Questions for Each Step

The Socratic Method is built on questions, but not on any questions. Different types of question do different work. A teacher who has a small library of question types in their head can apply the right type at the right step. A teacher with only one or two types runs out quickly.

This article catalogues the question types and gives a mnemonic for remembering them when needed.

Why question type matters

Questions at various levels of cognition do different things. Some questions are recall-level. Some require interpretation. Some require evaluation. The choice of question shapes what the thinker can do with it.

Lower-order questions produce lower-order answers. Higher-order questions produce higher-order answers. A teacher applying the Socratic Method to their own reflection or to a class discussion needs to choose questions that push the thinking up the levels.

Eleven types of question are useful for the Socratic Method. They cover most of what the method needs.

The eleven question types

Questions of purpose

These force the thinker to define the task. Examples:

1. What is the purpose of this lesson?
2. What am I trying to achieve here?
3. What is the question we are actually answering?

A reflective practitioner uses purpose questions early in the four steps, often during eliciting and clarifying. Without a clear purpose, the rest of the work has nothing to aim at.

Questions of information

These force the thinker to look at sources and the quality of the information they have. Examples:

1. What evidence supports this claim?
2. Where did this information come from?
3. Is the source reliable?

These questions are most useful in the testing step. They check whether the position the thinker is examining is grounded in good information or in weak information dressed up as good.

Questions of interpretation

These force the thinker to make meaning from information and to view the situation from various angles and perspectives. Examples:

1. What does this evidence actually mean?
2. How could this be interpreted differently?
3. From whose perspective does this look different?

Interpretation questions are useful throughout the method, but especially in the clarifying and testing steps. They open up the possibility that the first interpretation is not the only one.

Questions of assumption

These force the thinker to look at the information, understand it, and reflect internally on the assumptions affecting it. Examples:

1. What am I assuming here?
2. What would have to be true for my position to be correct?
3. What assumptions am I bringing from my own background?

Assumption questions are at the heart of the method. They surface what is usually invisible. The work on frames and theories-in-use covered earlier connects directly to this question type.

Questions of implication

These force the thinker to follow where the information is leading and to predict outcomes and conclusions. Examples:

1. If this is true, what follows?
2. What are the likely consequences of this position?
3. What does this imply for my next class?

Implication questions are most useful in the deciding step, where the thinker is forming a new proposition that has to point toward action.

Questions of point of view

These ask the thinker to examine their own concepts in relation to the question. The teacher is not removed from the process of reflection and experience; they understand the connection and the interrelationships.

1. How does my position affect what I am seeing?
2. What is my role in the situation I am analysing?
3. What concepts of mine are doing extra work here?

These questions integrate the thinker into the analysis instead of pretending they stand outside it.

Questions of relevance

These force the thinker to decide what is being used and why. Examples:

1. How does this evidence relate to the question?
2. Is this point relevant or are we drifting?
3. What evidence is most central to the question?

Relevance questions keep the analysis on track. Without them, Socratic questioning can drift into related but unproductive areas.

Questions of accuracy

These help the thinker evaluate and test for truth and correctness. They help the practitioner see the reality of a situation rather than be blind to it. Examples:

1. How can we test this for truth?
2. Is this claim accurate as stated?
3. What does the actual evidence show?

Accuracy questions belong in the testing step. They are a check against wishful thinking.

Questions of precision

These force the thinker to give details and be specific. Examples:

1. Can you be more specific?
2. What exactly happened?
3. How much, how often, in what way?

Precision questions are particularly useful in the clarifying step. Vague claims hide problems. Precise claims expose them.

Questions of consistency

These force the thinker to consider data and information over time, to see whether the information is consistent. Examples:

1. Has this been true across multiple lessons?
2. Does this hold up when I look at the whole term?
3. Where does the pattern break?

Consistency questions guard against generalising from a single case. A pattern visible over many cases is stronger than one visible in a single class.

Questions of logic

These help the thinker consider the situation as a whole and how the questions connect in a sequential and logical way, leading from a starting point to an ending point. Examples:

1. Does this all make sense together?
2. Is there a contradiction in my reasoning?
3. Where is the gap in the chain?

Logic questions are most useful when the analysis seems to have produced a conclusion. A logic check before settling on the conclusion catches errors that would otherwise propagate.

Three broad categories

The eleven question types group into three broader categories. Each category has a particular role.

Exploratory questions

These are initial questions that help the thinker understand the situation. They show how much the thinker already knows and may be used to explore a new topic or to review past discussions that relate to the current issue.

Exploratory questions belong at the start of the method. They map the territory.

Spontaneous questions

These are responses to a particular situation or another question. They can be used to explore beliefs and assumptions and let the thinker reflect on the issue at hand.

Spontaneous questions arise during the method, in response to what comes up. A skilled questioner can respond to the answers they receive with the next useful question, instead of running through a fixed list.

Focused questions

These are questions that help the thinker narrow the discussion from a broad topic and gain more clarity. They move from broad ideas to specific ideas.

Focused questions are needed late in the method. They tighten the analysis and produce specific conclusions.

A useful Socratic session moves through all three categories, in roughly that order: exploratory, then spontaneous, then focused.

The PAPER CLIP mnemonic

The list of question types is long. A mnemonic helps. The PAPER CLIP mnemonic provides a short structure for remembering question types in the moment.

A reflective practitioner can ask these questions while running the four-step Socratic Method. They provide a sound structure: a list of trigger words that can be used to question a situation from description through to decision.

In a classroom, the same mnemonic can be used to push student thinking. A student who answers a question can be asked to be more precise, to test for accuracy, to consider another perspective, and so on. The mnemonic gives the teacher a small toolkit for moving student thinking from lower to higher order.

Flashcard

What does the PAPER CLIP mnemonic stand for?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Precision, Accuracy, Perspective, Equity, Relevance, Complexity, Logic, Importance, Perspicuity

These are nine question types that help move thinking from lower to higher order. PAPER CLIP is a short mnemonic for keeping them available in the moment, both for reflective self-questioning and for questioning students in class.

A practical use

A teacher running a four-step Socratic reflection on a difficult lesson can use the eleven types and the PAPER CLIP mnemonic together.

In the eliciting step, exploratory questions and questions of purpose. “What do I already think about this lesson? What was I trying to achieve?”

In the clarifying step, questions of precision and perspicuity. “What do I mean by X? Can I be more specific?”

In the testing step, questions of accuracy, information, assumption, implication, consistency, and logic. “How do I know? What am I assuming? Does this hold up across other lessons? Does the reasoning chain hold?”

In the deciding step, questions of relevance and importance. “What is the most important conclusion? What proposition follows?”

A teacher who uses the question types deliberately produces sharper reflection than one who relies on whatever question comes to mind. The discipline takes practice. Once it is built in, the questioning feels natural and the depth of reflection rises.