How to be a Happy Camper

or, “Writing a Good Social Science Essay”

CD/CM

Use CD/CM

• CD =

concrete detail

• CM = commentary

Why do we do it?

It’s all in the DetailsDetails

• Concrete Details are specific– When you get your car detailed, you expect

the shop to clean all the detailed parts of your car and to clean them thoroughly

– If the shop is not specific when they clean your car, you want your money back

– When you are not specific in your paper, you will not want your graded paper back

What is GOOD Concrete Detail?

• Good concrete detail:– Illustrates specific dates,

amounts, people, statistics, sources, etc.

– Comes from authoritative sources

– Is cited in MLA format– Is not plagiarized– Is told in your own

words

Example

“Judge Sandra Brown Armstrong ruled that the Bush Administration’s 10-year water plan for the Klamath violates the Endangered Species Act”

What is GOOD Concrete Detail?

• Good concrete detail:– Illustrates specific dates,

amounts, people, statistics, sources, etc.

– Comes from authoritative sources

– Is cited in MLA format

– Is not plagiarized

– Is told in your own words

This is an authoritative source:

This is an authoritative source:

This is an authoritative source:

These are not:

Neither is this:

http://www.geocities.com/jlfkateri/

What is GOOD Concrete Detail?

• Good concrete detail:– Illustrates specific dates,

amounts, people, statistics, sources, etc.

– Comes from authoritative sources

– Is cited in MLA format

– Is not plagiarized

– Is told in your own words

Cited in MLA

What is GOOD Concrete Detail?

• Good concrete detail:– Illustrates specific dates,

amounts, people, statistics, sources, etc.

– Comes from authoritative sources

– Is cited in MLA format

– Is not plagiarized

– Is told in your own words

Is not plagiarized

Copyright ©1995-2004 by OWL at Purdue University and Purdue University. All rights reserved.

What is GOOD Concrete Detail?

• Good concrete detail:– Illustrates specific dates,

amounts, people, statistics, sources, etc.

– Comes from authoritative sources

– Is cited in MLA format

– Is not plagiarized

– Is told in your own words

This means quotes should be used only when you can not possibly reword a phrase or sentence in any way that would sound as good as the original, exceptionally brilliant source.

Any questions?