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“Because things are the way they are, things will

not stay the way they are. ”

Bertolt Brecht

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CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OVER TIME The Continuity and Change Over Time

(CCOT) essay question tests the student’s ability to trace a broad trend or development over a long period of time

The CCOT lends itself to a topical approach Topics may include cultural interchange,

global trade, the movement and migration of peoples, the role of minorities in a given society, the status of women, environmental issues, biological developments, changes in technology, artistic and cultural attitudes, and scientific innovations

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GENERAL TIPS FOR WRITING A CCOT Students should take 40 minutes to complete

the CCOT essay Students should spend 5 of the 40 minutes

reading the question, reflecting on the question, and organizing thoughts concerning the essay

The CCOT will request that students analyze the evolution of a trend or phenomenon over a long period of time

Students will be asked to focus on a particular nation or geographical region and may be given a choice regarding which nation or region must be included in the essay

E. Napp The requirements for the CCOT are more

straightforward than those for the DBQ. However, students must concentrate on showing what changed and how it changed as well as what remained the same.

E. NappTHOUGHTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING What were things like at the beginning of the

assigned period? What changed? How and why did it change? What were things like at the end of the

assigned period? What differences did those changes make? What remained the same?

E. NappDefinition: Change

To make different in some particular

~Merriam-Webster dictionary

Definition: Continuity Uninterrupted connection, succession, or

union

~Merriam-Webster dictionary

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SO, WAIT A MINUTE It’s not just about change but about what

remained the same

Don’t forget the continuity part of the Continuity and Change Over Time Essay

E. NappLet’s Practice!

E. NappFROM THE 2005 WORLD HISTORY AP EXAMINATION (COURTESY OF COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMINATION BOARD):

Analyze the social and economic transformations that occurred in the Atlantic world as a result of new contacts among Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas from 1492 to 1750.

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READ THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY Analyze social and economic transformations But also analyze continuities As a result of new contacts among Western

Europe, Africa, and the Americas From 1492 to 1750

E. NappFACTS ABOUT 1492 The Spanish, distracted by the Reconquista,

were not as quick as the Portuguese to start exploring

Falling behind meant that, if the Spanish wanted their own sea route to Asia, they would have to try something different

The result was the famous voyage of the Italian captain Christopher Columbus in 1492, sponsored by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

What Columbus proposed was to sail west to reach China and India

What made his proposal striking was his belief that the world was small enough that an expedition would be able to sail from Spain to Asia without getting lost or running out of food and water

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ships reached the islands of the Caribbean on October 12

Columbus was convinced that he had found the Indies, but the Spanish and Portuguese realized quickly that what he had found were lands completely unknown to them

The two countries turned to the pope to determine who would be allowed to claim which parts of the New World

In lines of demarcation agreed to in 1494 and 1529, the pope gave jurisdiction over most of South America and all of North America to the Spanish

The Portuguese received Brazil

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So, the year 1492 was a significant turning point in world history. It brought the largely isolated Americas into permanent contact with Europe and Africa

It led to the destruction of autonomous and independent civilizations and societies in the Americas

It led to the encomienda system of Indian slavery and the deaths of large numbers of Native American Indians due to conquest and disease

It led to the importation of African slaves to replace a dying Native American Indian population

It led to the enrichment of Western European nations as silver and cash crops like sugar and cotton benefitted Europeans through their mercantilist practices

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And after 1750, the Industrial Revolution will begin in England and spread to Western Europe and the Americas

Therefore, this CCOT essay’s time period is from the arrival of Columbus in the Americas until just before the Industrial Revolution begins

It is an essay about the conquest and colonization of the Americas, primarily by Spain and Portugal, and the tragedy of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Triangular Trade as well as mercantilism

It is an essay about the consequences of the Columbian Exchange and the intensification of global trade

It is a time period long before the independence movements of the 1800s

E. NappSO, CONSIDER THE COLONIAL SOCIAL CLASS HIERARCHY WHEN WRITING Peninsulares Creoles Mestizos Indians Africans

E. NappCONSIDER THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

E. NappCONSIDER THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

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CONSIDER MERCANTILISM

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CONSIDER THE IMPACT OF DISEASE

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CONSIDER TRIANGULAR TRADE

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CONSIDER RELIGIOUS CONVERSION

E. NappYES, THESE ARE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES BUT THERE ARE CONTINUITIES Cultures do not simply cease to exist

because of conquest and forced conversion Cultural syncretism can and does occur

Definition: Syncretism

the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms

~Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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CONSIDER RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM

E. NappBUT DO NOT CONSIDER EVENTS AFTER 1750 This time period does not include the

Scramble for Africa, the Berlin Conference, Industrialization, and the New Imperialism

Therefore, particularly regarding Africa, remember that African merchants participated in the Atlantic Slave Trade in exchange for European goods

Dates are important and this time period from 1492 until 1750 is the time of the conquest and colonization of the Americas, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Age of Mercantilism, and the beginning of colonial aspirations of several European nations

E. NappBEFORE WRITING, LET’S REVIEW THE SCORING GUIDE Basic Core (For a possible total of 7 points) -Acceptable Thesis (1 point) -Deals with all parts of the question, though

not necessarily evenly or completely (2 points – partial credit can be given)

-Backs up thesis with appropriate historical evidence (2 points – partial credit can be given)

- Uses historical context to illustrate continuity and change over time (1 point)

-Analyzes the process of change and continuity (1 point)

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THE EXPANDED CORE FOR CCOT A score of 7 must be earned before a student

can gain expanded-core points (Total of 2 points)

Examples of Expanded Core: -Begins with an explicit, analytical, and

comprehensive thesis -Deals with all aspects of the question -Gives ample historical evidence to back up

thesis -Creatively links topic to relevant ideas,

trends, and events

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KEY INGREDIENTS Thesis Addressing all parts of the question Historical evidence to support thesis Using historical context to illustrate

continuity and change over time Analyzing the process of continuity and

change And for expanded core points: Analytical,

Comprehensive, Ample Evidence, Creative

E. NappTAKE A MOMENT TO ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS AND THEN BEGIN WRITING!

E. NappHOW MANY FACTS CAN BE RECALLED? Facts will provide the evidence needed to

support the thesis So, ultimately, it is important to recall as

many facts as possible that will support the thesis

It is also important to recall facts for all regions listed in the question: Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas

Points count Choose to win

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SAMPLE THESIS PARAGRAPH The year 1492 was a significant turning point in

the Atlantic World and world history. The unexpected arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas eventually led to profound social and economic transformations that greatly altered societies in Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas. As a result of new contacts in the Atlantic World, some societies benefitted economically and socially while others were greatly weakened, damaged, or even destroyed. Yet in the midst of these significant changes lingered aspects of earlier cultural realities. While it was predominantly a period of great change, certain realities from earlier days remained.

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FACTS MATTER To write a Continuity and Change Over Time

essay, facts are critical Unlike the DBQ, the only information the

student has to answer the question is the information the student has remembered

And the best way to remember information is to practice and interact with it regularly

E. Napp“Excellence is an art won

by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we

have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we

repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not

an act but a habit.”

Aristotle