IB Theory of Knowledge essay, marked against the criteria

The TOK essay is written on a prescribed title and marked on a single published assessment instrument — all about how well you explore knowledge questions. Upload the criteria and your draft, and Mark scores your argument, your use of examples and your analysis, quoting where marks are won or lost.

Mark my essay freeTakes about a minute.

The TOK essay is marked on one holistic, criterion-based instrument — exactly the criterion-referenced marking Mark was built for.

One thing before we start: I never write a word for you. I mark your draft against your rubric — like a teacher's first pass — so youdo the improving. Check your school's policy on AI feedback, and acknowledge your use of it where required.

How to use Mark honestly (and acknowledge it properly) →

How it works

Add your rubric

Upload or paste the criteria your work will actually be marked against — e.g. the TOK essay assessment instrument for the current prescribed titles.

Upload your draft

Drop in the PDF (or paste the text). Mark reads it against every criterion and scores it, quoting the exact lines that earned the marks.

Improve and re-mark

Fix what he flagged, run it again, and watch the mark move. That loop is how essays climb to the top grades.

New — chat with Mark about your essay

Not sure why you lost marks? Just ask him.

Every marked essay now has a chat. Ask Mark why a criterion landed where it did, what “more analysis” actually means, or where to start on your re-draft — and he'll talk it through with you, pointing to the exact lines in your essay.

He'll never write it for you. He asks the questions a good teacher would, so the improving stays yours.

See it before your marker does

Mark your draft, fix what he flags, watch the mark climb.

Mark scores your draft against your rubric and quotes the exact line behind every mark. You fix the two things holding it back, run it again — and the number moves. That loop is the whole game.

Marked against your rubric. Your criteria, not a generic template.
Evidence for every score. The exact line that earned it — or cost you the mark.
Revise and re-mark. Improve the draft, run it again, and see the mark climb.

Draft 2 · +3 marks

Fix these two lines and this is a 5.

markthatpaper.com/essay/my-railways-draft

Your essay

“How did railways change everyday life in Victorian Britain?”

Your rubric · 4 criteria

Mark is reading your draft…

842 words

The line Mark quoted

“The railways did not simply move people faster — they reshaped the ordinary rhythm of the day, standardising the clocks between towns and turning a distant city into somewhere you could visit and be home from before dark. Bradshaw's timetable soon sat in every household.”

Analysis & argument

Builds a reasoned, evidenced case

01234

NOW SITTING AT 4 / 5here's the top band

You name the cause — now push it. Add one sentence on the consequence you hint at, and this criterion tips into the top band.

Draft 1

14 / 20

Draft 2

17 / 20

Knowledge questions, not just examples

TOK essays live or die on the quality of the knowledge questions and the argument around them — clear claims, counterclaims, and well-chosen real-life examples that actually do analytical work. Mark scores your draft against the assessment instrument and shows you where the argument is strong and where an example is decorative rather than doing a job.

Catch it before you submit

Because the TOK essay is marked on one holistic instrument, small structural fixes — a sharper knowledge question, a genuine counterclaim — can move you a level. Marking your own draft against the criteria first is how you find them while they're still fixable, and Mark never writes a line for you.

Start free. Most students go for the plan.

Start with 2 free marks — enough to mark a draft, improve it, and mark it again. Then keep going for less than the price of one human-marked essay.

Your next draft could be a grade higher.

Mark my essay free

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