1. CCOT
Prompt: : Analyze continuities and changes in trade networks between Africa and Eurasia from circa 300 C.E. to 1450 in two of the following themes… (choose from among the 5 themes)

2. Thesis Thesis must contain… A valid change A valid continuity
The time period
The region/location
Relevance to the topic

3. Thesis
Example
In Latin America from 1492 until the present, the most dramatic changes in religious beliefs and practices have been the shift from local religions to mostly Catholic beliefs and practices replacing them. However, local religions still are practiced and religions has always remained a very important part of social life in Latin America.

4. Body Paragraph
Topic Sentence: each paragraph should be about a change or continuity.
Evidence to support topic sentence.
Analysis: how or why did this change or not?
World Historical Context: What other changes or processes were occurring outside the region that are related to this topic?

5. Body Paragraph Example
The biggest change that occurred from 1492 until the present was the shift from indigenous religions to Roman Catholicism. When Spanish explorers like Columbus arrived from 1492 onward, they brought with them Catholic priests who were interested in converting new people to their religion. Conquistadors like Cortez and Pizarro who were able to conquer the Aztecs and the Inca, had a religious mission as well. The reason most Native Americans stopped worshipping their previous religions was because the Spanish were able to defeat them and wipe out the old cultural practices, including religion. Catholicism became the new religion. This was during a time when both Spain and Portugal were attempting to purify and spread Catholicism in their own kingdoms and religion was very closely tied to politics.

6. General Notes/Observations from the last CCOT…
1) A “continuity for political…” – NO SIRI LANGUAGE!! You must be articulate, not a cyborg.
2) Need to find chains of connection between your tropical change/continuity, evidence, analysis, and WHC if you have it.
3) Remember: THIS IS A ROUGH DRAFT. Don’t hold back NOR be afraid to make mistakes.

7. Notes (cont.)…
4) Need a “before and after” to demonstrate changes and continuities.
5) Follow the structure—KEEP IT SIMPLE
6) Be careful about using a change/continuity that’s included in the prompt e.g. discussing the “rise of Islam”
7) Evidence dump—its okay to do this, but the evidence must be related AND must still contain analysis.

8. Notes (cont.)
8) For the essays, there are no shortcuts. It takes repetition and a comfort with the structure and skills of argument-building.
Final Note:
“It is the mind that maketh good or ill, That maketh wretch or happy, rich or poor.” Montaigne