I know this must be easy. I'm new to modules, so perhaps I must be missing something important.
Let $M$ be an $R$-module. Show that if there exists a submodule $N$ such that $N$ and $M/N$ are finitely generated, then $M$ is finitely generated.
If the exact sequence $0 \longrightarrow N \longrightarrow M \longrightarrow M/N \longrightarrow 0 $ (where the second and third arrows are inclusion and projection respectively) splits then $M$ would be isomorphic to the direct sum of $M$ and $M/N$ and the conclusion would follow (I think). But I can't show that it splits.
Thank you.