TOK Exhibition: The 35 Prompts Explained with Object Examples

24th August, 2026 | Abhishek Malani | 15 Min Read
Introduction
Every TOK Exhibition starts the same way: pick exactly one of 35 fixed IB TOK exhibition prompts, then find three real-world objects that genuinely illuminate it. Unlike the TOK essay titles, which rotate every session, these TOK exhibition questions stay the same for the life of the current guide, so the real skill isn’t tracking a moving target, it’s matching your own genuine interests and available objects to the prompt that will let you say something specific and real. This guide works through all 35 prompts, grouped by theme, with a plain-language explanation and concrete TOK exhibition examples for each, so you can shortlist candidates instead of staring at a bare numbered list wondering where to even begin.
TOK Exhibition Prompts

Table of Contents

How the TOK Exhibition Actually Works

Before diving into the prompts themselves, it’s worth being precise about the assessment, since a lot of circulating advice still describes the older TOK Presentation format that the Exhibition replaced in 2022. You select one of the 35 official IA prompts, using its exact wording, and build your exhibition around three specific real-world objects, or images of them, all linked to that single prompt. Your submission is a written commentary, a maximum of 950 words covering all three objects combined, not per object, typically split into roughly 300-word sections. It’s internally graded by your TOK teacher and externally moderated by an IB examiner, marked holistically out of 10, and contributes one-third of your final TOK grade, with the TOK essay making up the other two-thirds. If your exhibition isn’t clearly based on one of the 35 listed prompts, it scores zero, so getting this foundational choice right matters enormously before you even start drafting.
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Cluster One: The Nature and Value of Knowledge (Prompts 1–8)

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  • 1. What counts as knowledge? This prompt asks what actually qualifies as "knowing" something, as opposed to merely believing or guessing it. Object examples: a compass (procedural knowledge of direction versus theoretical understanding of magnetism), a recipe card handed down through a family (tacit, experiential knowledge that resists full written codification).
  • 2. Are some types of knowledge more useful than others? This one invites comparison across different knowledge types, practical, theoretical, or experiential, and what "useful" even means in context. Object examples: a first-aid manual (immediately practical knowledge), a philosophy textbook (knowledge valued for understanding rather than application).
  • 3. What features of knowledge have an impact on its reliability? Here you're examining what makes some knowledge claims more trustworthy than others, source, method, or verification. Object examples: a peer-reviewed scientific journal article, a viral social media post making a health claim.
  • 4. On what grounds might we doubt a claim? This prompt is about scrutinizing the basis for skepticism itself, not just listing things people doubt. Object examples: a retracted scientific paper, a historical propaganda poster later exposed as misleading.
  • 5. What counts as good evidence for a claim? A prompt built for comparing evidence standards across different fields or contexts. Object examples: a fingerprint used in forensic investigation, an eyewitness testimony transcript from a courtroom.
  • 6. How does the way that we organize or classify knowledge affect what we know? This one rewards objects that show classification systems actively shaping understanding, not just storing it. Object examples: a library's Dewey Decimal catalog card, a biological taxonomy chart.
  • 7. What are the implications of having, or not having, knowledge? A genuinely flexible prompt about consequences, personal, social, or ethical, tied to possessing or lacking specific knowledge. Object examples: a vaccination record, a redacted government document.
  • 8. To what extent is certainty attainable? This prompt works well with objects tied to fields where certainty is explicitly debated, mathematics, physics, or law. Object examples: a mathematical proof, a weather forecast map showing probability ranges.

Cluster Two: Interpretation, Doubt, and Change (Prompts 9–14)

  • 9. Are some types of knowledge less open to interpretation than others? This prompt rewards contrasting a field with fairly fixed answers against one built on ongoing interpretive debate. Object examples: a multiplication table, a poem studied in a literature class.
  • 10. What challenges are raised by the dissemination and/or communication of knowledge? A strong fit for objects tied to translation, simplification, or media distortion. Object examples: a simplified news infographic, a scientific paper's press release.
  • 11.Can new knowledge change established values or beliefs? This one favors objects tied to a specific historical or scientific turning point. Object examples: a Galileo-era astronomical diagram, a DNA testing kit.
  • 12. Is bias inevitable in the production of knowledge? A widely popular prompt, best handled with objects that reveal a specific, identifiable source of bias rather than a vague general claim. Object examples: a curated museum exhibit label, an algorithm-driven social media feed screenshot.
  • 13. How can we know that current knowledge is an improvement upon past knowledge? This prompt suits objects that let you compare an older and newer version of the same kind of knowledge claim. Object examples: an outdated medical textbook, a superseded scientific model diagram (like a pre-Copernican solar system chart).
  • 14. Does some knowledge belong only to particular communities of knowers? This one works well with objects tied to insider or specialized knowledge, indigenous, professional, or subcultural. Object examples: a traditional healing recipe, a coding language reference specific to a niche developer community.

Cluster Three: Pursuit, Ethics, and Justification (Prompts 15–20)

  • 15. What constraints are there on the pursuit of knowledge? This prompt suits objects tied to funding, legal, or physical limitations on research or inquiry. Object examples: a grant application form, a restricted-access archive sign.
  • 16. Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds? A genuinely provocative prompt, best paired with objects tied to real ethical controversies in research. Object examples: a historical account of unethical medical experimentation, a CRISPR gene-editing diagram.
  • 17. Why do we seek knowledge? This one rewards objects tied to a clear underlying motivation, curiosity, survival, or profit. Object examples: a telescope built by an amateur astronomer, a patent application document.
  • 18. Are some things unknowable? A prompt suited to objects at the edge of current understanding. Object examples: a black hole imaging diagram, a philosophical text on consciousness.
  • 19. What counts as a good justification for a claim? This prompt invites comparing justification standards across disciplines. Object examples: a court ruling citing legal precedent, a mathematical theorem's proof.
  • 20. What is the relationship between personal experience and knowledge? Well-suited to objects tied to firsthand, lived experience versus secondhand or textbook learning. Object examples: a personal travel journal, a clinical case study report.

Cluster Four: Knowers, Experts, and Context (Prompts 21–27)

  • 21. What is the relationship between knowledge and culture? This prompt favors objects that reveal how cultural background shapes what counts as knowledge. Object examples: a traditional medicine guide, a folk tale collection.
  • 22. What role do experts play in influencing our consumption or acquisition of knowledge? A strong fit for objects tied to authority, credentialing, or expert testimony. Object examples: a doctor's prescription pad, a televised expert interview transcript.
  • 23. How important are material tools in the production or acquisition of knowledge? This prompt rewards objects that are literally instruments of discovery. Object examples: a telescope, a DNA sequencing device, a smartphone used for citizen science data collection.
  • 24. How might the context in which knowledge is presented influence whether it is accepted or rejected? Best paired with objects that show the same information landing differently depending on framing or setting. Object examples: a tabloid headline versus a broadsheet headline on the same event, a public health poster displayed in different community settings.
  • 25. How can we distinguish between knowledge, belief and opinion? A conceptually rich prompt suited to objects that blur these categories. Object examples: a horoscope column, a scientific consensus statement.
  • 26. Does our knowledge depend on our interactions with other knowers? This prompt works well with objects tied to collaborative or dialogic knowledge-building. Object examples: a collaborative research paper with multiple authors, a Wikipedia edit history page.
  • 27. Does all knowledge impose ethical obligations on those who know it? A prompt suited to objects tied to knowledge that carries a duty to act. Object examples: a whistleblower's leaked document, a mandatory reporting form used by teachers or doctors.

Cluster Five: Objectivity, Ownership, and Values (Prompts 28–35)

  • 28. To what extent is objectivity possible in the production or acquisition of knowledge? This prompt rewards objects tied to fields that explicitly strive for, or struggle with, objectivity. Object examples: a controlled experiment's lab protocol, a journalist's style guide on neutral language.
  • 29. Who owns knowledge? Well-suited to objects tied to intellectual property, patents, or indigenous knowledge rights. Object examples: a patent certificate, a traditional knowledge protection agreement.
  • 30. What role does imagination play in producing knowledge about the world? This prompt favors objects from fields where imaginative leaps precede formal proof. Object examples: a science fiction novel that predicted a real technology, an early conceptual sketch of an invention.
  • 31. How can we judge when evidence is adequate? Best paired with objects tied to a specific evidentiary threshold. Object examples: a clinical trial results summary, a jury instruction sheet on "reasonable doubt."
  • 32. What makes a good explanation? This prompt suits objects that show explanation quality varying by audience or purpose. Object examples: a children's science picture book, a technical engineering manual explaining the same phenomenon.
  • 33. How is current knowledge shaped by its historical development? A strong fit for objects with a visible lineage or revision history. Object examples: an early edition of a scientific text next to a modern one, a historical map showing outdated geographic knowledge.
  • 34. In what ways do our values affect our acquisition of knowledge? This prompt rewards objects tied to a specific value system shaping what someone chooses to learn or investigate. Object examples: a religious community's dietary guide, an environmental activist's field journal.
  • 35. In what ways do values affect the production of knowledge? Closely related to prompt 34 but focused on production rather than acquisition, best paired with objects showing values shaping research priorities or outputs. Object examples: a pharmaceutical company's research funding priorities list, a government-commissioned scientific report on a politically sensitive topic.

How to Narrow 35 Prompts Down to One

With this many TOK exhibition prompts to choose from, working backward from objects you already know well tends to beat starting from the prompt list cold. A few principles that consistently help:
  • Brainstorm 8 to 12 candidate objects from your own life, studies, or current events first, then check which of the 35 prompts they genuinely support, rather than picking a prompt and forcing objects to fit afterward.
  • Choose objects with real specificity. “A book” is weak; “my annotated copy of a specific edition, with a particular margin note” is strong. Specificity is what lets you write real analysis instead of generic description.
  • Pick a prompt your three objects can approach from genuinely different angles. Three objects that all make the same point in slightly different words won’t score as well as three that each reveal a distinct facet of the prompt.
  • Favor prompts connected to your other IB subjects or personal experience, since that familiarity tends to produce sharper, more specific commentary than an unfamiliar topic chosen because it sounds sophisticated.

Common Mistakes With Objects and Prompts

  • Choosing objects that are too generic or symbolic: A vague, stand-in object (“a book” representing “all knowledge”) reads as weak compared to a specific, real object with genuine context.
  • Picking three objects that make the same point: Strong exhibitions use their three objects to show different facets or tensions within the prompt, not repeat one idea three times.
  • Treating the exhibition as a research assignment: Cited research can support your commentary, but the task is about demonstrating how TOK manifests around real objects, not writing a research report.
  • Modifying the prompt’s wording: Even a recognizable rewording risks being marked against the original prompt, and any resulting mismatch between your commentary and that original wording will cost you marks.
  • Ignoring the combined word limit: Since 950 words covers all three object commentaries together, not 950 words each, students who don’t plan their word budget in advance often run out of room for their strongest analysis.

How Quest for Success Can Help

Turning 35 abstract TOK exhibition questions into one focused, well-supported exhibition takes real judgment, especially since the strongest choice usually depends on what specific objects you can actually access and analyze in depth. At Quest for Success, we help students shortlist prompts based on their genuine interests and available objects, refine vague object ideas into specific, well-contextualized ones, and structure the 950-word commentary so each object’s contribution to the prompt is unmistakably clear to the examiner.

Summary

The TOK Exhibition asks students to choose exactly one of 35 fixed IA prompts and connect it to three specific real-world objects within a combined 950-word commentary, internally graded and externally moderated, contributing one-third of the final TOK grade. The 35 prompts span a wide range of angles on knowledge, from foundational questions about what counts as knowledge and evidence, through interpretation, ethics, and the pursuit of knowledge, to the roles experts, culture, and values play in shaping what gets known and accepted. Because the prompt list stays fixed across sessions, the real strategic work lies in matching specific, well-understood objects to a prompt that lets those objects genuinely disagree, complicate, or extend one another, rather than picking a prompt first and forcing generic objects to fit it afterward. Strong exhibitions consistently favor specificity, real objects with real context, over symbolic or generic choices, and stay tightly focused on the exact prompt wording throughout the commentary.
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FAQs

No. Unlike the six TOK essay titles, which rotate each May and November session, the 35 IA prompts for the Exhibition remain fixed for the life of the current TOK guide.
Yes. Images of objects are acceptable, as long as each one is specific and genuinely tied to real-world context relevant to your chosen prompt.
For the whole exhibition. The 950-word maximum covers all three object commentaries combined, typically split into roughly 300-word sections per object.
It’s scored zero under the TOK Exhibition assessment instrument. If you slightly reword a prompt but it’s still clearly recognizable, it’s marked against the original wording, though any resulting mismatch will still affect your score.
It’s marked holistically out of 10 by your TOK teacher and externally moderated by an IB examiner, contributing one-third of your final TOK grade, with the TOK essay making up the remaining two-thirds.
Need help choosing the right prompt from the 35 options or refining your object choices for the TOK Exhibition? Reach out to Quest for Success; we’re here to help you turn genuine objects and ideas into a focused, well-argued exhibition.
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