Run a five-part specificity test before using a TOK example so it supports analysis instead of collapsing into summary.
Specificity Test for TOK Examples
Run the Five-Part Test
Before you put an example into a TOK essay, run the specificity test. This test tells you whether the example is ready to support analysis or whether it will collapse into summary.
Check Who, What, and When
Question one: can you name the exact case? Not just 'AI bias', but which system, study, decision, dataset, or public controversy? Not just 'history is subjective', but which archive, interpretation, historian, source, or event? If the case cannot be named, it is still a theme.
Find the Knowledge Problem
Question two: can you identify the knowledge claim? What did someone believe, conclude, classify, predict, interpret, or present as reliable? TOK analysis needs a knowledge claim because the essay is about how knowledge is made and judged. If your example only says 'something happened', it is not doing enough.