Ace your TOK Essay
& Exhibition with AI Precision

TOK Lens is a free Chrome extension for IB students that uses AI to identify Theory of Knowledge themes, Areas of Knowledge, and Ways of Knowing in any text — instantly on any webpage. It also generates knowledge claims, analyzes TOK exhibition objects, suggests exhibition objects for your IA prompt, and maps your evidence to your essay question with the Connection Mapper.

The six IB Theory of Knowledge themes are: Knowledge and the Knower, Knowledge and Language, Knowledge and Technology, Knowledge and Politics, Knowledge and Religion, and Knowledge and Indigenous Societies. TOK Lens automatically identifies which theme or themes apply to any text you highlight, so you can instantly see whether your evidence is relevant to your essay.

The IB Theory of Knowledge Areas of Knowledge (AOK) are: Natural Sciences, Human Sciences, History, the Arts, Ethics, Mathematics, Religious Knowledge Systems, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems. TOK Lens identifies the most relevant AOK for every piece of evidence you save, helping you organise your TOK essay and ensure you draw from multiple Areas of Knowledge.

For your IB TOK exhibition, choose three objects that each connect to your chosen IA prompt and raise genuine TOK knowledge questions — ideally from different Areas of Knowledge. TOK Lens's Exhibition Object Analyzer accepts a photo of any physical object and returns: a description, TOK significance, link to your IA prompt, and a draft justification paragraph ready to copy into your exhibition commentary. The Object Suggester generates 5 tailored object ideas from your IA prompt if you need inspiration.

A knowledge claim in IB Theory of Knowledge is an assertion about what we know or how we know it — for example, "peer review gives scientists a reliable method for validating claims in the natural sciences." TOK Lens automatically generates knowledge claims and knowledge questions from any text you highlight online, giving you ready-to-use TOK language for your essay or exhibition commentary.

The Connection Mapper is a premium TOK Lens feature. Paste your TOK essay question into the mapper and AI scores every clip in your Evidence Vault from 0 to 10 for relevance to your argument. A visual network diagram shows which evidence is strong (scoring 7–10), which is mid-tier (4–6), and which is off-topic (0–3) — helping you spot argument gaps before you start writing your TOK essay.

Yes — TOK Lens is free to install from the Chrome Web Store. The free plan includes 3 AI theme analyses per day plus unlimited Evidence Vault storage at no cost. A Premium plan ($7.99/month) adds unlimited daily analyses, Exhibition Object Analyzer, Object Suggester, Connection Mapper, and Export to Google Docs. Credit packs ($5.00 for 50 credits) are also available for one-off premium features with no subscription.

Yes. TOK Lens includes all 35 official IB TOK Exhibition IA prompts. The Exhibition Object Analyzer lets you select your chosen prompt and upload a photo of any physical object, then returns a complete TOK analysis — object description, TOK significance, connection to your IA prompt, and a draft 100-word justification paragraph you can edit and use directly in your exhibition.

TOK Lens is a Chrome extension and works in Google Chrome and any Chromium-based browser such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, or Arc. It is not currently available for Firefox or Safari. Install it free from the Chrome Web Store — no account required to start.

The IB TOK essay has a maximum word count of 1,600 words. It must respond to one of six prescribed titles set by the IB for each assessment cycle. The word count excludes footnotes and bibliography but includes all body text. TOK Lens helps you gather and organise evidence efficiently so you can write within the limit without wasting words on off-topic content — the Connection Mapper scores every clip for relevance before you start writing.

A strong TOK essay structure typically includes: (1) an introduction that unpacks the prescribed title and defines key terms, (2) two or three body sections each exploring a different knowledge question from a distinct Area of Knowledge with a real-life situation, (3) a counter-argument or perspective that complicates your main claim, and (4) a conclusion that synthesises your argument without simply restating it. TOK Lens identifies the TOK theme and AOK for every piece of evidence you save, so your structure emerges naturally from your research.

The IB Theory of Knowledge Ways of Knowing (WOK) are the methods through which we acquire knowledge: Reason, Emotion, Sense Perception, Language, Imagination, Faith, Intuition, and Memory. WOKs are central to TOK essays because they explain how knowledge is produced and what its limitations are. TOK Lens automatically identifies the relevant Ways of Knowing for any text you highlight — for example, flagging that a scientific study relies on Reason and Sense Perception, while a religious text relies on Faith and Language.

A real-life situation (RLS) in IB TOK is a specific, concrete event, discovery, or example from the real world used to explore a knowledge question. For example, "the 2011 Fukushima disaster revealing the limits of scientific prediction" is a real-life situation for exploring knowledge and uncertainty in Natural Sciences. A good RLS is specific (not vague), recent (ideally), and clearly connected to a TOK theme or AOK. TOK Lens lets you highlight real-life situations while browsing any website and save them to your Evidence Vault with automatic TOK tagging.

A knowledge question (KQ) in IB TOK is an open-ended, second-order question about the nature of knowledge — not about specific facts. Good knowledge questions are: (1) contestable (reasonable people can disagree), (2) expressed in TOK language (ways of knowing, areas of knowledge, knower), and (3) connected to a real-life situation. Example: "To what extent does language shape our understanding of historical events?" TOK Lens generates knowledge questions automatically from any text you highlight — highlight a news article and instantly get 2–3 ready-to-use KQs for your essay.

Each of the three object commentaries in the IB TOK exhibition must be approximately 950 words, for a total of around 2,850 words across the full exhibition. Each commentary should explain: what the object is, why it is a good example for your chosen IA prompt, and how it raises TOK knowledge questions. TOK Lens's Exhibition Object Analyzer generates a draft justification paragraph (~100 words) for each object — a strong starting point you can expand into your full 950-word commentary.

The 35 official IB TOK Exhibition IA prompts include questions such as: "What counts as good evidence for a claim?", "Is personal knowledge more valuable than shared knowledge?", "How does our perspective affect what we count as knowledge?", "Can new knowledge change established values and beliefs?", "How do we know what we do not know?", and "What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge?" TOK Lens includes all 35 prompts in its Exhibition Analyzer and Object Suggester — select your chosen prompt from the dropdown to get a tailored AI analysis.

The best evidence for a TOK essay comes from high-quality, specific sources: academic journals, reputable news outlets (BBC, The Guardian, Nature), scientific studies, philosophical works, and historical accounts. Look for real-life situations that connect clearly to your Areas of Knowledge — a scientific discovery for Natural Sciences, a political event for Human Sciences, an artistic movement for the Arts. TOK Lens lets you highlight evidence directly on any webpage and save it to your Evidence Vault with automatic TOK theme and AOK tagging, so you never lose a good source and can find it instantly later.

The IB TOK essay is a 1,600-word written argument responding to one of six IB-set prescribed titles, exploring knowledge questions across multiple Areas of Knowledge. The TOK exhibition is a separate assessment where you curate three physical objects connected to a single chosen IA prompt (from 35 options), with an approximately 950-word justification commentary per object. Both are mandatory IB components. TOK Lens supports both: the theme analyzer and Connection Mapper help build your essay argument, while the Exhibition Object Analyzer and Object Suggester are built specifically for the exhibition.

Your saved evidence clips are stored locally in your browser (Chrome storage) and never leave your device unless you sign in with Google, in which case your account profile is stored securely in Firebase. Text you send for analysis is processed by Gemini AI and is not stored by TOK Lens after the response is returned. You can delete all saved data at any time. TOK Lens complies with GDPR and does not sell your data to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

No. TOK Lens is an independent tool created to help IB students and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) in any way. "IB", "International Baccalaureate", and "Theory of Knowledge" are trademarks of the IBO. TOK Lens is a third-party productivity tool that helps students organise their research and thinking for TOK assessments. Always follow your school's academic integrity guidelines when using any AI tool.