The Socratic Review Method
I've been coaching the LSAT since 2005, and the most common thing I hear from a stuck student isn't “I don't get it.” It's “I got it, and then I missed it again.”
That's what this book is for. The Socratic Review Method is six steps you run on one troubled question, in writing, in a fixed order. It starts with what you were thinking when you clicked, before the answer key can rewrite it, and it ends with a rule in your own words and a date to test it. Every step is shown in my real coaching sessions, so you can hear how it sounds before you run it alone.
Read it free below, chapter by chapter. For a PDF to keep, plus the companion workbook, tell me where to send it.
Read the book
- Introduction: The same question, twice
- The review you were taught
- The whole method on one page
- Step 1, the deposition: "What were you thinking?"
- Step 2, the rebuild: "What's the conclusion? What's the evidence?"
- Step 3, where the point died: "Stimulus, stem, or choices?"
- Step 4, the why-chain: "Does that need to be the case?"
- Step 5, the forecast: "Where will this show up next?"
- Step 5, the rule: "What would you do differently on the next one?"
- Step 6, the rematch: "When do you try it cold?"
- When nothing comes
- The clock is a review problem
- I hear you
- The plateau is made of small things
- Twelve students, first session to last
- If you're the one asking: the five refusals
- Run it on one question tonight
- Ask Steve: eight questions about review
- Appendix: The card, in the room's words
Questions about the method
What is the Socratic Review Method?
It's a protocol you run alone, at a table, in writing: one troubled LSAT question, 20 minutes, 6 steps in a fixed order. You take the deposition, rebuild the argument, mark where the point died, run the why-chain to root cause, write the forecast and the rule, and book the rematch.
How long does one review take?
About 20 minutes a question: 2 for the deposition, 3 for the rebuild, 2 to mark where the point died, 8 for the why-chain, 3 for the rule and the forecast, and 2 to book the rematch.
Which questions should I review this way?
Troubled questions only: misses, guesses that landed, right answers that took too long, and right answers you weren't sure of. A question you got right quickly, for the right reason, doesn't need the full 20 minutes.
Is the book free?
Yes. Every chapter is free to read on this page, with no signup. The PDF and the companion workbook come by email from unpluggedprep.com/books.
If you've read Anyone Can Beat the LSAT
If you want the full LSAT plan around this method, Anyone Can Beat the LSAT is that book. Its chapter 6 is this book in miniature, and its free companion workbook holds the drill bank. Both books use the same six steps, so you can go back and forth between them.
