How do I actually learn from reading high scoring essays?

[Adequace]

I read high scoring essays and marked essays from this forum, specifically the T.R essay compilation. I don't absorb any of the feedback being given, probably due to me passively reading them in my spare time and not having an adequate foundation since I'm still in Year 10.

How do I break down one of those essays and how what should I be looking to emulate in my own essays?

Cheers

[AngelWings]

Quick list of things I did in English Language (may or may not be so relevant in English itself):
1. Highlighting words you'd like to use or don't know in one colour.

2. Find impact sentences. What I mean here is that you find sentences that are essential to the piece and things you wouldn't have worded that way, but resonate well within you. I used to find the second sentence in body paragraphs seemed to make things 'click' or gave it that extra something to make it a high scoring essay. Mark these too.

3. Annotate. Simplify their main arguments per paragraph in a short sentence. Find key words (or synonyms of) in the prompt. Find out the differences between what you'd have written for the prompt and why it differs. Are their arguments 'better' somehow or more sophisticated?

4. Don't be afraid to seemingly scribble all over the (copied) page. As long as you understand it, it doesn't have to be neat.

[meganrobyn]

Basically, learn what ingredients go into each paragraph and then try to find them - ask yourself whether they worked effectively and, if so, why (or, if not, why not).

Then, make a list of good general Englishey things (eg vocab, sophisticated expression, specific words instead of vague ones, complex sentence structure, etc) and run through, finding examples.

For instance:

Introduction:

- Do you know clearly what their overall response is to the whole prompt? Is it in one sentence, or do they explain it incrementally?
- Do you know clearly how they plan to structure their body paragraphs? Have they done this subtly, or really obviously or amateurishly?
- Do you know how they are defining key ideas and terms in the prompt and their argument? Have they done this elegantly, or clumsily?
- Have they fit their argument into the wider context of the text or the author in any way?

Body paragraphs:

- Does the opening sentence tell you everything that's being discussed in that paragraph, or is it merely a text example or half the paragraph argument?
- Do they use specific evidence from the text, or vague generalisations/assertions?
- Do they have multiple sentences describing the text/plot/characters (ie "telling the story" and is bad), or do they actually link each bit of text detail back to an argument or interpretation (ie analysis and is good)?

And so on...

Remember that just because it's a high-scoring essay that doesn't mean it does everything well. So it's fine to criticise, as you will learn just as much (if not more) from that, too, if you know the reasons why the criticism is justified.

[heids]

Excellent advice above angel and megan, my 2c:

If you passively read essays you'll absorb some stuff slowly, but you might just as well (no, better) be reading something you enjoy.

I'd tend to use essays not as reading matter, but as tools to solve particular questions.  For instance, if I wanted to learn how to structure intros, I might get 10 different high-scoring intros and break down how they structured them (do they respond to the prompt in the first sentence or spend an age getting to the point, how to they signpost arguments, how do they phrase their contention, etc.).  Or you might look at structuring topic sentences, or how they avoid storytelling, or how they break down the prompt into paragraphs, or how they link their ideas, or how they vary their sentence structure, or whatever.  Don't just read.  Read with a particular purpose in mind, take notes, and then try to apply the specific thing(s) you learned to your next essay.

Re reading marked essays, I'd always do it with a document open or pen and paper.  Note down ANYTHING that you can see that is relevant to you and your problems, like embedding quotes correctly, avoiding story-telling, how to structure intros, etc.  There's often a wealth of valuable advice, though you'll have to disregard a lot of stuff that's specific to the writer's individual issues. 

I repeat: take notes; don't just hope to absorb.