ORT History study plan

Build a dated timeline of the major river-valley and early state societies (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus, Shang China, Mesoamerica, Andes) and place each entry on it with start/end dates and one key transition marker

Define periodization criteria (political, technological, economic) and label which criterion justifies each boundary you drew on the timeline

Write a one-paragraph profile of five early civilizations covering environment, subsistence base, political structure, and one surviving source type

Explain how archaeological stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating constrain the dates you assigned, in a short written note

Compare three categories of evidence for ancient history (textual, archaeological, epigraphic) and state what each can and cannot establish

Analyze one law code or administrative text as a primary source: identify author, audience, purpose, and silences

Distinguish primary from secondary sources in a set of ten items and justify each classification in one sentence

Draft a short answer explaining why 'the first civilization' is a periodization claim rather than a fact

Map the political sequence of the classical Mediterranean (Greek city-states, Hellenistic kingdoms, Roman Republic to Empire) onto your timeline with causal links noted

Contrast two periodization schemes for the medieval period (for example European vs. Islamic-world vs. Chinese framing) and identify what each obscures

Summarize the main institutional features of one classical and one medieval state in structured notes

Explain the historiographical debate over the term 'Dark Ages' and argue for a preferred alternative label

Trace three transregional exchange networks (Indian Ocean, Silk Roads, trans-Saharan) and identify goods, ideas, and pathogens moving along each

Explain how the spread of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam interacted with political consolidation in at least two regions

Assess the demographic and institutional impact of the fourteenth-century plague across three regions using comparative evidence

Evaluate one secondary-source interpretation of medieval globalization and state where you agree or disagree and why

Sequence the major early modern transformations (overseas expansion, Reformation, gunpowder empires, Columbian exchange) with dates and causal arrows

Analyze the Columbian exchange's biological and economic consequences in two hemispheres using specific evidence

Compare two gunpowder empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming/Qing) on revenue, military organization, and legitimacy

Explain how the Atlantic slave trade reshaped economies and societies in Africa and the Americas, citing mechanisms rather than generalities

Construct a timeline of the industrial revolutions and political revolutions (1776-1848) and identify which changes were gradual versus abrupt

Assess three competing explanations for industrialization's origins and state the evidence each relies on

Connect one modern theme (nationalism, migration, or empire) across at least three periods and explain what changes and what persists

Argue for the historical significance of one event using explicit criteria (scale, durability, consequence)

Analyze twentieth-century global conflicts and decolonization through a cause-consequence framework covering at least three regions

Compare two historiographical schools (for example social history vs. diplomatic history) on one twentieth-century topic and identify their differing evidence bases

Evaluate one contested historical claim by listing supporting and contradicting evidence and stating a provisional judgment

Practice detecting bias and anachronism in three short source excerpts

Consolidate all timeline entries into one master chronology and resolve at least five date conflicts or ambiguities

Rehearse periodization reasoning by defending two alternative boundaries for the same era

Complete a timed mixed-domain practice set and categorize every error by domain and skill type

Build a one-page reference sheet of chronology anchors, key terms, and source-analysis prompts for final review