Describes similarities and/or differences between different historical developments or processes
Explain relevant similarities and/or differences between specific historical developments and processes
Explain the relative historical significance of similarities and/or differences between different historical developments and processes
T1 Similarities: Evaluate the extent of similarities between _____ and _____.
T1 Differences: Evaluate the extent of differences between _____ and _____.
T2 Similarities: Evaluate the extent of _____ similarities between _____ and _____.
T2 Differences: Evaluate the extent of _____ differences between _____ and _____.
The differences between T1 and T2 is that T1 students are not given a theme (or organizational category) to write on, so they can choose what they want. In T2 students are given a specific theme to write on .
The graphic organizer for a comparison essay is similar to a Venn Diagram. The vertical lines separate information which is about the similarities and differences between the two objects under investigation. In the space in the middle, note similarities between the two objects under investigation. In the spaces on the outside of the boxes, note differences between the two objects under investigation. The horizontal line separates the two themes that you will use to organize the information. Just like in a Venn Diagram, the middle space represents the similarities, and the outside spaces represent differences. This format is easier to use and provides more writing space in soft and hard formats.
Concrete Example of a Comparison Prompt
Consider the following prompt:
Evaluate the extent of similarities between the Chesapeake and the New England colonies in North America from 1607 to 1754.
You should ask yourself several things when you first encounter an essay prompt.
What is the historical thinking skill being assessed? COMPARISON
What is the overall topic of the essay prompt? COMPARING DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS
Are there any themes that are given to me that I am required to write on? NO
What are the parameters (time constraints) of the essay prompt? 1607 - 1754
Because this is not a DBQ, there are no documents , so you must come up with the specific information on your own. You also need to think about the course themes and consider which two you think are the most relevant to the essay prompt. NOTE: there is no right or wrong way of organizing this essay. As previously noted, it all depends on how you use the specific information to support and defend your argument. This example uses the two themes: Geography & Migration (MIG) and Politics & Power (PCE).
Once the information is organized, you need to determine what your argument is going to be with regard to the prompt. Remember, the prompt asked for you to determine the "extent of similarities." This is the key to understanding what the argument is going to be. To evaluate the extent of similarities or differences, you are being asked to argue whether you believe there are more similarities or differences between the two objects under investigation.
In all essay prompts, you need to come up with a 2/1 ratio for your argument. So for a comparison essay, because you are determining whether there are more similarities or differences, you need to have 2 themed organized differences (indicated as A, in blue, and B, in green, on the chart) and 1 similarity (indicated by X, in red, on the chart). Or vice versa, if you are going ot argue there are more similarities (then you would have 2 similarities to 1 difference). This will lead to your thesis package.
You will sometimes be asked to make historical arguments about events or ideas that cross multiple time periods or compare different societies or peoples.A strong comparison argument should involve an explanation of the causes of differences and similarities. Therefore, causation often plays a crucial role in supporting a comparison. Here, we'll walk through how to connect the two historical reasoning skills to begin to develop an argument about early European colonization of the New World.
A good place to start a historical comparison is by simply considering what you learned about the early era of Spanish colonization in Period 1 alongside your knowledge of the characteristics of seventeenth-century French, Dutch, and Spanish colonies. In this way, you are already comparing both two different era (the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) and multiple peoples (the French, Dutch, Spanish). If you are unsure how to approach this kind of comparative thinking, it may help to ask yourself questions about the features of each of these nation's colonies. It's also helpful to break these features into different major categories for analysis.
politics
economy
society/culture
interactions with the environment
technology
As you think about each of these categories, make note of anywhere two or more of the colonies show similarities and/or differences. Keep in mind that categories often overlap and that this is just a strategy to begin your prewriting. One way to approach this process is by creating a table like the one that follows. In it, we have taken one category--economy--and modeled how you might jot down descriptions of a similarity and a difference between two or more colonies before connecting them to causes.
Remember, this process is just one way to use causation to establish reasons for each historical development you note. Any system that allows you to quickly categorize similarities and differences along with their causes is one you should continue to develop as you approach writing in this course.
Gather your thoughts by writing one sentence comparing and/or contrasting at least two, if not all three, colonies for each of the categories we explored in step 1 (politics, economy, society/culture, interactions with the environment, and technology).
Be sure to include all three nations, and remember that comparison should always take differences into account. Then, support your comparisons by adding one to three sentences that explain the causes of the similarity or the causes of the difference. The purpose of writing three sentences down isn't to craft and support a well-developed argument. For now, you should merely focus on clearly expressing your knowledge of how historical events relate to each other and explaining the causes for those similarities and differences. For example, a summary comparing the economies of each nation's colonies might look like this:
By the time the French and Dutch began colonization in North America, the Spanish had established the encomienda system of forced labor for American Indian communities in Central and South America. This system required that American Indians perform manual labor on behalf of the Spanish including farming and mining for precious metals in some regions. Because the encomienda system grew out of the Spanish need for forced labor, it depended upon a relatively large population of occupying Spanish forces, colonists, and religious authorities who sought to convert American Indians to Catholicism. The French and the Dutch, on the other hand, established sparsely populated colonies in the early seventeenth century, at least a generation after the Spanish, and concentrated primarily on establishing trade networks with American Indians for goods such as furs.
Although this short paragraph is very general and straightforward, it is a strong example of how to comment comparison to causation in that it brings together the Spanish desire to transform native societies for Spanish benefit and the relatively large Spanish colonial population required to oversee the encomienda system. Likewise, this paragraph establishes that the late arrival of the Dutch and French, and their desire to create trade networks with American Indians rather than a forced labor system, resulted in their colonies' sparse populations.