1 of 12

What is a hypothesis?

  • A hypothesis is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  • So in research for English, a hypothesis is a prediction or a “guess” as to what you _ _ _ _ _ you’ll find out in your research.
  • A hypothesis is a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ that can be argued with. It is _ _ _ a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
  • It does _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ if your hypothesis is proved _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, as long as you carried out a thorough research process.

2 of 12

True or false

1. A hypothesis is a STATEMENT

​

2. A hypothesis can be argued with

​

3. My hypothesis has to be right

​

4. A hypothesis is a QUESTION

3 of 12

Hypothesis or fact?

  1. Waitara High School is the only secondary school in Waitara.

​

2. Boys are better than girls at rugby.

​

3. Lions are a part of the cat family.

​

4. Wellington is the best place to go to university in New Zealand.

​

5. More people live in the North Island than the South Island because it is warmer in the North Island.

4 of 12

6. All mammals are animals.

​

7. Movies always tell a story better than books.

​

8. School is the only place where you learn things.

​

9. The only reason people get grumpy is because they are tired.

​

10. Being kind to others changes the way your brain is wired.

​

  1. Cats are more loyal pets than dogs.

​

12. Ford is a make of car.

​

5 of 12

Write 1 hypothesis for each of the following topics:

  1. Fortnite
  2. Sports
  3. Sleeping
  4. Climate change
  5. Bullying
  6. Shortland Street
  7. Cellphones
  8. Social media
  9. New Zealand
  10. Teenagers

6 of 12

How to make one for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _:

Step 1: Think about what you _ _ _ _ about your topic

​

Step 2: Write down any _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ you have about your topic

​

Step 3: Write down what you _ _ _ _ _ the answer might be

​

Step 4: Put it together in a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ can be AGREED/_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with

​

7 of 12

Example hypothesis

What I know:

What I want to find out (QUESTIONS):

What I THINK the answers to my questions are:

Hypothesis ideas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

​

 

​

​

 

​

8 of 12

Example hypothesis

What I know:

What I want to find out (QUESTIONS):

What I THINK the answers to my questions are NOW:

Hypothesis ideas:

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 of 12

What’s next?

  • You form some questions to help you _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ your hypothesis. Remember you are trying to _ _ _ _ _ whether or not your hypothesis is right.
  • So this means your questions must be:
    • _ _ _ _ (have more than one answer)
    • _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (use some of the keywords out of your hypothesis)
    • _ _ _ _ _

​

    • This means that words like “what, why and how” are great starters for your research questions ☺

10 of 12

Example questions:

HYPOTHESIS: Traumatic experiences as a kitten/young cat lead to cats running away from humans as an adult.

​

​

​

Set 1:

​

  1. Why do cats grow?
  2. Why do cats run away from dogs?
  3. How cute are kittens?

Set 2:

​

  1. How old does a kitten have to before it is classed as a cat?
  2. Why do cats sometimes run away from humans?
  3. Do cats remember what happened to them as kittens?

Why is set 2 better than set 1 for researching this hypothesis?

11 of 12

Your turn to practice:

  • Look back at the hypothesis ideas you came up with for 1080.

​

  • Come up with a set of questions that would help research EACH hypothesis from that page

​

Check this work with your teacher once you have finished it

12 of 12

How to create research questions to

investigate your hypothesis:

  • Questions need to be open ended (meaning they cannot be answered with a simple yes, no or maybe)
  • Ones that begin with who, what, how and why are the best way to go
  • Get these approved by the teacher to ensure they are researchable