Change over Time Essay

Thesis exercise

Here is the prompt for the 2003 COT essay:

Describe and analyze the cultural, economic, and political impact of Islam on ONE of the following regions between 1000 C.E. and 1750 C.E. Be sure to discuss continuities as well as change.

West Africa

South Asia

Europe

Now, when you write a COT essay make sure you complete the following tasks:

1) In your thesis include the dates or time period

For example: “Between 1000 and 1750 C.E. . . . “

2. Include the region or country you chose.

Example: “Between 1000 and 1750 C.E. Islam impacted West Africa . . . “

3. Tell what changed and what stayed the same using the categories stated in the prompt.

Example Thesis: “Between 1000 and 1750 C.E. Islam impacted West Africa by changing its economics and political structure but many of its cultural aspects remained the same.”

The above thesis is a minimally acceptable thesis and will get you the point on the rubric. A more analytic thesis would be:

Between 1000 and 1750 C.E. Islam entered West Africa and increased its trade and centralized its politics but many aspects of African religion and gender roles remained unchanged.

So, the basic template is:

Between __(beginning date)____ and __(ending date)______, ___(area you chose to write about___) changed in the area of ____(category(ies) from the prompt)___ but stayed the same in the area of __(the other category(ies) from the prompt)__.

CAUTION: The categories you put in your thesis must be the ones given by the prompt! If the prompt asks you to address changes in labor systems, don’t write about political change! If it asks for demographic changes, don’t write about changes in patterns of trade!

You should learn to see a prompt like this one below. Let these words hit you in the face so you won’t forget them. In other words, figure out what it’s asking for and burn this into your mind.

Prompt:

Describe and analyze the cultural, economic, and political impact of Islam on ONE of the following regions between 1000 C.E. and 1750 C.E. Be sure to discuss continuities as well as change.

West Africa

South Asia

Europe

Now, see how this thesis below answers the above prompt by directly addressing the categories:

Thesis: economic

↓

Between 1000 and 1750 C.E. Islam entered West Africa and increased its trade and
political → centralized its politics but many aspects of African religion and gender roles
remained unchanged. ↑

cultural

Do you see how the thesis statement above contains the categories the prompt asks for? This is what we want to try and achieve.

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