Appendix: The Notebook, Assembled
Every tool this book asked you to build, collected in one place. Nothing here is new; each entry points back to the chapter that explains it. Use these pages directly, copy them into your own notebook, or print the pad versions from unpluggedprep.com/books. When an entry here and a chapter disagree, trust the chapter.
1. The commitment page (chapter 2)
Date: __ Current score (or “none yet”): _ Target school: Its median LSAT: My number (median + 2, circled): My 5-test average (fill in during E phase): Retake date if needed (set on day 1): ___
2. The check-in (chapter 5; retake every 30 days)
Score each 1 to 5. Score the prep you ran, not the prep you intended.
| Day 1 | Day 30 | Day 60 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Completed a fully timed section in the last 14 days | |||
| 2. Practicing on official LSAT questions (LawHub) only | |||
| 3. Could explain why I picked each of my last 3 wrong answers | |||
| 4. Time with a test afterward at least equals time taking it | |||
| 5. My review happens in writing | |||
| 6. Lucky guesses and slow rights go in the review pile | |||
| 7. I catch the same mistake when it reruns | |||
| 8. Hours tilt toward LR, because it’s 2/3 of the score | |||
| 9. A full day off is on this week’s calendar | |||
| 10. Written target tied to a specific school’s median | |||
| 11. When I catch myself rereading, I stop for the day | |||
| 12. I could explain my last plateau in plain English | |||
| Total |
Bands: 12 to 29, building from zero. 30 to 47, working hard, paid wrong. 48 to 60, polished, 1 bottleneck. Full band guidance and the retaker rows: chapter 5. The number to watch isn’t the score. It’s the gap between columns.
3. The Socratic Review template (chapter 6)
You’ll run this, in full or in the 5-minute rerun version, roughly 200 times.
Date / question ID: __ My answer / correct answer: _ Deposition (what I was thinking when I picked it): Rebuild. Evidence: / Conclusion: Where the point died (circle 1): stimulus / stem / choices Why-chain (3 whys minimum; the last line must be a belief about arguments, not about this question): Root cause: The rule (1 sentence, my words, future tense): Costume forecast (where this skeleton shows up next): Rematch date: ___ Skeleton logged? Y / N
4. The skeleton journal, starter page (chapters 6 through 9)
One line per skeleton, your own words, a tally per appearance. Rule of 3: any bone at 3 tallies becomes next week’s priority session.
after = because: __ some = all: _ the word swap: the one-way door: percent vs. count: silence = evidence (build mode): rounding the vote (RC): true words, wrong job (RC): ___ (new bones below as you find them)
5. Predict First gate (chapter 8)
10 consecutive official LR questions, written prediction before the choices, untimed. A wrong prediction still counts; only a skipped prediction resets the streak.
☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Gate cleared (date): ______
6. The marking experiment scoreboard (chapter 9; run once, keep the winner, stop litigating)
| System | Accuracy | Time | 4 questions cold? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: margin labels (3 passages) | |||
| 2: circle owners + pivots (3) | |||
| 3: hands off + 4 questions after (3) |
Winner, hired: ______
7. The timeline (chapter 10; exit tests outrank these dates)
| Phase | My dates | Exit test |
|---|---|---|
| L: Learning | Can explain the why-chain and the drilling plateau out loud. Hard ceiling: 2 weeks. | |
| A: Accuracy | Last 50 untimed LR comfortably above what my circled number requires (165+ targets: roughly 85%); last 6 RC passages same; every miss autopsied. | |
| S: Sections | 3 straight LR sections in time, within 2 to 3 questions of untimed baseline; 1 RC likewise. | |
| E: Exams/Endurance | Section 4 within 1 to 2 of section 1; 5-test average at target. | |
| R: Review | runs under everything | The 1:1 rule held every single week. |
Test date: __ Built-in retake date: ____
8. The weekly ledger (chapter 10; Sundays, 15 minutes)
Week of: __ Hours by section (recount vs. the 2/3 Rule): _ New skeletons vs. reruns: Rule-of-3 alerts: Phase check (passing my exit test? if stalled 2 weeks, which trap’s tell?): ___
9. The panic page (chapter 12; written in advance, in your hand, each read once aloud)
If I hit a wall (2 minutes, no crack), then: __ If I spiral (pulse, hands, “this is going badly”), then: _ If a section feels like a disaster, then: If something procedural goes wrong, then: If the environment intrudes (the neighbor), then: If the clock has jumped (the time warp), then: ___
10. The day-before checklist (chapter 12; 20 minutes, then a normal evening)
☐ Appointment time and location / check-in window confirmed ☐ ID out, name matching registration exactly ☐ Permitted items staged, and only those (live list: unpluggedprep.com/books) ☐ Morning logistics planned (route and parking, or room and equipment) ☐ 2 alarms set ☐ Nothing else. No questions tonight.
11. Score day (chapter 12)
At or past the circle: write the score next to it, date it, done. Close (1 to 3 under): the 3-question test. Within range of my average? __ Unfixed skeletons still tallying? _ Calendar permits? ___ (2 yeses: the retake math usually says go.) Well under (4+ below average): the gap is the diagnosis. Fix handling, not skills: more E phase, harder rehearsals, this checklist audited.
12. The school board (chapter 13)
| School | Median LSAT | Median GPA | Me: above / at / below | Peer pair ★ | Retention rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source: the ABA’s required disclosures. Stars are negotiating positions you’re creating a year early.
13. The purchases audit (chapter 3; run once)
| Purchase (money or time) | What it promised | What it changed after a miss | Cost ($ / weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|
The rule, written under the list: no new purchases until what I own has its invoices opened. LawHub excepted.
14. The skeleton files, quick reference (chapter 7)
after = because: the tell is a causal conclusion verb on sequence or correlation evidence. Ask: what else changed, which way does the arrow run, could it be coincidence? some = all: the tell is survey or sample words under a sweeping conclusion. Ask how many, then the senior question: how chosen? the word swap: the tell is a conclusion noun you can’t find in the evidence. Rewrite both lines; the swap dies in daylight. the one-way door: the tell is if, only if, unless, requires, whenever. Translate first. The only legal reverse is backwards and negated, together. percent vs. count: the tell is a unit change mid-argument. Find the denominator before you nod. silence = evidence (build mode): bricks on the page only. What the facts don’t say proves nothing.
15. The retaker’s intake (chapter 11)
Official score: __ Final-5 practice average: _ The gap, with sign: Spread of those 5 (high minus low): Archetype (handling / variance / skill): R1, answered properly: “What will be different this time is .” Warehouse count (troubled questions sitting in my last 3 tests): ___
16. The last 14 days (chapter 12)
☐ Days 14 to 10: last 2 full tests, full reviews, ledger as usual, no new materials ☐ Days 9 to 6: 1 final test or sections only; rerun-rate reviews; rule-of-3 closing pass ☐ Days 5 and 4: the last full test, reviewed; 5-test average written under the circle ☐ Days 3 and 2: surgical and light; panic page read aloud once ☐ Day 1: fully off; the 20-minute admin block; boring bedtime ☐ Day 0: the morning protocol
17. The offer-letter 5 lines (chapter 13; find all 5 before signing)
☐ The amount, per year, not the 3-year press-release total ☐ The condition, exactly as worded (good standing vs. a GPA bar) ☐ Renewal language (guaranteed, or a process?) ☐ Restoration terms if I stumble, in writing ☐ Any deposit deadline the award expires against
18. The pacing constitution (chapter 10; 3 lines, your wording)
Article 1, banking: __ Article 2, the flag: _ Article 3, blanks: ___
