Synthesis Paper –
Using Catcher, A Separate
Peace, and Night to help make
sense of the modern world.
What are we doing?
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For this assignment, you will use Salinger’s
Catcher in the Rye, Knowles’ A Separate Peace, and
Wiesel’s Night to make a specific, insightful, and
universal statement relating to our attempt to
make sense of the modern world.

This prompt is, admittedly, broad in scope;
therefore, you will have to sift through these works
and discover a topic worth exploring.
How are we going to do this?

Think about common ideas/topics in these texts.
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Loss of innocence, loss of faith, knowledge as a destructive
force, childhood/adulthood, microcosms, the absurd hero,
failure of language, role reversals, identity, use of symbols,
etc.
What message are the authors trying to convey about
these topics?
Pick one topic that you are particularly interested in and
try to make an interesting, illuminating statement about
this topic.
What should this paper look like?

Length


Four pages – I won’t grade anything after the fourth
page. You are welcome to write more, but your
words will go unread.
MLA Format (ALWAYS!)
Proper citations
 Times New Roman 12-point Font
 Double-spaced
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Where to start?

Thesis Statement
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Topic Sentences

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Before you begin writing, you need to know where
your paper is going.
Body Paragraphs
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A bland, unfocused thesis = a bad paper
Get ready to make some quote sandwiches
(delicious).
Intro / Conclusion Paragraphs
When is the paper due?

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As usual, I like to see how things progress in
class, so I am not sure the exact date that papers
will be due.
Tentative Date – Monday, October 11th.