ENGL 233: ALL AH WE

Professor Rashida Z. Shaw McMahon

GUIDELINES
GUIDED SHORT ESSAY: “IMAGINED COMMUNITIES”
Deadline:
No later than Wednesday, Feb. 23rd at midnight (11:59p.m.)- on Moodle

On the assigned date, students will submit a 750 word essay (three standard pages in length) on Moodle
that uses excerpts and perspectives from Benedict Anderson’s book Imagined Communities: Reflections on
the Origin and Spread of Nationalism as a frame for your analysis and opinions.

In plain words, I am interested in you making connections between Anderson’s theories and your selected
poem or play.

Required connection to: Benedict Anderson excerpts from Imagined Communities

Eligible Plays and Poetry:
• Play: Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel
• Poetry: Dionne Brand, poems from Land to Light On
• Play: Kwame Kwei Armah, Elmina’s Kitchen

Optional connections to the following essays are allowed, in addition to Benedict Anderson:
• James Bunzli, “Elmina’s Kitchen, and Permanent Collection (review)”
• Michael Pearce, “Black Power legacies in Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Elmina’s Kitchen, Fix
Up, and Statement of Regret”

Essay Prompts.
Please refer to the following class materials and selectively choose one or more areas or quotes
to launch or frame your connection to Anderson’s work:
(1) Assigned excerpt from Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities book
(2) Electronic Handout: Discussion Framework of February 4th (containing select quotes and
perspectives regarding Anderson, Nottage, Brand, and Kwei-Armah’s work)
(3) Perspectives provided from any Discussion Framework document can also be incorporated into
your essay.
Note: You are welcome to cite course material, inclusive of Discussion Framework handouts in your essay.

IMPORTANT:
Your paper should be written in the style of a “Response Paper,” meaning that you should use the
pronoun “I” in order to own your perspectives.

NECESSARY PAPER CONTENT

• Please put your Word Count at the top (first page) or end (last page) of your paper.
• Creative title
• Contain a clear Introductory Paragraph that contains a thesis* (main argument, frame, or line of
thought)
• Contain a clear Conclusion Paragraph

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 • Use direct quotes from the play(s)/poetry for your significant examples
• Use quotes from the Benedict Anderson, Discussion Framework documents, other assigned
reading to reinforce your own critique or evaluation. (Please use quotes sparingly, because they
can take up space in such a short paper. Your own voice or interpretation of a quote is always
more interesting!)
• Use the active voice in your writing. This is best achieved by using the pronoun “I”.
• Write Effective Paragraphs! Write paragraphs that transition smoothly from the previous
paragraph, begin with strong topical sentences, include relevant content, and conclude with
summative sentences.
• A Bibliography or Works Cited page (even if you use footnotes/endnotes) for all the plays and
articles/reviews discussed. Please use MLA or Chicago Manual of Style formatting. (See Moodle
for links.)
• Good grammar/Perfect spelling

*Note on Thesis Statements:

Thesis Statements are one or two sentences that express the main point, main idea or central message of
an essay. A thesis statement provides the reader with information about what the paper is about. It also
helps you, the writer, by guiding your writing and keeping your argument focused. Your thesis
statement should go beyond merely pointing out the obvious, it should instead strive to take an original
stance on the material as a result of your observations.

***OPTIONAL: Roadmaps and Section Headers:

Roadmaps are one or two sentences in your first paragraph that outline the direction of your essay’s
discussion. Some writers, for example, choose to enumerate their major arguments –i.e. “First, I will….. I
will then discuss… Lastly, I uncover…”
o Some of you may choose to conclude your first paragraph with your “roadmap” sentence.
o Please keep in mind that your roadmap sentence can be effectively supported throughout
your essay through intentional topic sentences that transition your paper, from paragraph to
paragraph, as your essay unfolds.
Section Headers. You are welcome to divide your paper into sections and create “titled” Section Headers
to help you organize your discussion. Feel free to use our scholarly readings as models for effectively
using and naming section headers.