Synthesis Essay 2

Literary and Cultural Analysis Essay

Using your reading and class notes, compose an essay that analyzes Feed and makes an argument about
what the novel is critiquing in contemporary society.

Assignment Goals
 Utilize textual evidence to make an interpretation of a work
 Demonstrate ability to conduct a close reading of short segments of a text
 Use close readings as support for an argument about the broader meaning of a work
 Make connections between literature and contemporary cultural issues

Basics
 Times New Roman 12 pt. font, 1” margins all around
 MLA format (work titles should be italicized, quotations should have page attributions, etc.)
 750 words; Longer quotations should not be included in the word count.
 Conducts a close reading of short passages from the novel (see The Little Tiger pp. 62-65)
 Works Cited page
 Outside research—you must cite at least two sources aside from the text (including, but not
limited to: historical accounts, literary analyses, interviews with authors, etc.)

Example Claims
 Feed argues through School™ and information accessibility that identity is constructed not only
of what we learn but how we learn.
 By depicting lesions and environmental degradation, Feed warns against giving over too much
control to corporations.
 By using Titus as a narrator, Feed shows how technology can flatten individuality.
 Feed uses Violet’s realizations and Titus’s parroting of advertisements to illustrate how we get
many of our ideas about life not from the world around us but from television.

Evidence
 Quote particular passages and explain why that passage supports your thesis.
 Remember to use the questions listed on p. 64 to help you analyze passages.

Organization
 Introduction: introduce the text, summarize plot points that are relevant to your thesis, and
state your thesis
 Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence that connects to a particular part of the
thesis. Never begin a paragraph with a quote.
 After your topic sentence, contextualize your evidence, then quote.
 Explain in several sentences why this quote supports your thesis.
 Conclusion: make a broader claim about what Feed says about a current issue/event or about
contemporary life and what lesson we should take from it.