Stop retelling the whole story in TOK paragraphs and use only the context that actually drives your knowledge analysis.
The Example Mistake That Wastes 300 Words
The Mistake: Retelling the Story
One TOK example mistake wastes hundreds of words: explaining the whole example before explaining why it matters. Students do this because they want the examiner to understand the case. But in a 1600-word essay, too much background quietly steals space from analysis.
Why It Wastes Words
The problem usually starts with fear. You think, 'If I do not explain all the context, my example will not make sense.' So you describe the event, the people, the timeline, the subject content, and the debate. By the time you reach the TOK point, the paragraph is already full.
Find the Knowledge Point
The fix is to separate context from function. Context is what the reader needs to understand the case. Function is what the example does for your claim. Most TOK examples need only two or three sentences of context. After that, the paragraph should move into knowledge analysis.