Keys to the
Continuity/Change Over
Time Essay
Changes & Continuities in Life
 Analyze the Changes and Continuities in
American Life from 1990-2012.
– What has changed? What has continued?
– What events triggered the changes?
• What important events have occurred?
• Did they impact the changes/continuities?
What is the CCOT essay?
THE BASICS
 An essay discussing characteristics that
changed and stayed the same in a given
region between two time periods.
(Comparison essay, but across time rather
than region)
 Know the required tasks & how they’re
scored
– the rubric
Changes & Continuities in Life
 Ideas to help you Write:
– Look for the Theme (labor, rights, economic
growth, military expansion, societal roles)
– Identify the region!
– Look for any significance at the given dates
– Don’t just describe a thing; must be compared
with the past (change/continuity)
– Consider processes that helped/impacted change
– Did you answer Why/How change occurred?
– Did you mention a beginning/middle/end within
the time period?
Fundamentals of CCOT
 Answering the question:
– Remember continuities, not just changes
– Establish a baseline before describing the
changes that occur
 Thesis
– Establish time period boundaries & address
entire period
 Substantiating Thesis:
– Give specific examples to support thesis claims
(requires that you know history)
Complexities of CCOT
 Analyzing process of change:
– What are some common triggers for change:
– Consider that change happens unevenly in places
and overtime…often speeding up & slowing
down
– Are there steps to the change?
• Intermediate points between the beginning &
end of period are important
Complexities of CCOT
 Historical context
– Remember that changes & continuities in a
particular region do not happen in a vacuum
– Use varying scope – global trends v. regional v.
local
• Don’t be afraid to note exceptions to a trend
Ways to Structure CCOT - #1
1. Beginning Situation (start date)
2. Cause of Change
A. There might be a specific date of the cause, or “turning
point,”
B. a specific date when the change is observable, or “tipping
point,” but the cause of the change was gradual with no
specific date of onset, or
C. a series of factors leading to change, each with different
onset dates or no clear onset date of all, which caused
gradual change in an un-dramatic fashion.
3. Date by which Change is Observable (end date)
A. What were the changes in contrast with the Beginning
Situation
B. What were the continuities from the Beginning Situation
Example
 Prompt:
• Analyze the changes brought by
migration in ONE of the following
regions between 1500 BCE and 1000 CE.

Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East
– Be sure to include a discussion of migration
in 1500 BCE
What is the prompt asking us
to do?
 Analyze the CHANGES migration
created in ONE region
– South Asia
• Ancient India – Classical Period (Ch. 3)
– Focus on Aryan migrations, Dravidians, Upanishads, etc.
– Sub-Saharan Africa
• African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam - PostClassical Era (Ch. 8)
– Focus on Bantu-speaking peoples migration, statelesssocieties, and their transition to regional kingdoms
South-East Asia
 South Asia
- Aryan migrations (a branch of the Indo-European
migrations) moving through Khyber Pass into S. Asia
about 1500 BCE
- Upanishads – beliefs about reincarnation/karma [from
Aryan and Dravidian interaction]
- After conquering the agricultural peoples of the Indus
valley, the nomadic Aryans imposed their class system
based on skin color
• This class system would develop into the Hindu caste system
• Aryan literature (the Vedas) became basic for Hindu belief
• Following Aryan traditions, cattle became symbols of wealth
Sub-Saharan Africa
 Around 1500 BCE, small numbers of Bantu-
speaking peoples had begun to migrate from
present-day Nigeria (due to population pressures)
– Carried agriculture and ironworking tech.
 Migrations of Bantu-speaking people moved
around 700-500 BCE, southward and eastward
– Farmed along riverbanks (Congo)
– Transmitted knowledge of agriculture and ironworking
to cattle herders, learning cattle-herding in return
 Swahili language formed through contact with
Arabic traders in E. Africa
 From stateless societies emerged regional kingdoms