, exactly as the IB wrote it.
- Upload the essay itself, not your planning notes.
- Keep your footnotes and bibliography, so quotes and examples can be traced.
- Check your word count is 1,600 or fewer.
Your draft stays at the centre
Marksy reads the work you upload, points each comment back to your writing, and puts the most important changes first.
- 1
Upload your draft
A PDF of your TOK Essay, finished or not. Every comment stays connected to your own writing.
- 2
Read the comments
Highlights show which passage each comment is about.
- 3
Fix the important parts first
Work down a short list instead of making scattered edits.
- 4
Keep the final say
Accept, adapt or ignore each suggestion. You stay the author.
What students wrote afterwards
From Trustpilot, as written.
marksyib has saved my ib diploma. thanks to it, my IA's were perfect and got the points i needed. really recommended.
Marksy ib allowed me to be able to finish my IAs much before allowing me to be able to relax better. 100% recommended
Your work stays your work
Marksy reads the draft you upload and comments on it. It doesn't rewrite your assessment, and your files are never used to train AI.
Read the safety answers- Private to youOnly you can see your work unless you choose to share it.
- Never used for trainingYour coursework is not added to any AI training data.
- Feedback, not ghostwritingUse the report to improve your own analysis and decisions.
- Delete it whenever you wantYou control the files stored in your account.
Questions before you upload
It reads the title at the top of your file and marks the essay against it. Copy it word for word from the list your teacher gave you.
No. The essay gets one mark for the whole piece. It is judged on clear arguments, good examples and how you weigh up other views, not on a set paragraph pattern. Marksy marks it the same way.
Along with the IB assessment instrument, Marksy's TOK essay marking uses notes on how real IB-marked essays scored at each mark band. That helps it mark weak and strong work more like an IB examiner would.
On 91 TOK essays the IB had already marked, 91% of Marksy's marks landed within one grade. Across all 1,317 IAs and TOK essays we tested, it was 92%. On a set with as many weak as strong essays, it scored 74/100 on our marking score, against 65 for ChatGPT, 61 for Claude and 57 for Gemini. Every number, and how we tested, is on the grading accuracy page.
Yes. Marksy checks your TOK Essay TOK against the IB assessment criteria for it and returns marks, comments and fixes instead of generic essay advice.
Yes. Early drafts are useful because the report can show a weak criterion before you spend hours polishing the wrong section. You can revise and grade another version later.
A free account includes 5 gradings a month. You don't need a card.
No. Marksy reads your existing work, explains each comment, and suggests what to revise. The writing and the final decisions stay yours.
Your upload is private to your account, is not used to train AI models, and can be deleted whenever you want.
Stop guessing what to fix in your TOK Essay
Upload the version you have now and find the parts holding it back.