HOW TO DO A CONTINUITY AND
CHANGE OVER TIME ESSAY AND
A COMPARATIVE ESSAY.
CCOT
 This essay deals specifically with analysis of
continuities and changes over time covering
at least one of the periods in the course
outline.
 It addresses, for example, technology, trade,
culture, migrations, or environment.
 The CCOT questions require analysis of
process and explanation of causation with
specific examples
Example CCOT Essay
The time allotted for this essay is 40 minutes, 5
of which should be spent planning and/or
outlining your answer.
Directions: You are to answer the following
question. You should spend 5 minutes
organizing or outlining you essay. Write an
essay that:

Has a relevant thesis and supports that
thesis with appropriate historical evidence
 Address all parts of the question.
 Uses world historical context to show
continuities and changes over time.
 Analyzes the process of continuity and
change over time.
 Pick one of the following regions and analyze the
continuities and changes in the region’s
connections to the world trading systems from
1450-2000. Be sure to explain how alterations in
the framework of international trade interacted
with regional factors to produce continuities and
changes throughout the period.

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China
Latin America
Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East
Another Ex.
 Analyze major changes and continuities in
the formation of national identities in ONE of
the regions listed below from 1914-present.
Be sure to include evidence from specific
countries in the region selected.
 Middle East
 Southeast Asia
 Sub-Saharan Africa
From the Princeton Review
 Tend to deal with global issues
 Trade, technology, culture, migrations, biological
developments
 You need to talk about how things were prior to
the change and them make it clear why things
changed
 You must cover historical development
 Process the question
 Answer all parts of the question
 Build framework
 Baseline, impact, change, and continuity
Comparative Essay
 This essay focuses on developments in at least
two societies or regions.
 It relates to major themes in the course, such as
social and gender structures, interactions
between or among societies, political
organization, or economic systems.
 Comparative questions always require analysis of
reasons for the similarities and differences
identified.
 Students may have the opportunity to choose
different cases for comparisons
From the Princeton Review
 Compare how 2 societies responded to a
major event
 Usually the easiest, but students score the
lowest (fatigue)
 Include BOTH similarities and differences
 Address all parts of the question
Comparative Essay Ex.
 The time allotted for this essay is 40 minutes,
5 minutes of which should be spent planning
and/or outlining the answer.
 Directions: you are to answer the following
question. You should spend 5 minutes
organizing or outlining your essay. Write an
essay that:
 Has a relevant thesis and supports that thesis
with appropriate historical evidence
 Addresses all parts of the question.
 Makes direct, relevant comparisons.
 Analyzes relevant reasons for similarities and
differences.
Unfree labor systems were widely used for
agricultural production in the period 14501750. Analyze the major similarities and
differences between TWO of the following
systems:
 Caribbean Slavery
 North American Slavery
 West African Slavery
 Russian Serfdom
Another Ex.
 Within the period from 1450 to 1800,
compare the processes (e.g., political, social,
and economic) of empire building in the
Spanish Empire with the empire-building
processes in ONE of the following.
 The Ottoman Empire
OR
 The Russian Empire
 They tend to deal with global issues
 Technology
 Trade
 Culture
 Migrations
 Biological development
 You need to talk about how things were prior
to the change and then make it clear why
things changed
 Must cover historical development
 Answer all parts of the questions
What do they want from you?
 Your soul (kidding)
 Make connections
 In any given period of time/history, can you
explain what’s going on?
 What was the affect on the rest of the world?
 What changed about this society during this
time period?
 How did people interact with their
environment?
 What new ideas, thoughts, and styles came
into existence?
 How did different societies get along (or not)
within a time period?
 How did economic systems develop and
what did they depend on in terms of
agriculture, trade, labor, industrialization, and
demands of consumers?
 Who had power and who did not within a
given culture and why?
 Use transitional words
 Write neatly
 Try for correct spelling
 Use simple and compound sentences
 Watch your time
 Ask to have it posted
 Think before you write
 You won’t need to know much about
American History
 Understand how Enlightenment had impact
 What inspired revolutions?
 Influence?
 Type of gov’t created?
Multiple Choice Questions
 70 questions
 55 minutes
 Questions jump around
 4 answer choices
 Read question and put it in your own words
 Answer in your own words
 Process of elimination
 Use best guess
 You are assessed only on the total number of
correct questions
 Sometimes, it will be a picture, graph,
political cartoon, painting, or map
 It could also be a quotation for interpretation
 Who said it?
 Period 1: Technological and Environmental
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Transformations 8000 BCE-600 BCE= 5%
Period 2: Organization and Reorganization of
Human Societies 6000 BCE-600 CE= 15%
Period 3: Regional and Transregional
Interactions= 600 CE-1450= 20%
Period 4: Global Interactions 1450-1750= 20%
Period 5: Industrialization and Global
Interaction 1750-1900= 20%
 Period 6: Accelerating Global Change and
Realignments 1900- Present= 20%