argumentative essay outline nasıl yazılır

Nasıl Yazılır (Doğru Yazım Klavuzu)

argumentative essay nasıl yazılır?

Argumentative essay nasıl yazılır.

İçindekiler

Argumentative essay, yani tartışmalı makale yazmak, özellikle üniversite öğrencileri için oldukça önemlidir. Bu tür bir yazım, okuyuculara yazarın fikirlerini sunma ve savunma şansı vererek akademik dünyada kendinizi ifade etmenizi sağlar. Ancak, bazıları için bu tür bir yazım zorlu bir görev olabilir. Bu makale, okuyuculara argumentative essay yazmanın temel adımlarını anlatarak yardımcı olmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Adım 1: Konu Seçimi

Argumentative essay yazarken, tartışmanız gereken bir konu seçmelisiniz. Konunuzun açık ve net olması, hem sizin hem de okuyucularınızın işini kolaylaştırır. Ayrıca, ilginç bir konu seçmek başarılı bir essay yazmanıza yardımcı olabilir.

H1: Konu Örneği: Okul Üniforması Olmalı mı?

Adım 2: i̇nceleme yapma.

Konunuzu belirledikten sonra, konu hakkında araştırma yapmanız gerekir. Konunuzu daha iyi anlamanıza ve kendi fikirlerinizi geliştirmenize yardımcı olacak kaynaklar bulabilirsiniz. Bu kaynaklar arasında kitaplar, makaleler, ve internet siteleri yer alabilir.

H1: Kaynaklar Nelerdir?

Adım 3: tez belirleme.

Argumentative essay yazarken, bir tez belirlemeniz gerekir. Bu tez, konunuzu özetler ve okuyucularınıza neyi savunduğunuzu anlatır. Teziniz doğru bir şekilde belirlenirse, yazınızın geri kalanını daha kolay yazabilirsiniz.

H1: Tez Örneği: Okul Üniforması Zorunlu Olmalıdır

Adım 4: planlama yapma.

Essay’inizi planlamak, yazım sürecinde zaman kazandırabilecek önemli bir adımdır. Plana uyarak yazarken, ne hakkında hangi bilgileri kullanacağınızı ve bunları nereye yerleştireceğinizi önceden belirleyebilirsiniz.

H1: İçerik Planlama

Adım 5: yazım süreci.

Artık tüm hazırlıklarınızı tamamladığınıza göre, yazmaya başlayabilirsiniz. Essay’inizin açılış paragrafından sonuca kadar doğru bir yapıya sahip olmasına dikkat edin. Ayrıca, cevap çürütülmesi zor argümanlar kullanarak tezinizi desteklemeye çalışın.

H1: Örnek Paragraflar

Adım 6: düzenleme.

Essay’inizi yazdıktan sonra, düzenlemek için tekrar okumanız gerekir. Yanlış yazılmış cümleleri, dilbilgisi hatalarını ve yazım hatalarını belirleyin. Ayrıca, yazınızın akıcılığına ve tutarlılığına dikkat edin.

H1: Düzenleme Önerileri

Argumentative essay yazma becerisi, akademik dünyada başarılı olmak için önemlidir. Konunuzu seçin, araştırma yapın, tezinizi belirleyin, planlama yapın, yazın ve son olarak düzenleyin. Bu adımları izlerseniz, başarılı bir argumentative essay yazabilirsiniz.

Sıkça Sorulan Sorular (FAQs)

Q1: argumentative essay nedir.

A1: Argumentative essay, bir konuyu savunarak veya karşı çıkarak yazılan bir tür makaledir.

Q2: Argumentative essay yazarken hangi adımları takip etetmeliyim?

A2: Argumentative essay yazarken konu seçimi, inceleme yapma, tez belirleme, planlama yapma, yazım süreci ve düzenleme adımlarını takip etmelisiniz.

Q3: Konu seçerken nelere dikkat etmeliyim?

A3: Konunuzun açık ve net olması, ilginç ve tartışmaya açık olması önemlidir. Ayrıca, konunun sizin alanınızla veya ilgi alanlarınızla ilgili olması size yardımcı olabilir.

Q4: Tez nedir?

A4: Tez, argumentative essay’de savunulan fikri özetleyen bir cümledir. Tezin doğru bir şekilde belirlenmesi, essay’in geri kalanını daha kolay yazmanızı sağlar.

Q5: Düzenleme neden önemlidir?

A5: Düzenleme, yanlış yazılmış cümleleri, dilbilgisi hatalarını ve yazım hatalarını belirleyerek yazınızın tutarlılığı ve akıcılığı için önemlidir.Ayrıca, düzenleme yaparak yazınızın daha anlaşılır ve etkili olmasını sağlayabilirsiniz. Düzenleme ayrıca yazınızın okuyuculara daha profesyonel ve güvenilir bir izlenim vermesine de yardımcı olabilir.

Yorum yapın Yanıtı iptal et

Daha sonraki yorumlarımda kullanılması için adım, e-posta adresim ve site adresim bu tarayıcıya kaydedilsin.

Argumentative Essay Nasıl Yazılır?

Argumentative Essay genel hatları ile normal bir essay yani makale gibi yazılırken, daha detaylara inildiğinde bazı ayrıntılara dikkat etmek faydalı olacaktır. Burada öncelik verilmesi gereken gereken genel olarak Opinion (Fikir) ve Problem (Sorun) ve Solution (Çözüm) şeklinde yazıldıkları için yazdığımız konuya üç farklı yerden bakış açısı getirebiliyor ve iyi bir karşıt fikir sunabiliyor olmanızdır. Verilen karşıt fikir ise yazının gelişme ya da sonuç bölümünde yine bizim tarafımızdan çürütülmelidir.

Argumentative Essay ile Opinion Essay arasındaki farka kısaca baktığımızda Argumentative Essay yazarken dikkat edilmesi gereken farklılıklar daha net anlaşılacaktır. Opinion Essay’de ele alınan konu hakkında sadece bilgi verilirken Argumentative Essay’de buna ek olarak aynı zamanda verilen bilgiler çeşitli bakış açıları ile eleştirilmeye çalışılır. Verilen bilginin karşıtını savunan görüş ve iddialar kuralına uygun şekilde sunulmalıdır. Opinion Essay’de sadece kendi düşüncemizi bildirmemiz yeterli iken Argumantative Essay’de verilen konu ile ilgili değişik bakış açılarının belirtilmesi çok önemlidir. Argumentative Essay yazımında çok önemli dört adet nokta vardır.

• Açıklayıcılık
• İkna Edicilik
• Analitik Düşünme
• Tartışmacı olma

Yazılan tezin doğruluğunu öne çıkarabilmek için diğer karşıt görüşlere de yer vererek bu diğer görüşleri çürütmeye çalışmak Argumentative Essay’de en önemli ayrıntıdır.

Türkçeye tartışmacı kompozisyon olarak çevrilen Argumentative Essay’de elimizdeki konuya karşı değişik bakış açısı olan en az iki taraf olması gerekir. Bizim bu Essay’i yazarken yapmamız gereken ise çeşitli ispatlar, alıntılar ve belki istatistiklerle karşı tarafın bakış açısını çürütmeye çalışmamızdır. Essay’imizi bir sonuca bağlamamız da bu çürütmeleri yapmak kadar önemlidir.

Diğer Essay türlerinde de olduğu gibi Argumantative Essay yazımına başlamadan önce çok kısaca bir taslak oluşturmanız ve yazının hangi bölümünde ne gibi sorulara cevap vermemiz gerektiğini bulmamız bizim için bu Essay yazımını kolaylaştıracaktır.

Argumentative Essay’in yazım adımlarına geçmeden önce bilmemiz gereken her zaman önce karşıt olduğumuz görüşü yani eleştireceğimiz, çürütmeye çalışacağımız görüşe yerdikten daha sonra kendi görüşümüzü belirtmemizdir. Introduction (Giriş) ve Body (Gelişme) paragrafları bu şekilde oluşturulmalıdır. Introduction ve Body Paragraflardan sonra yazılan conclusion yani sonuç paragrafında ise sadece ve sadece kendi görüşümüzü bildirmemiz gerekir.

Argumentative Essay yazımında karşı tarafın argümanına con, bizim sunacağımız görüşümüze ise pro denilmektedir.

Kendimizi bu konuda daha da geliştirebilmek için bu con ve pro görüşlerin neler olabileceklerine ve bu görüşlerin birbirlerini ne şekilde çürütmeye çalıştıklarını araştırarak makalelerinizde daha güçlü tartışmalara yer verebilirsiniz.

Argumentative Essay Yazım Aşamaları

Argumentative Essay yazım aşamalarını tek tek ele alacak olursa şu şekilde başlıkları sıralamamız doğru olacaktır:

• Konu Cümlesi (Topic Sentence)
• Tanım (Definition)
• Önem (Importance)
• Uyuşmazlık (Controversy)
• Tez Cümlesi (Thesis Statement)

Topic Sentence diğer Essay yazımlarından da tanıdığımız ilk cümledir ve Argumentative Essay’de bu ilk cümlenin “common, the most argued, widespread…“ gibi yapılarla verilmesi önemlidir. Bu şekilde bahsettiğimiz konunun tartışmaya açık yanını ön plana çıkarmış oluruz.

Çok kısa bir örnek vermek gerekirse: “Nowadays, smoking is one of the most argued issue.” gibi çok kısa ve basit bir cümle ile başlayabiliriz. Burada hem konumuzun sınırlarını belirtmiş hem de bu konunun tartışmaya açık bir konu olduğunu belirtmiş oluyoruz.

Definition kısmı yine diğer Essay’lerde olduğu gibi yazımızda kullanacağımız, durum, terim ve yapıların açıklanması aşamasıdır. Böylece okur için yazının devam eden kısımlarında tanımadığı bir terim kullanılmamış olur. Bu kısım bilimsel araştırmalar ile ilgili Essay’lerin yazımında çok önemlidir. Çünkü kullanılacak terimlerin okuyucu için araştırmayı yapan kişi için olduğu kadar bilinir ve açık olmadığı yazan kisi tarafından bilinmelidir.

Importance kısmında yapmamız gereken ele alınan konunun önemini çok kısaca belirtmektir. Burada unutmamız gereken bu kısmın çok uzun sürmemesidir. Ele alınan konunun önemi zaten yazının genel hatları ile ortada olmalıdır ve bu sebeple çok uzun bir Importance bölümü sadece yazımızı gereksiz uzatacaktır.

Controversy kısmı bizim en çok kafa yormamız gereken kısım olarak kabul edilebilir. Burada karşı tarafa bildirmemiz gereken Argumentative Essay’deki tarafların görüşleri olmalıdır. Karşıt görüşlerin herhangi bir saptırmaya ya da değişime uğramadan bildiriliyor olması önemlidir. Bu kısımda kullanacağımız kalıplara örnek vermek gerekirse şu şekilde sıralanabilir:

By contrast, another way of viewing this is, alternatively, again; rather, one alternative is, another possibility is, on the one hand… on the other hand, in comparison, on the contrary, in fact, though, although….

Bahsettiğimiz konuyu gerek kendi görüşümüz gerekse karşı tarafın görüşü olsun belirgin bir bi-çimde ortaya koymamız önemlidir. Bu sebepler aşağıda sıralayacağımız kelimeler ile bahsettiğimiz konuyu başka kelimeler ile yeniden açıklamamız önemlidir:

I believe, in my opinion, I think, In my view, I strongly believe,

It is argued that, people argue that, opponents of this view say, there are people who oppose…

Aynı fikri farklı bir şekilde ifade ederken şunları kullanabiliriz:

in other words, rather, or, better, in that case, to put it (more) simply, in view of this, with this in mind, to look at this another way…

Eğer burada konuya ilişkin eklemek istediğimiz daha fazla görüş ve bakış açısı varsa şu kalıpların kullanılması faydalı olacaktır:

what is more, another major reason, also, furthermore, moreover, in addition to, besides, apart from this, not to mention the fact that, etc…

Vereceğimiz örneklerde ise şu kalıpları kullanmamız yine Essay’imizin etkisini arttıracaktır:

that is to say; in other words

for example; for instance; namely; an example of this

and; as follows; as in the following examples; such as; including

especially; particularly; in particular; notably; chiefly; mainly; mostly…

Yazımızın Thesis Statement kısmı yazımızın notunu veren en önemli bölümdür. Argumentative Essay yazımında Thesis Statement kısmı diğer Essay’lere göre biraz farklılık gösterir. Şöyle ki burada öncelikle verilmesi gereken yeniden daha önce sıraladığımız kullanım yapılarının birisi ile karşı tarafın görüşünü vermektir. Daha sonra ise en kısa hali ile kendi görüşünüzü ve neden bu görüşü savunduğunuzu kesin bir dil ile anlatmanız gerekir.

Burada yine aşağıda saydığımız kalıpların kullanılması şekil açısından Essay’inizi daha anlaşılır hale getirecektir:

however; despite x; in spite of x;

while x may be true…

although; though; after all; at the same time; on the other hand, all the same;

even if x is true; although x may have a good point… 

Argumentative Essay yazarken makalenin sonunda bahsettiğiniz görüşünüzden emin olduğunuzu ve herhangi bir kuşku duymadan ya da tam bilgi sahibi olmadan konu hakkında argüman geliştirmediğinizi karşı tarafa tam anlamı ile aktarabiliyor olmanız büyük önem taşır. Yazınızı okuduktan sonra karşı taraf çürütmeye çalıştığınız konu hakkında yeterli bilgiye sahip olduğunuzu görmeli ve sizin kendinizden emin tavrınızı farketmelidir.

İlgili Makaleler

Essay Kontrol

Outline nasıl hazırlanır? Essay taslağı hazırlama

Outline nasıl hazırlanır, essay yazmak isteyen herkesin cevabını bilmesi gereken bir soru. Outline hazırlamak İngilizce essay yazarken atılacak ilk adımdır. İyi bir yazı iyi bir outline ile başlar.

Outline nedir?

Outline nedir diyorsanız outline, yazı taslağı demektir. Yani yazacağınız İngilizce kompozisyonun ana fikrini ile giriş, gelişme ve sonuç paragraflarında kullanacağınız fikirleri içeren bir taslaktır.

Outline hazırlamak neden önemlidir?

Outline hazırlamanın birkaç büyük faydası vardır.

İlk olarak outline hazırlamak yazınızın tutarlı olmasını sağlar. Essay yazarken daldan dala atlamak yerine hangi fikri nereye bağlayacağınızı bilerek hareket etmenizi sağlar. Eğer essay yazmadan önce outline hazırlarsanız hangi fikri nerede kullanacağınızı, hangi örneği nereye yazacağınızı bilirsiniz ve böylece yazı yazarken kaybolmazsınız.

Outline hazırlamanın ikinci faydası ise essay yazarken zaman planlamanıza yardımcı olmasıdır. Outline hazırladığınızda kaç tane paragraf yazacağınızı ve her paragrafta ne olacağını planladığınız için elinizdeki zamanı essay ihtiyaçlarına göre bölüp yazınızı vaktinde bitirebilirsiniz.

Outline nasıl hazırlanır?

Şimdi de gelin birlikte adım adım bir outline nasıl hazırlanır görelim.

İlk önce konu seçelim. Konumuz şu olsun: What are the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy? (Nükleer enerjinin avantajları ve dezavantajları nelerdir?)

Şimdi konumuz belli olduğuna göre bu konuyla ilgili avantaj ve dezavantajlar bulalım.

Nükleer enerjinin avantajları

• Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Powerful and Efficient

Nükleer enerjinin dezavantajları

• Radioactive waste

Avantaj ve dezavantajları sıraladıktan sonra bunlardan hangilerini kullanacağımıza ve kaç paragraf yazacağımıza karar vermek gerekiyor. İki tane gelişme paragrafı olacaksa bir avantaj bir de dezavantaj seçeriz. Daha sonra thesis statement yazılır.

There are advantages of nuclear energy such as lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as disadvantages such as radioactive waste.

En Sevilen Essay & Writing Kitabı ✅

81 şehir & binlerce öğrenci Essay Rehberi ‘ne güveniyor. Essay Rehberi ile tanışın, writing dertlerinizden kurtulun. Yazarken aklınıza fikir gelmiyor mu? Uzun ve güzel cümleler kuramıyor musunuz? Vaktiniz yetmiyor mu? Thesis nedir, outline nedir, body nasıl yazılır bilmiyor musunuz? Essay kalıplarını öğrenmek mi istiyorsunuz? Essay yazma ile ilgili bilmeniz gereken her şey Essay Rehberi‘nde.

Outline Örneği

Tüm bu yazdıklarımızı bir araya getirirsek:

Introduction

Thesis: There are advantages of nuclear energy such as lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as disadvantages such as radioactive waste.

lower greenhouse gas emissions

radioactive waste

Conclusion:

Summary + restatement of thesis + remarks

Essay Dersleri

İngilizce kompozisyon yazma yani essay yazma ile ilgili detaylı anlatımlar için Essay Dersleri

Etiketler: outline örneği, outline nedir, outline ne demek, outline examples, outline nasıl hazırlanır, outline örnekleri

Essay Rehberi kitabını gördünüz mü?

Essay Nasıl Yazılır? Detaylı Anlatım

Essay yazmak; kriterleri öğrenildiğinde herkesin yazabileceği bir metin türüdür. Yazılan bir essay, daha sonra ilgili kanıtlarla desteklenen sağlam bir tartışma konusu yaratabilmelidir. Essay yazmadan önce yaptığınız araştırma, standart bir kural dizisini takip eder.

Essay yazmak için bazı temel ilkeleri hatırlamak, zaman sıkıntısı yaşıyor olsanız bile etkili ve akılda kalıcı metinler oluşturmanıza olanak tanır. Peki essay nasıl yazılır ? Essay yazma konusunda kendinizi nasıl geliştirebilirsiniz? Etkili bir essay yazmak ve essay yazma becerinizi geliştirmek için bilmeniz gereken bazı temel adımlar vardır. Bu yazımızda, bu soruların cevaplarını ele alacağız.

Essay Nasıl Yazılır?

1.Essay Türünüze Karar Verin

Essay yazmanın ilk adımı hangi essay türünde yazacağınıza karar vermektir. Pek çok essay türü vardır. Bunlardan bazıları şu şekildedir;

• Narrative essay:  Kişisel deneyimlerin hikaye anlatır gibi yazıldığı essay türüdür.
• Persuasive essay:  Yazıyı okuyan okuyuculara düşüncelerin güçlü argümanlarla kanıtlamaya çalışıldığı essay türüdür.
• Opinion essay:  Bir konu hakkında bakış açısını örneklerle belirtildiği essay türüdür.
• Cause-effect essay:  Bir konunun nedenlerinin ve sonuçlarının anlatıldığı essay türüdür.
• Compare-contrast essay:  Bu essay türünde iki benzer şeyi karşılaştırılarak bir argüman ortaya konulur.

2.Giriş–Gelişme ve Sonuç Bölümlerinin Olmasına Dikkat Edin

İngilizce essay yazılırken etkili bir giriş yapmalısınız okuyucu bu giriş yazısından etkilenip diğer bölümlere geçmek için istekli olabilsin. Her zaman başlagıçlar önemlidir etkili bir başlangıç içinse tavsiye olarak genelde bir paragraf olması önerilir. Karşıdakini sıkmayan içine alan bir giriş yazısı. Dikkat çekici bir başlangıç için essaye ilgi çekecek, tartışmalı bir alıntı ya da şaşırtıcı bir istatistiki bilgi ile başlayabilirsiniz. çok fazla ayrıntılı vermemelisiniz.

Gelişme bölümünde ise asıl konuya geçip açık ve net bir şekilde konunuzdan bahsetmelisiniz. farklı alıntılarla ve örneklerle ilgi çekici hale getirebilirsiniz.

Sonuç bölümüne geldiğinizde tüm yazıda bahsettiklerinizin kaba bir özeti olan bu paragraf yalnızca birkaç cümleden oluşmalıdır giriş bölümünde bahsettiğiniz ana fikri bu bölümde de yinelemelisiniz.

Yaptığınız alıntılar ve örnekler muhakkak konu ile uyumlu olmalıdır. Gelişme paragrafları yazınızın özünü oluşturmaktadır. Bol bol araştırma yapıp okuyarak  düşüncelerinizi en sağlam şekilde ortaya koymalısınız.

3.Konu Fikri Bulmak için Beyin Fırtınası Yapın

Konunuza karar veremediyseniz essay yazamazsınız. Konu bulmak konusunda kararsızsanız beyin fırtınası yapabilirsiniz. Tek yapmanız gereken, sakince oturup düşünmektir. Bu süreçte elinize bir kağıt kalem alıp aklınıza gelen fikirleri yazabilirsiniz. Beyin fırtınası konunuzu bulmanın yanında konuyla ilgili çeşitli bakış açıları edinmenize de yardımcı olacaktır.

4.Essay Yazmadan Önce Taslak Oluşturun

Bir essay yazmanın en önemli adımlarından birisi, o essay için bir taslak (outline) oluşturmaktır. Taslak oluşturmadan önce essayin ele aldığı konuyu tam olarak anlamanız oldukça önemlidir. Bir essay etkili bir şekilde ifade edilebilir ve düşünülebilir ancak konuyu yeterince yanıtlamazsa etkisiz bir metin olarak nitelendirilecektir. Yazacağınız essay için bir taslak oluştururken aşağıdaki konuları ele almanız sizin için büyük kolaylık sağlayacaktır:

• Essayin konusu nedir?
• Essayinizin kelime hacmi ne kadar olmalı?
• Konuyu tam olarak anlamak için ne tür bir araştırma yapmanız gerekir?

Bu aşamalardan sonra essayiniz için taslak oluşturmanın ilk adımını tamamlamış olursunuz. Sıradaki adım ise tüm metninize rehberlik edecek bir tez cümlesi (thesis statement) belirlemektir. Tez cümlesinden yola çıkarak, makalenizin nasıl ilerlemesi gerektiğini ve hangi bilgileri dahil etmek istediğinizi belirleyebilirsiniz.

Peki essayinizde ele alacağınız konu nedir? Tez cümleniz kısa olmalı ancak ele almak istediğiniz konuyu tüm ana hatları ile metninize dahil etmelidir. Makalenizi yazarken sürekli olarak tez cümlenize bakın ve konuyu ana hatlarından saptırmamaya özen gösterin.

Taslağı oluşturduktan sonra metninizi yazmaya başlayabilirsiniz. Genel olarak herkes essay yazmaya giriş (introduction) paragrafından başlar. Essay yazarken giriş paragrafından başlamak birçok insanın bildiği en büyük yanlışlardan birisidir. Essayinizi yazmaya gelişme (body) paragrafından başlamak size büyük avantaj sağlayacaktır. Metninizin akıcı olmasını istiyorsanız giriş paragrafını daha sonra yazmanız gerekir. Bu şekilde, düşüncelerinizi ve fikirlerinizi tam olarak oluşturabilir ve geri dönüp ana fikirleri giriş paragrafınız ile entegre edebilirsiniz.

5.Essayi Oluşturmadan Önce Ön Araştırma Yapın

Essay yazmadan önce yapacağınız ön araştırma, yazacağınız metin hakkında yeterince bilgi sahibi olmanıza yardımcı olur. Bu şekilde hem essayiniz etkili olacak hem de metninizi sağlam kanıtlarla yazmış olacaksınız.

Konuyla ilgili araştırma yaparken öncelikle essay yazacağınız konu ile ilgili makaleleri incelemek size artı puan kazandıracaktır. Konuyu nasıl savunacağınızı anladıktan sonra essay için bir giriş (introduction) ve sonuç (conclusion) paragrafı yazmanız gerekir.

Essay yazarken en çok gözden kaçan hususlardan birisi de sonuç paragrafıdır. Sonuç paragrafı, tez cümleniz ile tüm araştırmanızı birbirine bağlayan paragraftır. Sonuç paragrafı, tez cümlesiyle veya giriş paragrafı ile aynı olmamalıdır.

Uygun bir sonuç paragrafı, bir essayde tartışılan tüm olguların ana hatlarını ortaya koymalıdır. Bu olgular, kişinin araştırmasının ana argümanını nasıl kanıtladığını veya çürüttüğünü göstermek için doğrudan tez cümlesine bağlı olmalıdır. Tüm bunları destekleyecek nitelikli bir essay için ise ön araştırma ve bilgi sahibi olmak oldukça önemlidir.

6. Farklı kalıplar ve bağlaçlar kullanın

Essay yazarken çeşitli kalıp ve bağlaçlar kullanmanız yazınızı zenginleştirir. Kullanabileceğiniz bazı örnek kalıpları beraber inceleyelim;

• Like This: Bunun gibi
• What is more: Dahası
• On the other hand: Diğer taraftan
• For Instance: Örneğin
• Furthermore: Ayrıca
• In summary: Özetle
• In contrast: Aksine
• However: Ancak
• Consequently: Bu nedenle
• As a result: Sonuç olarak
• Generally: Genellikle
• Additionally: Ek olarak
• Such as: Gibi
• Therefore : Bu yüzden

Gelişme paragraflarında fikirlerinizi belirtmek için kullanabileceğiniz kalıplar ise şu şekilde olabilir;

• From my point of view: Benim görüşüme göre
• As far as I know : Bildiğim kadarıyla
• Another objection is that: Bir diğer karşıt görüş ise

Sonuç bölümünde ise aşağıdaki kalıpları kullanabilirsiniz;

• As a result : Sonuç olarak
• In conclusion: Son olarak
• To sum up: Toparlamak gerekirse

Bu Konu Dikkatinizi Çekebilir:  İngilizce Conjuctions (Bağlaçlar) Konu Anlatımı

7.Essayinizi Tekrar Okuyun

Yazdığınız essayi tekrar okumak harika bir essay oluşturmak için oldukça kritiktir. Birçok insan, dilbilgisi açısından zayıf veya yazım hatalarıyla dolu bir metni okumayı dahi tamamlamaz. Dilbilgisi ve yazım kurallarına uygun bir metin oluşturmak için ise her zaman essayinizi kontrol etmeniz gerekir. Konu hakkında bilgi sahibi olabilirsiniz ancak görüşlerinizi uygun bir yazı dili ile ifade etmezseniz, konu hakkındaki bilgileriniz dahi sorgulanabilir. Essayinizi kabul edilebilir ve etkili bir essay haline getirebileceğiniz birkaç madde aşağıdaki gibidir:

• Metninizi yazdırın, okuyun ve gördüğünüz hataları işaretleyin. Metninizi kâğıttan okuduğunuzda bilgisayar ekranında okuduğunuzdan daha detaylı okuyabilecek böylece hatalarınızı daha kolay fark edebileceksiniz.
• Dilbilgisi ve imla kuralları bilgisine güvendiğiniz birinin essayinizi okumasını sağlayın. İkinci bir göz, sizin göremediğiniz hataları fark edebilir.
• Essayinizi yüksek sesle okuyun. Bu şekilde, gramer hatalarınızı daha kolay fark edebilirsiniz.

Essay Türleri Nelerdir?

1- argumentative essay (tartışma yazısı).

Bu makale türünde spesifik bir konuya dair kişisel düşüncelerinizi sebepleri ile birlikte savunmalısınız. Bu  türde size belli bir konu başlığı veya soru verilerek sizden görüşünüzü savunduğunuz bir yazı yazmanız istenilir.

2- Compare and Contrast Essay (Karşılaştırma Yazısı)

Bu makale türünde size verilecek iki ya da daha fazla olguyu birbiriyle karşılaştıran bir yazı yazmanız istenilir. Her iki olgunun birbirine benzeyen tarafları, birbirinden zıt tarafları, birbirlerinden daha iyi ya da daha kötü oldukları noktalar, bu yazının ana hatlarını oluşturan konu başlıkları net bir şekilde olmalıdır.

3- Cause and Effect Essay (Neden-Sonuç Yazısı)

Bu makale türünde bir olgunun sebeplerini ve sonuçlarını tartışmanız ve sebeplerini sunmanız istenilir. Örneğin ‘‘Nesli tükenen hayvanları korumak için neler yapmalıyız‘‘ şeklinde bir soru verildiğinde önce nesli tükenen hayvanlardan bahsetmeliyiz daha sonra neden neslinin tükendiği konusuna değinmeli ve sebep sonuçlarından bahsetmeliyiz.

4- Opinion Essay (Düşünce Yazısı)

Bu makale türünde başarılı olmak için girişten itibaren fikrinizi kısa ve öz bir biçimde ifade ederek başlamanız gereklidir. Görüşlerinizi giriş paragrafında açıkça ifade ettikten sonra gelişme bölümünde bu fikri savunmanızın sebeplerinden bahsetmelisiniz ve bu düşünceye karşı geliştirilen olası  savunmalara cevaplar vermeniz ve sonuç bölümünde ise tartıştıklarınızı özet bir şekilde tekrar ederek fikrinizi belirtmelisiniz.

5- Advantage and Disadvantage Essay (Bir konunun olumlu ve olumsuz yönlerini tartıştığımız yazı)

Bu makale türünde sizden belli bir konu başlığının olumlu ve olumsuz yönlerinden bahsederek fayda ve zarar tartışması yapmanız istenilir. Bu tarz sorularda faydaları ve zararları ayrı paragraflarda sunmak ve üçüncü bir paragrafta bunları birbiri ile karşılaştırarak konu başlığına dair olumlu veya olumsuz bir sonuca varmak düzenli ve sistematik bir makale çıkarmanıza yardımcı olacaktır.

6- Problem Solution Essay (Problem Çözme Yazısı)

Bu yazı türünde sizden özellikle gündemi meşgul eden bir probleme çözüm getirmeniz istenilir. Örneğin: ‘How can we stop global warming?’ ‘Küresel ısınmayı nasıl durdurabiliriz?’. Bu problemin sebepleri ve sonuçlarının kısa bir değerlendirmesinin ardından konuya bir çözüm önerisi getirerek başarılı bir yazı oluşturabilirsiniz.

7- Process Essay (Süreç Yazısı)

Bu yazı türünde belli bir olayın veya belli bir sürede gelişen bir durumun aşamalarını anlattığınız bir yazı yazmanız beklenir. Örneğin, “How to make a cake” yani “Kek nasıl yapılır?”. Burada süreci kronolojik olarak ve ayrıntılı bir şekilde yazılı ifade etmeniz beklenir.

Bu Konu Dikkatinizi Çekebilir:  İngilizce Essay Konuları ve Türleri  

BukyTalk ekibi olarak bu yazımızda sizler için ‘‘Essay nasıl yazılır?’’, ‘‘Essay yazma becerisi nasıl geliştirilebilir?’’ , ‘‘Essay türleri nelerdir?‘‘ konuları hakkında çeşitli öneriler ve bilgiler sunduk. Siz değerli okurlarımız için faydalı olmasını diler, okuduğunuz için teşekkür ederiz. Daha fazla bilgilendirici içerik için bizi takip edin!

İngilizce Biyografi Örnekleri: İngilizce Biyografi Nasıl Yazılır?

İngilizce hikâye yazmanız için bilmeniz gereken 5 i̇pucu, detaylı i̇ngilizce cümle kurma rehberi, i̇ngilizce mektup yazmak için bilmeniz gerekenler ve i̇ngilizce mektup örnekleri, i̇ngilizce saatler nasıl yazılır ve nasıl okunur, i̇ngilizce kurumsal mail nasıl yazılır kurumsal mail örnekleri, i̇ngilizce günlük örnekleri: i̇ngilizce günlük nasıl yazılır, essay rehberi: i̇ngilizce opinion essay örnekleri, i̇ngilizce makale nasıl yazılır  , i̇ngilizce tarih yazma: i̇ngilizce tarihlerin yazılışları ve telaffuzları.

Deniz Çağbayır

En kolay i̇ngilizce dizilerle i̇ngilizce öğrenme, en çok kullanılan i̇ngilizce deyimler ve anlamları, i̇lgili yazılar.

İngilizce Başlangıç Seviyesindekilerin Bilmesi Gerekenler

İngilizce Belgeseller İngilizce Geliştirmek İçin En İyi Belgeseller

Örnek Cümleler ile Present Perfect Tense

İngilizce Konuşulan Avrupa Ülkeleri-12 Ülke

Çok faydalı biz yazı olmuş. Teşekkür ederim.

Faydalı bir içerik olmuş. Essay yazma ile alakalı güzel bilgiler var.

Teşekkürler, tam aradığım yazı, harikasınız

Bir cevap yazın Cevabı iptal et

E-posta hesabınız yayımlanmayacak. Gerekli alanlar * ile işaretlenmişlerdir

İnternet sitesi

Bir dahaki sefere yorum yaptığımda kullanılmak üzere adımı, e-posta adresimi ve web site adresimi bu tarayıcıya kaydet.

Teşekkürler, ilgilenmiyorum.

WhatsApp us

hypothesis examples if then

Chapter eleven: if–then arguments.

“Contrariwise,” continued Tweedledee, “if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be: but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.” —Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

• Forms of If–Then Arguments
• Evaluating the Truth of If–Then Premises
• If–Then Arguments with Implicit Statements
• Bringing It All Together

If–then arguments , also known as conditional arguments or hypothetical syllogisms, are the workhorses of deductive logic. They make up a loosely defined family of deductive arguments that have an if–then statement —that is, a conditional —as a premise. The conditional has the standard form If P then Q. The if portion, since it typically comes first, is called the antecedent ; the then portion is called the consequent .

These arguments—often with implicit premises or conclusions—are pressed into service again and again in everyday communication. In The De-Valuing of America, for example, William Bennett gives this brief if–then argument:

If we believe that good art, good music, and good books will elevate taste and improve the sensibilities of the young—which they certainly do—then we must also believe that bad music, bad art, and bad books will degrade.

The if–then premise—lightly paraphrased—is this:

If good art, good music, and good books elevate taste and improve the sensibilities of the young, then bad music, bad art, and bad books degrade taste and degrade the sensibilities of the young.

The second premise—set off in the original by dashes—is:

Good art, good music, and good books elevate taste and improve the sensibilities of the young.

And the implicit conclusion is this:

Bad music, bad art, and bad books degrade taste and degrade the sensibilities of the young.

Whether the argument is sound depends on whether the logic of the argument is successful and whether the premises are true. We now look at each of these two categories of evaluation.

11.1 Forms of If–Then Arguments

The arguments of this chapter are deductive, so the success of their logic is entirely a matter of form. The form of Bennett’s argument in the preceding paragraph is the most common and the most obviously valid. It is normally termed affirming the antecedent ; a common Latin term for this form is modus ponens, which means “the method (or mode, from modus ) of affirming (or propounding, from ponens ).”

• If P then Q.

Almost as common is the valid form denying the consequent ; the Latin term for this is modus tollens, which means “the method of denying.”

This is the form of my argument if I say to you, “If you decide to adopt that puppy, then you’re going to be stuck at home for a long time. But you could never accept that—you live for your trips. This pup’s adorable, but it’s not for you.”

Each of these two valid forms may be contrasted with an invalid form that unsuccessfully mimics it. The invalid form that is tempting due to its similarity to affirming the antecedent is the fallacy of affirming the consequent ; its structure is this:

• If P then Q .

I’ve committed this fallacy if I argue, “If you decide to adopt that puppy, then you’re going to be stuck at home for a long time. Fortunately you hate to sleep in any bed other than your own. So, this pup’s for you!” After all, you may love staying at home but also have a severe allergy to dog hair; the conclusion surely does not follow.

And deceptively similar to denying the consequent is the fallacy of denying the antecedent ; this invalid form is as follows:

I made this mistake in the following argument: “If you decide to adopt that puppy, then you’re going to be stuck at home for a long time. But, knowing you, of course you’re not going to decide to adopt the puppy. So, it follows that you’re not going to be such a homebody anymore.” If you pass on the puppy because of your asthma, that has no bearing on your travel plans one way or the other. Again, the conclusion does not follow.

Recall that when you find these fallacious forms, there is normally no need to apply the principle of charity in your paraphrase. The ease with which such mistakes are made (thus earning each fallacy a name of its own) is usually reason to think that the arguer might have been truly mistaken in his or her thinking, and thus is reason to clarify the argument in the invalid form. [1]

Another form of argument, a valid one, that belongs to the if–then family is often termed transitivity of implication. This form of argument links if–then statements into a chain, as follows:

• If Q then R.
• ∴ If P then R.

I’ve given an argument of this form if I contend, “If you decide to adopt that puppy, then you’re going to be stuck at home for a long time. But if you’re stuck at home for a long time, you’d better fix your toaster oven. So, if you decide to adopt that puppy, you’d better fix your toaster oven.” There is no limit to the number of if–then links that this chain could contain and still be valid. [2]

Incidentally, Lewis Carroll’s argument at the chapter’s opening presents some interesting evaluative possibilities. Here is one reasonable paraphrase:

• If it is, then it is.
• ∴ It is not.

On the one hand, it has the form of the fallacy of denying the antecedent, which is invalid; on the other hand, it has the form of denying the consequent, which is valid. Further, it also has the form of repetition—looking only at 2 and C —which is also valid. The solution to the puzzle is that it is valid—not because the two valid forms outnumber the one invalid one, but because we should charitably suppose that the valid form is the one that was intended. Charity, unfortunately, cannot prevent us from noting that whatever the form, this argument probably commits the fallacy of begging the question. And if it does, then it does.

If–Then Arguments

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (a)

Create a brief argument that takes the specified form.

Sample exercise. Transitivity of implication.

Sample answer. If I run out of gas I’ll be late. And if I’m late I’ll get fired. So, if I run out of gas I’ll get fired.

• Affirming the antecedent
• Affirming the consequent
• Denying the consequent
• Denying the antecedent
• Transitivity of implication

11.1.1 Stylistic Variants for If–Then

If–then arguments, as we have seen, make crucial use of statements of the form If P then Q as premises. Using the terminology of Chapter 6, the expression if–then is the logical constant of such statements, while P and Q are the variables— sentential variables, you will recall—replaceable by declarative sentences as the content of the argument.

These constants are anything but constant in ordinary language; a wide variety of everyday English expressions are used to express if–then. In the structuring phase of the clarifying process, it is important that you translate them into standard constants. This helps bring the structure of the argument close to the surface and makes it much easier to tell whether the argument is logically successful.

All of the expressions listed below—and many more—can be used as stylistic variants for if–then. More precisely, each of the expressions can be translated, for logical purposes, into If P then Q.

Stylistic Variants for if P then Q

Q if P. P only if Q. Only if Q, P. Assuming P, Q. Q assuming P. Supposing P, Q. Q supposing P. Given P, Q. Q given P. That P is a sufficient condition for that Q. That Q is a necessary condition for that P.

This list includes some of the most obvious variants, but it is not comprehensive. Unexpected variants for if–then statements show up with regularity. A politician says, for example, “Vote for my bill and I’ll vote for yours.” This can be taken as a stylistic variant for, “If you vote for my bill, then I’ll vote for yours.” A story about new television shows says, “ With good summer ratings, the series will end up on the fall schedule of NBC.” This translates into, “If the series gets good summer ratings, then it will end up on the fall schedule of NBC.” And language watcher Thomas Middleton, complaining in the Los Angeles Times about a tendency he has noticed among teens to use expressions like “and then my friend goes so-and-so” instead of “and then my friend said so-and-so,” presses his point thus:

The ability to say things . . . is consummately precious, and to describe “saying” as “going” is to debase this glorious gift. It is to treat speech as though it were no more than, as Random House says, making a certain sound—like a cat’s purr.

This passage, it seems, translates into something like the following:

If someone describes “saying” as “going,” then that person debases the gift of speech and treats it as though it were no more than making a sound.

Be very careful, however, with words like with, and, and to ; they are rarely stylistic variants for if–then. It is only when they are used in these distinctive kinds of contexts that they should be taken this way.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (b)

Translate the stylistic variant in each of the following if–then statements.

Sample exercise. As long as history textbooks make white racism invisible in the 19th century, students will never be able to analyze racism intelligently in the present.—James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me

Sample answer. If history textbooks make white racism invisible in the 19th century, then students will never be able to analyze racism intelligently in the present.

• Oxygen is necessary for combustion.
• The governor agreed Tuesday to a legislative compromise for ending the community colleges’ financial troubles—but only if lawmakers can find another $121 million.
• Teachers should assign passages and require students to summarize the passages in their own words. Do that consistently, and students will not only learn to write a lot better, they will also learn to analyze, evaluate, sort out, and synthesize information.
• Those who are not willing to give to everyone else the same intellectual rights they claim for themselves are dishonest, selfish, and brutal. —from Robert Ingersoll, Ingersoll: The Immortal Infidel
• “To address kids in masses, you have to be an entertainer, which I’m not,” Dr. Seuss said, sounding a little like the Grinch.— Los Angeles Times
• “Strip a woman’s body of its breasts and hips, of all of its nurturing curves, and replace it with enough stringy, sinewy muscle, and a lot of people will simply not know what to make of what you have left.” — Pumping Iron II: The Women

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (c)

Clarify each of the if–then arguments. Then state whether the argument is valid and provide the name of the valid or invalid form.

Sample exercise. “I submit that the author is thoroughly wrong to criticize analogical argumentation, that if argument by analogy were really as weak as he allows we would not use it as extensively as we do.”—book review in Teaching Philosophy

Sample answer.

• If argument by analogy is as weak as the author allows, then we do not use argument by analogy as extensively as we do.
• [We do use argument by analogy as extensively as we do.]
• ∴ Argument by analogy is not as weak as the author allows. Valid, denying the consequent.
• Universal mandatory screening for AIDS can be justified on the basis of beneficence when a therapeutic intervention is available or when an infectious state puts others at risk merely by casual contact. However, neither is the case with AIDS. Thus, there is no demonstrable public health benefit that justifies universal mandatory screening.—N. F. McKenzie, ed., The AIDS Reader (Even though an extremely charitable reading of this argument might suggest otherwise, go ahead and clarify it as a fallacy.)
• “The prolonged study of ethics does not by itself make you a better person. If it did, philosophy professors would in general be better people than average. But they aren’t.”—William Bennett, The De-Valuing of America
• “If the North Koreans are smart—and we know they are smart—they will move in the direction of reform.”—Daryl Plank, Korea expert and visiting fellow at Washington’s Heritage Foundation
• “If, instead of offering the occasional high-profile prize of $35 million, New York awarded 350 prizes of $100,000, making not one multimillionaire, but a great number of $100,000 winners, it would create an environment where far more people would know, or know of, large prize winners. More people will buy tickets if they know large prize winners. So experimenting with such a format should reverse the current negative trend.” —letter to the editor, New York Times
• “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’ll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules or took a few liberties with our female party guests. We did. But you can’t hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few sick perverted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn’t we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn’t this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg: Isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do what you want to us, but we’re not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the entire United States of America.”—Eric “Otter” Stratton, in the film Animal House (This is a complex argument with the subconclusion If the fraternity is guilty, then the entire American society is guilty. )
• “And if, for example, antiabortionism required the perverting of natural reason and normal sensibilities by a system of superstitions, then the liberal could discredit it—but it doesn’t, so he can’t.”—Roger Wertheimer, Philosophy and Public Affairs

11.1.2 Singular Inferences

One common variation on the preceding forms is worth our attention. Note the remark made by legendary heavyweight boxing champ Joe Frazier to the short-lived and less legendary title holder, Jimmy Ellis:

You ain’t no champ. You won’t fight anybody. A champ’s got to fight everybody.

This provides several opportunities for following the rules of paraphrasing arguments—a stylistic variant for if–then, the need to follow the principle of charity (because of the rather extreme words everybody, anybody, and even what Frazier means by being a champ), wording to be matched, and emptiness to be avoided (because of the word you ). The result of clarifying it is something like this:

• If any person deserves to be the heavyweight boxing champion, then that person will fight all worthy contenders.
• Jimmy Ellis will not fight all worthy contenders.
• ∴ Jimmy Ellis does not deserve to be the heavyweight boxing champion.

This looks very much like denying the consequent—that is, it seems to depend on this form:

But the Q of premise 1 and the Q of premise 2 do not really match, nor do the P of premise 1 and the P of C. For there is no mention of Jimmy Ellis anywhere in premise 1, yet Jimmy Ellis is the subject of premise 2 and of the conclusion. This certainly does not harm the argument’s logic, however, since Jimmy Ellis is included—as a single person—among those encompassed by the term any person in the first premise. So, for practical purposes, we can continue to call this form denying the consequent, but with a slight difference. It will be identified as singular denying the consequent

The same modification is permitted for every form of sentential logic that we cover, assuming two things hold. First, there must be a universal statement as a premise—that is, a premise with a term like all, none, anything, or nothing, to mention a few examples. If any person deserves to be the heavyweight boxing champion, then that person will fight all worthy contenders is universal, since it applies to any person. Second, there must be a conclusion in which a single instance is specified that is encompassed by the universal term. Jimmy Ellis will not fight all worthy contenders provides an example, since Jimmy Ellis is encompassed by any person. All the if–then forms mentioned above can be modified in this way. Singular affirming the antecedent and singular transitivity of implication are also valid forms, while the fallacy of singular affirming the consequent and the fallacy of singular denying the antecedent are invalid ones.

Singular If–Then Arguments

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (d)

Clarify the following arguments as examples of singular if–then arguments. Then state whether the argument is valid and provide the name of the valid or invalid form.

Sample exercise. “ Q : You mentioned that Bundy was mentally ill? A : Sane people do not go round killing dozens of women, and the person that the state of Florida strapped in the electric chair was a man who was severely mentally ill.”—I. Gray and M. Stanley, eds., A Punishment in Search of a Crime: Americans Speak Out Against the Death Penalty

• If anyone is sane, that person does not kill dozens of women.
• [Bundy killed dozens of women.]
• ∴ Bundy was not sane. Valid, singular denying the consequent.
• If someone is in Birmingham, then that person is in Alabama. And if someone is in Alabama, then that person is in America. So, if I am in Birmingham, then I am in America.
• I conceded that speeding is sufficient reason for getting pulled over by a police officer. But I wasn’t speeding. So I should not have been pulled over.
• One argument for the immorality of adultery might go something like this: it involves the breaking of a promise, and it is immoral to break a promise.—from a lecture by philosopher Richard Wasserstrom
• I refer you to the verdict in the English Court sustaining Whistler’s contention that a man did not wholly own a picture by simply buying it. So, although I may have sold my painting to him, I have a right to protect my picture from the vandalism of his cleaning it.—from American artist Albert Pinkham Ryder

11.2 Evaluating the Truth of If–Then Premises

If–then statements usually propose a special connection between the if-clause and then-clause. Identifying the specific nature of the connection is usually the key to judging the truth of such a statement and to successfully defending that judgment. [3]

Sometimes the proposed connection is causal, as in the case of the statement If you push the ignition button, then the car will start. Pushing the button would cause the car to start. But in other cases the proposed connection is broadly logical ; the if-clause does not cause the then-clause but is offered as counting toward or even guaranteeing its truth. [4] Consider the statement that became a book and movie title— If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium. It’s being Tuesday cannot cause this to be Belgium, but could presumably (combined with other statements about the itinerary) count in favor of the belief that this is Belgium. Or consider the statement If there is intelligent life on other planets, then we are not alone in the universe. That there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is just what we mean by not being alone in the universe. So the connection here is also a logical one—and in this case it is such a tight connection that we can safely call it self-evidently true.

Whether the proposed connection is causal or logical, it is helpful to think of the if-clause as not being offered as alone sufficient for the then-clause. When we use if–then statements we are typically allowing for other relevant factors as well. We have simply picked out the if-clause for special mention because it is the one factor that happens to be most important in the context. These implicit assumptions about other relevant factors are termed secondary assumptions (or auxiliary hypotheses).

Return to the if–then statement If you push the ignition button, then the car will start. Behind such a statement there usually are implicit secondary assumptions about many other factors that contribute to the starting of the car—but that are presumed to be already in place, and thus do not merit mention. They may include assumptions about the specific situation, such as these:

There is a functioning engine in the car. There is gas in the tank and the starter battery is not dead (if it has an internal combustion engine). The battery pack is charged (if it has an electric engine). The key fob is nearby. The ignition system is not defective.

They may also include more general assumptions about the relation between the if-clause and then-clause, such as this:

Ignition systems are designed to start properly functioning cars.

And they may include even broader principles that guide much of our reasoning, such as this:

The laws of nature will not suddenly change.

When you judge an if–then statement to be true, a good way to defend your judgment is to identify the secondary assumptions that are most likely to be in question, given the circumstances, and to point out their truth. You might say, for example,

I judge this premise to be very probably true because this is what ignition systems are designed to do, and there is no reason to think that this car is out of fuel or is defective in some other way.

Thus a connection between if-clause and then-clause is affirmed.

Alternatively, if you judge the if–then statement to be false, a good defense is to point out that a secondary assumption is false; for example,

This premise is probably false, since the headlights were left on all day and the battery is dead by now.

Thus you have denied one of the secondary assumptions and shown that the connection between if-clause and then-clause is severed.

The same strategy works well for if–then statements in which the connection is broadly logical rather than causal. Consider If you are reading this book, then you understand English. One important secondary assumption is This book is written in English. Another is Reading something just means that you understand it. (You might wonder whether this, or the earlier life on other planets example, should count as a secondary assumption, since it is part of the very meaning of the terms used—what we have in preceding chapters called self-evidently true. It will nevertheless make good practical sense in this text for us to count it so.) So here is an exemplary defense of the statement:

This premise is certainly true, since the book is written in English, and part of what it means to read something is to understand it.

Again, its truth is defended by pointing out the cords that connect if-clause to then-clause.

Consider, finally, If New York City were in Quebec, then it would still be in the United States. There is, unfortunately, no way of knowing what secondary assumptions are supposed to connect this if-clause and then-clause. Is New York City to be located further north, or Quebec further south? And, on either scenario, what historical events would have caused such a difference—and would they, perhaps, have resulted in Quebec’s being included within the United States? There is simply not enough information to decide. The best evaluation of this premise, then, would be something like this:

I can’t decide whether this premise is true or false. There is no way of knowing whether New York City is to be located further north, Quebec further south, or what relevant historical events might have led to it.

The daughter of Rudolf Carnap, one of the great philosophers and logicians of the 20th century, tells of asking her father, when she was a young child, “If you were offered a million dollars, would you be willing to have your right arm amputated?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Would I be given an anesthetic?” Lack of information about relevant secondary assumptions can sometimes make it impossible for any of us, even Carnap, to say any more than “can’t decide” in evaluating if–then statements.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (e)

For each of the following if–then statements, list the most plausible and relevant secondary assumptions (or explain why you cannot do so). Then provide a judgment of the premise’s truth by reference to your list. (They are not provided with any context, so you will have to use your imagination.)

Sample exercise. If there were more solar panels available, then air pollution would decrease.

Sample answer. Secondary assumptions: Consumers will buy and install more solar panels if they become available. Solar panels produce less air pollution than the more conventional forms of energy production. Probably false, since, at least currently, in much of the world consumers do not have enough economic incentive to convert to solar energy.

• If there were more classical music on the radio, then there would be more appreciation of classical music among the public.
• If George W. Bush was the 45th president, then Barack Obama was the 46th.
• If it rains tomorrow, then you should take your umbrella to work.
• If people recycled more, the environment would be in better shape.
• If I were two feet taller, I would have played in the NBA.
• If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium.
• If the stock market rises next year, then Alphabet stock will rise in value.
• If all private ownership of guns were made illegal, then violence in our country would drop dramatically.
• If you can do 20 pushups, then you are in good shape.
• If you are planning to go to medical school, then you can expect to take several science courses.

11.2.1 The Retranslation Mistake

Consider the statement If New York City is in the state of New York, then it is in the United States. It is certainly true, but it is tempting to defend that judgment by more or less repeating the if–then statement in slightly different words, as follows:

My view is that the premise is certainly true, since New York City has to be in the United States, given that it is in the state of New York.

You have said nothing that goes beyond the premise itself, thus nothing that would be enlightening to the reasonable objector over your shoulder. You have merely retranslated the if–then constant back into one of its stylistic variants! Be careful to avoid this sort of defense. (I’ll leave it as an exercise for you to identify the simple secondary assumption that provides the crucial connection for this if–then statement.)

11.2.2 Truth Counterexamples

It can be especially tempting to ignore mention of secondary assumptions when the if-clause is clearly true and the then-clause is clearly false. These are the most straightforward cases, for if you know that the if-clause is true and the then-clause is false, you know that the if–then statement is false. The if–then statement has vividly failed to deliver on its promise.

But even here it is better, if possible, to show the severed connection between the two by identifying the false secondary assumption. Take, for example, If New York City is in the state of New York, then it is in Canada. You might defend your judgment as follows:

I consider the premise to be certainly false since, based on my experience in my own travels and based on the testimony of every authority I’ve ever encountered, New York City is in the state of New York and it is not in Canada (but in the United States).

But this makes no mention of any connection between the if-clause and then-clause. If there is supposed to be one, it is the assumption that the state of New York is itself in Canada. And your defense is stronger if you include the rejection of this assumption, as follows:

Further, the state of New York is wholly located within the United States, not Canada.

There can be, however, exceptions to this rule. One exception applies when it is a universal if–then statement that is false. Universal if–then statements, recall, are if–then statements with a universal term like anything, anyone, nothing, or nobody in the if-clause. An example we have already seen is If any person deserves to be the heavyweight boxing champion, then that person will fight all worthy contenders. A property—such as deserving to be champ —is applied universally—to any person —rather than to a single instance. When such statements are false, the method of truth counterexample can be a simple and effective way of defending that judgment. This method identifies a single instance in which the if-clause is obviously true and the then-clause is obviously false.

A newspaper story on the homeless, for example, contains the line, “No one is poor by choice.” This is a stylistic variant of the universal if–then statement, “If anyone is poor, then it is not by choice.” Yet the same newspaper, on the facing page, has a story about Mother Theresa’s religious order, stating, “These nuns have voluntarily taken an oath of poverty.” Here we have a ready-made truth counterexample. The nuns are instances of the if-clause’s truth—they are poor—and at the same time are instances of the then-clause’s falsity—their poverty is by choice. Thus armed, your defense of your judgment of the universal if–then statement can be stated simply as follows: “The premise is certainly false, since certain orders of nuns are poor by choice.”

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (f)

Provide a truth counterexample for each of these false universal if–then statements. If necessary, first translate stylistic variants into the standard constant.

Sample exercise. Only animals that can fly are endowed with wings.

Sample answer. If any animal has wings, then it can fly. Certainly false; the ostrich has wings but cannot fly.

• No major-party presidential or vice presidential candidate has been a female.
• If any substance is made of metal, then it is attracted to a magnet.
• Everything reported in the newspaper is true.
• Nice guys finish last.
• What goes up must come down.

11.2.3 The Educated Ignorance Defense

Another occasion for ignoring secondary assumptions—also occurring under the true if-clause/false then-clause scenario—is when the evidence for the truth of the if-clause and the evidence for the falsity of the then-clause are each stronger than the evidence for the truth of the if–then statement. In these cases, even though you may not know which secondary assumption is at fault, it can be reasonable to say that the premise is false “because some secondary assumption—not yet identified—is mistaken.” This we will term the educated ignorance defense (“Ignorance” because you admit ignorance regarding which secondary assumption is faulty; “educated” because you nevertheless have good evidence that the if-clause is true and the then-clause is false.)

Return, for example, to our car-starting example. Imagine that when you pick up your car after extensive repairs your mechanic says to you, “If you push the ignition button, then the car will start.” He has extremely good reasons to believe this is true. He has checked out all of the systems—in short, his experience and expert judgment support the truth of any secondary assumption that might be reasonably questioned. You push the ignition button. But the car does not start.

Something has to give. There are three statements for which you apparently have very good evidence:

If you push the ignition button, then the car will start. You push the ignition button. (The if-clause is true.) The car will not start. (The then-clause is false.)

They cannot all be true at the same time. You will probably quickly give up on the truth of the if–then statement, not knowing what went wrong but knowing quite well that you pushed the button and the car didn’t start. But the mechanic, who has especially good reasons to believe the if–then statement—he did the work, and he has his reputation to think about—will probably start off by doubting the if-clause, asking you suspiciously, “Are you sure you pushed the ignition button?” “I’m sure,” you reply, anxiously pushing it again and again. “Let me see,” he says with a hint of disdain and gets in to push the button himself. Only when it does not start for him does he say, “Well, OK, I was mistaken, but I just can’t figure out what’s wrong with it.”

The mechanic’s initial reluctance to give up the truth of the if–then statement is because he cannot imagine which secondary assumption is mistaken. And he only concedes that the if–then statement is false when he sees that evidence in favor of the if-clause—that the button has been pushed—is conclusive. (The evidence that the then-clause is false—that the car did not start—is already conclusive.) He is still ignorant of which secondary assumption to blame, but now that he is duly educated—about the truth of the if-clause and falsity of the then-clause— he can reasonably resort to the educated ignorance defense. Eventually something better than educated ignorance will be required if the car is to be driven away.

Science provides many examples of this defense. In the 18th century, for example, astronomers used the new Newtonian mechanics to accurately predict the orbits of many of the planets in our solar system. The following if–then statement describes the general shape of these predictions:

If Newtonian mechanics is true, then the orbit of planet A will be observed to be F.

(In this case, A is the name of the planet and F is a mathematical description of the predicted observed orbit of the planet around Earth.) After many successes, the astronomers did their work on the orbit of Uranus and discovered, to everyone’s surprise, that the predicted orbit did not accord with their observations. They thus found themselves with good evidence for the following three statements, not all of which could be true:

If Newtonian mechanics is true, then the orbit of Uranus will be observed to be F. Newtonian mechanics is true. (The if-clause is true.) It is not the case that the orbit of Uranus is observed to be F. (The then-clause is false).

They checked and rechecked their equipment to be sure of their evidence that the then-clause was false, but they found their surprising observations to be accurate. They reminded themselves of the mountains of other evidence in favor of the if-clause. And they checked and rechecked their calculations, in the futile hope of finding some faulty secondary assumption that would falsify the if–then statement. In the end, the only reasonable thing to do was to reject the if–then statement with a defense something like this:

This premise is probably false; the support for Newtonian theory is so strong, and the quality of this observation so good, that it is most likely that some not-yet-identified faulty secondary assumption lies behind its falsity.

Incidentally, that is where things stood until the 19th century, when the Englishman John Adams and the Frenchman Urbain Leverier, working independently, realized that the mistake had been in assuming Uranus is the outermost planet. Due to this secondary assumption, the earlier Newtonians had not factored into their calculations any gravitational pull from the other side of Uranus. They each reworked the calculations and predicted where they should be able to observe an outer planet exercising gravitational attraction on Uranus. In 1846 they independently observed this planet, later named Neptune, in the predicted location.

The strategy of saying, “There is some unidentified secondary assumption that is mistaken” should be employed with great care. Again, it works only when there is independent strong evidence in favor of the truth of the if-clause and against the truth of the then-clause. These lines are from the final letter written to his wife by one of the doomed soldiers of the German Sixth Army outside Stalingrad:

“If there is a God,” you wrote me in your last letter, “then he will bring you back to me soon and healthy.” But, dearest, if your words are weighed now you will have to make a difficult and great decision.

Her own words, quoted by her husband, committed her to the statement If God exists, then the soldier will return to his wife soon and healthy. The report of his death that she later received supported this statement: The soldier will not return to his wife soon and healthy. But by a valid denying the consequent argument, these two premises entail God does not exist. This, then, presented his wife with the difficult and great decision that the soldier foretold—she must stop believing in God, or she must go back on her own words.

Let’s set this up in the same way as we did with the auto mechanic and the Newtonians. There are three statements before her, at least one of which must be false:

If God exists, then the soldier will return to his wife soon and healthy. God exists. (The if-clause is true.) The soldier will not return to his wife soon and healthy. (The then-clause is false.)

Let’s suppose that instead of giving up her belief in God, she chose the option of going back on her words and rejecting her if–then statement. Her most reasonable defense, as we have seen, would be for her to sever the connection between the if-clause and the then-clause by identifying and rejecting the false secondary assumption. Candidates might include:

God cares about human suffering. God cares about the suffering of this particular soldier and his wife. God is able to prevent this suffering. God knows about this suffering.

But let’s further suppose that she insisted on continuing to embrace all these secondary assumptions, on the grounds that to do otherwise would be to unsuitably diminish God. Instead, she took the step that many believers in God take—the step of saying, “God’s ways are beyond the understanding of man. When I get to heaven he will reveal to me his reasons. Until then, I will continue to believe in him.” This is an attempt to use the educated ignorance defense. We give up on the if–then statement in the expectation that we will eventually discover the car’s mechanical defect, the flaw in our astronomical calculations, or the hidden mysteries of God.

Whether this is a reasonable move for the soldier’s wife depends on one condition: it is educated ignorance—and thus a reasonable defense—only if the wife has independent strong evidence that God exists (evidence for the if-clause). If she does not—if she accepts by faith alone not only God’s mysterious ways but also his very existence—then she cannot reasonably defend her rejection of the if–then statement unless she identifies and rejects the false secondary assumption.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (g)

In each problem there are three statements, at least one of which must be false. Provide an “educated ignorance” defense for the claim that the if–then statement is false; you’ll need to state evidence for the if-clause and against the then-clause in your defense.

Sample exercise. If the instructor is fair, then he will not give higher grades to males than to females. The instructor is fair. The instructor gave higher grades to males than females.

Sample answer. The if–then statement is probably false, although I can’t say exactly what the mistaken assumption is. Even though the record shows that in this class the males did much better than the females, he has a widespread reputation for bending over backward to treat everyone fairly. It seems likely that his reputation is deserved and that in this case there is an explanation that will eventually emerge.

• If you patch that hole, then the roof will stop leaking. You patch the hole. The roof does not stop leaking.
• If your boyfriend loves you, then he will be on time tonight. Your boyfriend loves you. He is not on time tonight.
• If you are the most talented, then you will win the talent show. You are the most talented. You do not win the talent show.
• If it is impossible to move physical objects by only thinking about it, then when Uri Geller concentrates on bending the spoon it will not bend. It is impossible to move physical objects by only thinking about it. When Uri Geller concentrates on bending the spoon it does bend.

Strategies for Evaluating the Truth of If–Then Statements

11.2.4 Secondary Assumptions and Indirect Arguments

Secondary assumptions can also play an important role in the evaluation of indirect arguments (which we have also called reductios ). Introduced in Chapter 10, such arguments, in their simplest form, exhibit the structure of denying the consequent. They begin with a statement that may seem quite innocuous and attempt to show that it is false by pointing out, in what amounts to an if–then premise, an absurd consequence that it forces on you. You accept the absurdity of the consequence by accepting a premise that says the then-clause is false. You must then conclude, by the valid form of denying the consequent, that the seemingly innocuous if-clause must be rejected. [5] An example is found in these remarks by David Wilson (no known relation to the author), adapted from a newspaper report:

Melina Mercouri, Greece’s minister of culture, swept into the staid old British Museum to examine what she called the soul of the Greek people—the Elgin Marbles. Lord Elgin took them from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 19th century. Mercouri is expected to make a formal request soon for the marbles’ return. But Dr. David Wilson, director of the British Museum, opposes the idea. “If we start dismantling our collection,” Wilson said, “it will be the beginning of the end of the museum as an international cultural institution. The logical conclusion of the forced return of the Elgin Marbles would be the utter stripping of the great museums of the world.”

Wilson’s argument can be clarified thus:

• If it is acceptable to force the British to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, then it is acceptable to strip the great museums of the world.
• [It is not acceptable to strip the great museums of the world.]
• ∴ It is not acceptable to force the British to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

Melina Mercouri must avoid the conclusion without rejecting premise 2, so her only recourse is to reject the if–then premise. But when she does reject it, she is no position to respond with the educated ignorance defense; the evidence for the if-clause is exactly what is in question, so for her to simply say the if-clause is obviously true would be to beg the question. In short, her only reasonable strategy is to reject the if–then premise by identifying a faulty secondary assumption that it depends on. Here is a strong candidate for the role of faulty secondary assumption:

The only principle for returning the Elgin Marbles would be that any item, great or small, removed from its original culture, whether by consent or by force, must be returned to that culture.

This secondary assumption is clearly false. So Mercouri might defend her rejection of premise 1 as follows:

Premise 1 is almost certainly false, since it assumes that all items must be returned to their original culture; but the return of the Elgin Marbles only depends on a principle calling for the return of great national treasures that have been forcibly removed.

What Mercouri would be doing is accusing Wilson of committing the fallacy of non causa pro causa (introduced in Chapter 10). This is the fallacy of blaming the absurd consequence ( It is acceptable to strip the great museums of the world ) on what is set forth as its cause ( It is acceptable to force the British to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece ) instead of blaming the unnoticed assumption that is the real cause of the absurdity ( All items must be returned to their original culture ).

Because indirect arguments are typically offered in support of controversial conclusions, only rarely can the educated ignorance approach be used in evaluating them without begging the question. Be especially watchful for faulty secondary assumptions behind the if–then premise of indirect arguments; when there is such an assumption, the indirect argument can be criticized for committing the fallacy of non causa pro causa.

EXERCISES Chapter 11 set (h)

Clarify each of these simple indirect arguments; then evaluate only the if–then premise, on the grounds that it commits the fallacy of non causa pro causa. (Use the Elgin Marbles case as your sample.)

• If you are right in your claim that income taxes should be eliminated, then you must accept the consequence that the government will be left with no money to do even its most important business. But we would all agree that government cannot be done away with. So income taxes must remain.
• If children who misbehave are not immediately and severely punished, they will grow up with the belief that misbehavior has no negative consequences. We all agree, of course, that our children cannot be allowed to grow up with that belief. So don’t spare the rod with your children.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (i)

Each of the passages below indicates what could be seen as a misuse of secondary assumptions. In the Kelvin case, clarify the denying the consequent argument and identify the secondary assumption that, perhaps, Kelvin should have questioned. In the Azande case, clarify the affirming the antecedent argument that the Azande are trying to avoid, and identify the secondary assumption that they, perhaps, too readily reject to show that the if–then premise is false.

• Lord Kelvin, the leading British physicist of his day, dismissed Darwin’s work on the ground that it violated the principles of thermodynamics. The sun could be no more than 100 million years old; evolution demanded a much longer period in which to operate; therefore evolution must be rejected. Kelvin wasted no time pursuing the minutiae of the geological and palaeontological evidence on which evolution was based. Physics in the guise of thermodynamics had spoken clearly and whatever failed to fit into its scheme had to be rejected. Kelvin’s thermodynamics were later shown to be wrong. Unaware of radioactivity, he had inevitably failed to allow for its effect in his calculations.—Derek Gjertsen, Science and Philosophy
• According to the Azande, witchcraft is inherited unilinearly, from father to son, and mother to daughter. How, therefore, can I accept that my brother is a witch and yet deny that I am also infected? To prevent this absurdity arising, the Azande adopt further “elaborations of belief.” They argue, for example, that if a man is proven a witch beyond all doubt, his kin, to establish their innocence, deny that he is a member of their clan. They say he was a bastard, for among Azande a man is always of the clan of his genitor [natural father] and not of his pater [mother’s legal husband]. In this and other ways, Evans-Pritchard concluded, the Azande freed themselves from “the logical consequences of belief in biological transmission of witchcraft.”—Derek Gjertsen, Science and Philosophy

11.3 If–Then Arguments With Implicit Statements

If–then arguments, like any other sort of arguments, frequently have implicit premises or conclusions. To use a term from earlier in the book, they are frequently enthymemes. In extreme cases, only the if–then premise is explicit. Suppose, for example, that you’ve complained for the 10th time that the party across the hall is too loud, and I say to you, “Hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” What I’ve actually given is an affirming the antecedent argument. I’ve explicitly provided the if–then premise; the implicit premise, obviously, is You can’t beat them; and the implicit conclusion is You should join them.

Consider the following, more sophisticated example, from a New York Review of Books review of a book of film criticism by Stanley Cavell:

When Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story brightly says, “I think men are wonderful,” Cavell hears an “allusion” to The Tempest that amounts “almost to an echo” of Miranda’s saying, “How beauteous mankind is!” If this is an echo, then Irene Dunne’s saying of her marriage, “It was pretty swell while it lasted” is a reminiscence of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.

This argument is an example of denying the consequent. But only one statement of the argument is explicit. The full clarification proceeds thus:

• If Hepburn’s remark “I think men are wonderful” in The Philadelphia Story is an echo of Miranda’s “How beauteous mankind is” in The Tempest, then Irene Dunne’s saying of her marriage, “It was pretty swell while it lasted” is a reminiscence of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.
• [Irene Dunne’s saying of her marriage, “It was pretty swell while it lasted” is not a reminiscence of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall. ]
• ∴ [Hepburn’s remark “I think men are wonderful” in The Philadelphia Story is not an echo of Miranda’s “How beauteous mankind is” in The Tempest. ]

This is the reviewer’s sideways—but effective—way of saying that perhaps Cavell takes himself a bit too seriously.

11.3.1 If–Then Bridges

In the preceding examples, only the if–then premise was explicit. But in other cases, only the if–then premise is implicit. Note, for example, this episode recorded by Jean Piaget in his book, The Child’s Conception of the World :

A little girl of nine asked: “Daddy, is there really God?” The father answered that it wasn’t very certain, to which the child retorted: “There must be really, because he has a name!”

This does not look, on the face of it, like an if–then argument. But there must be an implicit premise connecting the two parts of her retort. A good clarification, it seems, is this:

• [If any name exists, then the thing it names exists.]
• God has a name.
• ∴ God exists.

Premise 1 serves as a universal if–then bridge. It is a universal if–then statement (note the term any ) and serves as a bridge of sorts between 2 and C. We might have proposed a more specific sort of bridge, as follows:

1*. [If God has a name, then God exists.]

Either bridge produces a valid argument—the first one by singular affirming the antecedent, the second one by affirming the antecedent. But the second doesn’t produce an argument that will convince us—after all, you can add a premise to any argument that says, “If the premises are true, then the conclusion is true,” and thereby say something that the arguer surely intended, without saying anything illuminating. (There is a specialized term for such an if–then statement, namely, the corresponding conditional of an argument.) When the conditional is expressed in its universal form, on the other hand, we get some idea of the general principle being assumed by the arguer.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (j)

Clarify each of these arguments, proposing for each a universal if–then bridge.

Sample exercise. “An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup.”—H. L. Mencken

• [If anything smells better than another thing, then it also tastes better.]
• A rose smells better than a cabbage.
• ∴ A rose tastes better than a cabbage.
• Twitter, as another high-tech innovation, will inevitably fragment community rather than enhance it.
• “Spirituality turns out to be central to cognitive psychology, and therefore to artificial intelligence, and therefore to computer science, and therefore to the whole history of science and technology.” —David Gelernter, The Muse in the Machine
• Most striking of their claims is that among the 7,000 people executed in this century, at least 23 people, and possibly many more, have been innocent. This alone is reason, the authors conclude, that the death penalty should be abolished.—review of Hugo Bedau and Michael Radelet, In Spite of Innocence
• “There will always be books. You can show them off on the shelf behind you during a Zoom meeting, and you still can’t do that with your iPhone.”—Robert Maxwell
• “Although these textbooks purport to be a universal guide to learning of great worth and importance, there is a single clue that points to another direction. In the six years I taught in city and country schools, no one ever stole a textbook.”—W. Ron Jones, Changing Education

11.4 Bringing It All Together

After learning a wide array of distinct skills, you now have the opportunity to use all of them together. If–then arguments provide us with our first of six groupings of arguments that can be substantial and interesting. And you are now equipped to fully clarify and evaluate them.

There is nothing new to be said, but a few things bear repeating. In your evaluation, separately evaluate the truth of the premises (considering each premise individually), the logic of the argument (naming the form if it has a name, and providing a validity counterexample if it is invalid), the soundness of the argument (which depends entirely on truth and logic), and, if necessary, the conversational relevance of the argument. Always provide a defense of your judgment, and do so as if there were a reasonable objector over your shoulder whom you were trying to persuade.

I’ll provide a sample clarification and evaluation of this brief argument found in Gilbert Harman’s The Nature of Morality :

Total pacifism might be a good principle if everyone were to follow it. But not everyone is, so it isn’t.

CLARIFICATION

• If everyone followed total pacifism, then total pacifism would be a good principle.
• Not everyone follows total pacifism.
• ∴ Total pacifism is not a good principle.

Premise 1 is probably true, since the main objection to total pacifism is that it leaves you with no defense against those who are not pacifists. But if everyone were a pacifist, that would be no problem. (This seems to be the main secondary assumption of the premise.)

Premise 2 is certainly true. We all have firsthand experience with violent people, not to mention the experience of them that we have via the media.

Invalid, fallacy of denying the antecedent. Here is a validity counterexample:

• If anything is a chihuahua, then it is a dog.
• Uga, the Georgia Bulldogs mascot, is not a chihuahua.
• ∴ Uga, the Georgia Bulldogs mascot, is not a dog

Unsound, due to invalidity.

EXERCISES Chapter 11, set (k)

Clarify and evaluate. Where appropriate, provide implicit statements in the clarification (including universal if–then bridges) and original validity counterexamples in the evaluations.

• “With the layout of the San Francisco-Oakland area, a rail line there had a better chance than most,” said rail critic Peter Gordon, a regional planner at USC. “If it doesn’t work there, and I assert it doesn’t, there is no way rail transit will work in a place like Los Angeles.” — Los Angeles Times
• “But if evolution proceeded as a lockstep, then the fossil record should display a pattern of gradual and sequential advance in organization. It does not, and I regard this failure as the most telling argument against an evolutionary ratchet.”—Stephen Gould, Panda’s Thumb (It might help you to know that Gould is a noted professor of paleontology at Harvard. By a “ratchet” and a “lockstep” he means a “gradual, uniform progression.”)
• “If each man had a definite set of rules of conduct by which he regulated his life he would be no better than a machine. But there are no such rules, so men cannot be machines.”—A. M. Turing, Mind (Turing is an expert in artificial intelligence, i.e., what it would take to make a machine think.)
• “ Q : Even so, don’t you think that the use of computers reinforces a child’s problem-solving ability? A: If that were true, then computer professionals would lead better lives than the rest of the population. We know very well that isn’t the case.”—interview with computer expert Joseph Weizenbaum, Le Nouvel Observateur (The argument is in the answer.)
• Pjeter Ivezaj, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison by a panel of judges in Yugoslavia for participating in peaceful anti-Yugoslav activities in this country. Said his brother Frano, 28, “I intend to take this matter to the court of world opinion. If U.S. citizenship has any value, which I believe it does, now is the time for the U.S. government to make a move.”— Detroit Free Press
• Scientists believe that the most likely location of our country’s next severe earthquake is a fault zone that centers on New Madrid, MO. But residents here, where the quake probably will be centered, are unimpressed. “I’m just a non-believer,” said L. H. Rector, publisher of the New Madrid Weekly Record, whose motto is “The only paper in the world that cares about New Madrid.” “It hasn’t been proved that we’re going to have one,” Rector said. “Now, out in California, they can see the fault. It’s been proved. But no one here in New Madrid has seen one fault.”— Los Angeles Times (Provide Rector’s argument with a universal if–then bridge.)
• “The church never wanted disease to be under the control of man. Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, preached a sermon against vaccination. His idea was that if God had decreed from all eternity that a certain man should die with the smallpox, it was a frightful sin to avoid and annul that decree by the trick of vaccination. Smallpox being regarded as one of the heaviest guns in the arsenal of heaven, to spike it was the height of presumption.”—Robert Ingersoll, Ingersoll, The Immortal Infidel
• The key premise is that a human fetus is a full-fledged, actualized human life. Supposing human embryos are human beings, their innocence is beyond question. So nothing could justify our destroying them except, perhaps, the necessity of saving some other innocent human life.—Roger Wertheimer, “Understanding the Abortion Argument” (Clarify as a complex argument with an if–then bridge in the second inference.)
• “If there be righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there be beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there be harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there be order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”—Confucius (Suppose that this is a transitivity of implication argument with an implicit conclusion.)
• “If a man could not have done otherwise than he in fact did, then he is not responsible for his action. But if determinism is true, it is true of every action that the agent could not have done otherwise. Therefore, if determinism is true, no one is ever responsible for what he does.”—Winston Nesbitt and Stewart Candlish, Mind
• Their children, they soon saw, were being presented by EPIC, an organization to help children learn to think about values, with hypothetical situations that called for the students to make choices and decisions. On a spaceship survival trip, an EPIC question asks, “Determine what to take with you. Pretend the ship develops trouble and the load must be lightened. What could you discard?” There was, to a number of parents, something very troubling about these types of questions. The questions seemed to carry with them the presumption that the children were free to reason through to their own answers. If they could do that, it meant that there were no moral absolutes, and nothing was clearly right or wrong, good or bad. This was not the worldview of fundamentalists who believe in the literal word of the Bible. “Once you tell a child that he has to decide upon his own values system, that’s like saying that values are not real, and you can just make them up as you go along,” said Marjorie McNabb, a former Episcopalian who now attends a Baptist church. “Children would be better raised by a street gang than EPIC. At least, they’d learn two values, courage and loyalty. That’s better than no values.”— Los Angeles Times (Look for the actual argument to begin in about the middle, with the words “If they could do that. . . .”)
• In spite of the popularity of the finite-world picture, however, it is open to a devastating objection. In being finite the world must have a limiting boundary, such as Aristotle’s outermost sphere. That is impossible. This objection was put forward by the Greeks, reappeared in the scientific skepticism of the early Renaissance and probably occurs to any schoolchild who thinks about it today. On the basis of the objection, one must conclude that the universe is infinite.—J. J. Callahan, Scientific American (The stylistic variant for the if–then statement is unusual—it is “in being . . . must have . . .”)
• “There is one insuperable obstacle to a belief in ghosts. A ghost never comes naked: he appears either in a winding-sheet or ‘in his habit as he lived.’ To believe in him, then, is to believe that not only have the dead the power to make themselves visible after there is nothing left of them, but that the same power inheres in textile fabrics. Supposing the products of the loom to have this ability, what object would they have in exercising it? And why does not the apparition of a suit of clothes sometimes walk abroad without a ghost in it? These be riddles of significance. They reach away down and get a convulsive grasp on the very taproot of this flourishing faith.”—Ambrose Bierce, Devil’s Dictionary (Treat this as an indirect argument in which the only explicit premise is really the one starting “To believe in him . . .”)
• There was little doubt, then, that if the earth moved through an immovable sea of ether, there would be an ether wind, and if there were an ether wind, the Michelson-Morley apparatus would detect it. In fact, both scientists were confident that they would not only find such a wind, but that they could also determine (by rotating the slab until there was a maximum difference in the time it took light to make the two journeys) the exact direction, at any given moment, of the earth’s path through the ether. Michelson was astounded and disappointed. This time the astonishment was felt by physicists all over the world. Regardless of how Michelson and Morley turned their apparatus, they found no sign of an ether wind! Michelson never dreamed that this ‘failure’ would make the experiment one of the most successful, revolutionary experiments in the history of science. The reason Michelson and Morley were unable to detect an ether wind, Einstein said, is simple: there is no ether wind.—Martin Gardner, Relativity for the Million

11.5 Summary of Chapter Eleven

There are three common valid forms of if–then arguments: affirming the antecedent, denying the consequent, and transitivity of implication. There are two common invalid forms: the fallacy of affirming the consequent and the fallacy of denying the antecedent. When an argument takes one of these forms but has both a universal if–then premise and a conclusion about a single instance to which the universal applies, describe it in the same terms but for the addition of the phrase singular. . . .

When paraphrasing, translate variants such as P only if Q and Q assuming P into the standard constant If P then Q.

When judging the truth of if–then premises, concentrate chiefly on the proposed connection—whether causal or broadly logical—between the if-clause and the then-clause. Typically the if-clause is not alone presumed to be sufficient for the then-clause, but to be sufficient only in combination with secondary assumptions that are themselves not in question. The if-clause is the only one mentioned because it is presumed, in this particular context, to be the only factor in doubt. In defending your judgment that an if-then premise is true, point out the truth of the most doubtful secondary assumptions. In defending your judgment that the if–then premise is false, point out the falsity of a secondary assumption. In this way you either reinforce or sever the connection between if-clause and then-clause.

When the if-clause is clearly true and the then-clause is clearly false, you may have the opportunity to effectively show the falsity of the if–then premise without reference to secondary assumptions in two different ways. First, you may provide a truth counterexample, assuming the if–then premise is universal. And second, you may provide an “educated ignorance” defense, which requires that the evidence for the truth of the if-clause and the falsity of the then-clause is strong—much stronger than the evidence for the if–then premise itself.

If–then arguments are frequently enthymematic. When the if–then premise is the implicit statement, be especially attuned to the likely need for a universal if–then bridge.

11.6 Guidelines for Chapter Eleven

• Translate the stylistic variants for the if–then premise into the standard constant.
• When an argument has both a universal premise and a conclusion about a single thing that is encompassed by the universal premise, consider whether it is the singular version of a sentential logical form.
• Defend your judgment that an if–then statement is true by affirming the truth of the most questionable secondary assumptions. Defend your judgment that it is false by showing that a secondary assumption is false.
• Do not defend your judgment of an if–then statement by simply rewording the statement (or, if false, by rewording the denial of the statement).
• When a universal if–then statement is false, try to defend that judgment by providing a truth counterexample.
• It is reasonable to judge an if–then premise false “because some secondary assumption must be mistaken, though I don’t know which one” only if there is very powerful evidence both that the if-clause is true and that the then-clause is false.
• In indirect arguments, be alert for faulty secondary assumptions behind the if–then premise.
• Consider providing a universal if–then bridge when an explicit link between premise and conclusion has not been provided by the arguer.

11.7 Glossary for Chapter Eleven

Affirming the antecedent —valid deductive form, as follows:

Also known as modus ponens, which is Latin for “the method (or mode, from modus ) of affirming (or propounding, from ponens ).”

Antecedent —the if-clause of an if–then statement.

Consequent —the then-clause of an if–then statement.

Denying the consequent —valid deductive form, as follows:

Also known as modus tollens, which is Latin for “the method of denying.”

Educated ignorance defense —defense of your judgment that an if–then premise is false even though you cannot tell which secondary assumption is at fault (thus, it reflects ignorance); it can be a reasonable defense only if your evidence for the truth of the if-clause and for the falsity of the then-clause is especially strong (thus, the defense is educated).

Fallacy of affirming the consequent —invalid deductive form, as follows:

Fallacy of denying the antecedent —invalid deductive form, as follows:

Fallacy of singular affirming the consequent —invalid affirming the consequent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Fallacy of singular denying the antecedent —invalid denying the antecedent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

If–then argument —one of a loosely defined group of deductive arguments that have an if–then statement as a premise. Also known as a conditional argument or hypothetical–syllogism.

If–then statement —a statement in the form of If P then Q. Also known as a conditional.

Secondary assumption —when an if–then statement is asserted, this is an assumption made, often implicit because it is not in doubt, about another factor besides the if-clause that contributes to the truth of the then-clause. Also known as auxiliary hypothesis.

Singular affirming the antecedent —valid affirming the antecedent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Singular denying the consequent —valid denying the consequent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Singular transitivity of implication —valid transitivity of implication in which the if–then premises are universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Transitivity of implication —valid deductive form, as follows:

It can have any number of if–then premises. It can also have a negative conclusion, as follows:

• ∴ If not R , then not P.

Truth counterexample —strategy for defending your judgment that a universal if–then premise is false, by identifying a single instance in which the if-clause is obviously true and the then-clause is obviously false.

Universal statement —a premise with a term like all, none, anything, or nothing.

• If construction begins before July 4, then the building will be ready to be occupied before snow falls.
• If the building is not ready to be occupied before snow falls, then construction did not begin before July 4.
• The building will not be ready to be occupied before snow falls.
• ∴ Construction did not begin before July 4.
• ∴ If not R then not P.
• If you have studied formal logic, you have learned that you only need to know the truth-values of the antecedent and the consequent to know the truth-value of the if–then statement; you may have memorized truth tables in support of this. But this applies only to a specialized form of the if–then statement called the material, or truth-functional, conditional. This sort of if–then statement is not used in ordinary language. ↵
• For practical purposes, it may be helpful to think of both sorts of connections as ultimately epistemic—that is, as providing in the antecedent a reason for believing the consequent to be true, on the strictly hypothetical assumption that the antecedent is true. ↵
• In formal logic, this sort of argument must produce a logical contradiction. In common usage, however, it only needs to produce something preposterous. ↵

One of a loosely defined group of deductive arguments that have an if–then statement as a premise. Also known as a conditional argument or hypothetical–syllogism.

A statement in the form of If P then Q. Also known as a conditional.

The if-clause of an if–then statement.

The then-clause of an if–then statement.

Valid deductive form, as follows:

1. If P then Q . 2. P ∴ C . Q

1. If P then Q . 2. Not Q. ∴ C . Not P.

Invalid deductive form, as follows:

1. If P then Q . 2. Q ∴ C . P

1. If P then Q . 2. Not P ∴ C . Not Q

1. If P then Q . 2. If Q then R . ∴ C . If P then R.

∴ C . If not R , then not P.

Valid denying the consequent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

A premise with a term like all, none, anything, or nothing.

Valid affirming the antecedent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Valid transitivity of implication in which the if–then premises are universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Invalid affirming the consequent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

Invalid denying the antecedent in which the if–then premise is universal and the conclusion is about a single instance that is encompassed by the universal term.

When an if–then statement is asserted, this is an assumption made, often implicit because it is not in doubt, about another factor besides the if-clause that contributes to the truth of the then-clause. Also known as auxiliary hypothesis.

Strategy for defending your judgment that a universal if–then premise is false, by identifying a single instance in which the if-clause is obviously true and the then-clause is obviously false.

Defense of your judgment that an if–then premise is false even though you cannot tell which secondary assumption is at fault (thus, it reflects ignorance); it can be a reasonable defense only if your evidence for the truth of the if-clause and for the falsity of the then-clause is especially strong (thus, the defense is educated).

A Guide to Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues Copyright © 2020 by David Carl Wilson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Scientific Method: Step 3: HYPOTHESIS

• Step 1: QUESTION
• Step 2: RESEARCH
• Step 3: HYPOTHESIS
• Step 4: EXPERIMENT
• Step 5: DATA
• Step 6: CONCLUSION

Step 3: State your hypothesis

Now it's time to state your hypothesis . The hypothesis is an educated guess as to what will happen during your experiment. 

The hypothesis is often written using the words "IF" and "THEN." For example, " If I do not study, then I will fail the test." The "if' and "then" statements reflect your independent and dependent variables . 

The hypothesis should relate back to your original question and must be testable .

A word about variables...

Your experiment will include variables to measure and to explain any cause and effect. Below you will find some useful links describing the different types of variables.

• "What are independent and dependent variables" NCES
• [VIDEO] Biology: Independent vs. Dependent Variables (Nucleus Medical Media) Video explaining independent and dependent variables, with examples.

Resource Links

• What is and How to Write a Good Hypothesis in Research? (Elsevier)
• Hypothesis brochure from Penn State/Berks

• << Previous: Step 2: RESEARCH
• Next: Step 4: EXPERIMENT >>
• Last Updated: Jan 26, 2024 10:39 AM
• URL: https://harford.libguides.com/scientific_method

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, what is a hypothesis and how do i write one.

General Education

Think about something strange and unexplainable in your life. Maybe you get a headache right before it rains, or maybe you think your favorite sports team wins when you wear a certain color. If you wanted to see whether these are just coincidences or scientific fact, you would form a hypothesis, then create an experiment to see whether that hypothesis is true or not. 

But what is a hypothesis, anyway? If you’re not sure about what a hypothesis is--or how to test for one!--you’re in the right place. This article will teach you everything you need to know about hypotheses, including: 

• Defining the term “hypothesis” 
• Providing hypothesis examples 
• Giving you tips for how to write your own hypothesis 

So let’s get started!

What Is a Hypothesis?

Merriam Webster defines a hypothesis as “an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument.” In other words, a hypothesis is an educated guess . Scientists make a reasonable assumption--or a hypothesis--then design an experiment to test whether it’s true or not. Keep in mind that in science, a hypothesis should be testable. You have to be able to design an experiment that tests your hypothesis in order for it to be valid. 

As you could assume from that statement, it’s easy to make a bad hypothesis. But when you’re holding an experiment, it’s even more important that your guesses be good...after all, you’re spending time (and maybe money!) to figure out more about your observation. That’s why we refer to a hypothesis as an educated guess--good hypotheses are based on existing data and research to make them as sound as possible.

Hypotheses are one part of what’s called the scientific method .  Every (good) experiment or study is based in the scientific method. The scientific method gives order and structure to experiments and ensures that interference from scientists or outside influences does not skew the results. It’s important that you understand the concepts of the scientific method before holding your own experiment. Though it may vary among scientists, the scientific method is generally made up of six steps (in order):

• Observation
• Asking questions
• Forming a hypothesis
• Analyze the data
• Communicate your results

You’ll notice that the hypothesis comes pretty early on when conducting an experiment. That’s because experiments work best when they’re trying to answer one specific question. And you can’t conduct an experiment until you know what you’re trying to prove!

Independent and Dependent Variables 

After doing your research, you’re ready for another important step in forming your hypothesis: identifying variables. Variables are basically any factor that could influence the outcome of your experiment . Variables have to be measurable and related to the topic being studied.

There are two types of variables:  independent variables and dependent variables. I ndependent variables remain constant . For example, age is an independent variable; it will stay the same, and researchers can look at different ages to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable. 

Speaking of dependent variables... dependent variables are subject to the influence of the independent variable , meaning that they are not constant. Let’s say you want to test whether a person’s age affects how much sleep they need. In that case, the independent variable is age (like we mentioned above), and the dependent variable is how much sleep a person gets. 

Variables will be crucial in writing your hypothesis. You need to be able to identify which variable is which, as both the independent and dependent variables will be written into your hypothesis. For instance, in a study about exercise, the independent variable might be the speed at which the respondents walk for thirty minutes, and the dependent variable would be their heart rate. In your study and in your hypothesis, you’re trying to understand the relationship between the two variables.

Elements of a Good Hypothesis

The best hypotheses start by asking the right questions . For instance, if you’ve observed that the grass is greener when it rains twice a week, you could ask what kind of grass it is, what elevation it’s at, and if the grass across the street responds to rain in the same way. Any of these questions could become the backbone of experiments to test why the grass gets greener when it rains fairly frequently.

As you’re asking more questions about your first observation, make sure you’re also making more observations . If it doesn’t rain for two weeks and the grass still looks green, that’s an important observation that could influence your hypothesis. You'll continue observing all throughout your experiment, but until the hypothesis is finalized, every observation should be noted.

Finally, you should consult secondary research before writing your hypothesis . Secondary research is comprised of results found and published by other people. You can usually find this information online or at your library. Additionally, m ake sure the research you find is credible and related to your topic. If you’re studying the correlation between rain and grass growth, it would help you to research rain patterns over the past twenty years for your county, published by a local agricultural association. You should also research the types of grass common in your area, the type of grass in your lawn, and whether anyone else has conducted experiments about your hypothesis. Also be sure you’re checking the quality of your research . Research done by a middle school student about what minerals can be found in rainwater would be less useful than an article published by a local university.

Writing Your Hypothesis

Once you’ve considered all of the factors above, you’re ready to start writing your hypothesis. Hypotheses usually take a certain form when they’re written out in a research report.

When you boil down your hypothesis statement, you are writing down your best guess and not the question at hand . This means that your statement should be written as if it is fact already, even though you are simply testing it.

The reason for this is that, after you have completed your study, you'll either accept or reject your if-then or your null hypothesis. All hypothesis testing examples should be measurable and able to be confirmed or denied. You cannot confirm a question, only a statement! 

In fact, you come up with hypothesis examples all the time! For instance, when you guess on the outcome of a basketball game, you don’t say, “Will the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics?” but instead, “I think the Miami Heat will beat the Boston Celtics.” You state it as if it is already true, even if it turns out you’re wrong. You do the same thing when writing your hypothesis.

Additionally, keep in mind that hypotheses can range from very specific to very broad.  These hypotheses can be specific, but if your hypothesis testing examples involve a broad range of causes and effects, your hypothesis can also be broad.  

The Two Types of Hypotheses

Now that you understand what goes into a hypothesis, it’s time to look more closely at the two most common types of hypothesis: the if-then hypothesis and the null hypothesis.

#1: If-Then Hypotheses

First of all, if-then hypotheses typically follow this formula:

If ____ happens, then ____ will happen.

The goal of this type of hypothesis is to test the causal relationship between the independent and dependent variable. It’s fairly simple, and each hypothesis can vary in how detailed it can be. We create if-then hypotheses all the time with our daily predictions. Here are some examples of hypotheses that use an if-then structure from daily life: 

• If I get enough sleep, I’ll be able to get more work done tomorrow.
• If the bus is on time, I can make it to my friend’s birthday party. 
• If I study every night this week, I’ll get a better grade on my exam. 

In each of these situations, you’re making a guess on how an independent variable (sleep, time, or studying) will affect a dependent variable (the amount of work you can do, making it to a party on time, or getting better grades). 

You may still be asking, “What is an example of a hypothesis used in scientific research?” Take one of the hypothesis examples from a real-world study on whether using technology before bed affects children’s sleep patterns. The hypothesis read s:

“We hypothesized that increased hours of tablet- and phone-based screen time at bedtime would be inversely correlated with sleep quality and child attention.”

It might not look like it, but this is an if-then statement. The researchers basically said, “If children have more screen usage at bedtime, then their quality of sleep and attention will be worse.” The sleep quality and attention are the dependent variables and the screen usage is the independent variable. (Usually, the independent variable comes after the “if” and the dependent variable comes after the “then,” as it is the independent variable that affects the dependent variable.) This is an excellent example of how flexible hypothesis statements can be, as long as the general idea of “if-then” and the independent and dependent variables are present.

#2: Null Hypotheses

Your if-then hypothesis is not the only one needed to complete a successful experiment, however. You also need a null hypothesis to test it against. In its most basic form, the null hypothesis is the opposite of your if-then hypothesis . When you write your null hypothesis, you are writing a hypothesis that suggests that your guess is not true, and that the independent and dependent variables have no relationship .

One null hypothesis for the cell phone and sleep study from the last section might say: 

“If children have more screen usage at bedtime, their quality of sleep and attention will not be worse.” 

In this case, this is a null hypothesis because it’s asking the opposite of the original thesis! 

Conversely, if your if-then hypothesis suggests that your two variables have no relationship, then your null hypothesis would suggest that there is one. So, pretend that there is a study that is asking the question, “Does the amount of followers on Instagram influence how long people spend on the app?” The independent variable is the amount of followers, and the dependent variable is the time spent. But if you, as the researcher, don’t think there is a relationship between the number of followers and time spent, you might write an if-then hypothesis that reads:

“If people have many followers on Instagram, they will not spend more time on the app than people who have less.”

In this case, the if-then suggests there isn’t a relationship between the variables. In that case, one of the null hypothesis examples might say:

“If people have many followers on Instagram, they will spend more time on the app than people who have less.”

You then test both the if-then and the null hypothesis to gauge if there is a relationship between the variables, and if so, how much of a relationship. 

4 Tips to Write the Best Hypothesis

If you’re going to take the time to hold an experiment, whether in school or by yourself, you’re also going to want to take the time to make sure your hypothesis is a good one. The best hypotheses have four major elements in common: plausibility, defined concepts, observability, and general explanation.

#1: Plausibility

At first glance, this quality of a hypothesis might seem obvious. When your hypothesis is plausible, that means it’s possible given what we know about science and general common sense. However, improbable hypotheses are more common than you might think. 

Imagine you’re studying weight gain and television watching habits. If you hypothesize that people who watch more than  twenty hours of television a week will gain two hundred pounds or more over the course of a year, this might be improbable (though it’s potentially possible). Consequently, c ommon sense can tell us the results of the study before the study even begins.

Improbable hypotheses generally go against  science, as well. Take this hypothesis example: 

“If a person smokes one cigarette a day, then they will have lungs just as healthy as the average person’s.” 

This hypothesis is obviously untrue, as studies have shown again and again that cigarettes negatively affect lung health. You must be careful that your hypotheses do not reflect your own personal opinion more than they do scientifically-supported findings. This plausibility points to the necessity of research before the hypothesis is written to make sure that your hypothesis has not already been disproven.

#2: Defined Concepts

The more advanced you are in your studies, the more likely that the terms you’re using in your hypothesis are specific to a limited set of knowledge. One of the hypothesis testing examples might include the readability of printed text in newspapers, where you might use words like “kerning” and “x-height.” Unless your readers have a background in graphic design, it’s likely that they won’t know what you mean by these terms. Thus, it’s important to either write what they mean in the hypothesis itself or in the report before the hypothesis.

Here’s what we mean. Which of the following sentences makes more sense to the common person?

If the kerning is greater than average, more words will be read per minute.

If the space between letters is greater than average, more words will be read per minute.

For people reading your report that are not experts in typography, simply adding a few more words will be helpful in clarifying exactly what the experiment is all about. It’s always a good idea to make your research and findings as accessible as possible. 

Good hypotheses ensure that you can observe the results. 

#3: Observability

In order to measure the truth or falsity of your hypothesis, you must be able to see your variables and the way they interact. For instance, if your hypothesis is that the flight patterns of satellites affect the strength of certain television signals, yet you don’t have a telescope to view the satellites or a television to monitor the signal strength, you cannot properly observe your hypothesis and thus cannot continue your study.

Some variables may seem easy to observe, but if you do not have a system of measurement in place, you cannot observe your hypothesis properly. Here’s an example: if you’re experimenting on the effect of healthy food on overall happiness, but you don’t have a way to monitor and measure what “overall happiness” means, your results will not reflect the truth. Monitoring how often someone smiles for a whole day is not reasonably observable, but having the participants state how happy they feel on a scale of one to ten is more observable. 

In writing your hypothesis, always keep in mind how you'll execute the experiment.

#4: Generalizability 

Perhaps you’d like to study what color your best friend wears the most often by observing and documenting the colors she wears each day of the week. This might be fun information for her and you to know, but beyond you two, there aren’t many people who could benefit from this experiment. When you start an experiment, you should note how generalizable your findings may be if they are confirmed. Generalizability is basically how common a particular phenomenon is to other people’s everyday life.

Let’s say you’re asking a question about the health benefits of eating an apple for one day only, you need to realize that the experiment may be too specific to be helpful. It does not help to explain a phenomenon that many people experience. If you find yourself with too specific of a hypothesis, go back to asking the big question: what is it that you want to know, and what do you think will happen between your two variables?

Hypothesis Testing Examples

We know it can be hard to write a good hypothesis unless you’ve seen some good hypothesis examples. We’ve included four hypothesis examples based on some made-up experiments. Use these as templates or launch pads for coming up with your own hypotheses.

Experiment #1: Students Studying Outside (Writing a Hypothesis)

You are a student at PrepScholar University. When you walk around campus, you notice that, when the temperature is above 60 degrees, more students study in the quad. You want to know when your fellow students are more likely to study outside. With this information, how do you make the best hypothesis possible?

You must remember to make additional observations and do secondary research before writing your hypothesis. In doing so, you notice that no one studies outside when it’s 75 degrees and raining, so this should be included in your experiment. Also, studies done on the topic beforehand suggested that students are more likely to study in temperatures less than 85 degrees. With this in mind, you feel confident that you can identify your variables and write your hypotheses:

If-then: “If the temperature in Fahrenheit is less than 60 degrees, significantly fewer students will study outside.”

Null: “If the temperature in Fahrenheit is less than 60 degrees, the same number of students will study outside as when it is more than 60 degrees.”

These hypotheses are plausible, as the temperatures are reasonably within the bounds of what is possible. The number of people in the quad is also easily observable. It is also not a phenomenon specific to only one person or at one time, but instead can explain a phenomenon for a broader group of people.

To complete this experiment, you pick the month of October to observe the quad. Every day (except on the days where it’s raining)from 3 to 4 PM, when most classes have released for the day, you observe how many people are on the quad. You measure how many people come  and how many leave. You also write down the temperature on the hour. 

After writing down all of your observations and putting them on a graph, you find that the most students study on the quad when it is 70 degrees outside, and that the number of students drops a lot once the temperature reaches 60 degrees or below. In this case, your research report would state that you accept or “failed to reject” your first hypothesis with your findings.

Experiment #2: The Cupcake Store (Forming a Simple Experiment)

Let’s say that you work at a bakery. You specialize in cupcakes, and you make only two colors of frosting: yellow and purple. You want to know what kind of customers are more likely to buy what kind of cupcake, so you set up an experiment. Your independent variable is the customer’s gender, and the dependent variable is the color of the frosting. What is an example of a hypothesis that might answer the question of this study?

Here’s what your hypotheses might look like: 

If-then: “If customers’ gender is female, then they will buy more yellow cupcakes than purple cupcakes.”

Null: “If customers’ gender is female, then they will be just as likely to buy purple cupcakes as yellow cupcakes.”

This is a pretty simple experiment! It passes the test of plausibility (there could easily be a difference), defined concepts (there’s nothing complicated about cupcakes!), observability (both color and gender can be easily observed), and general explanation ( this would potentially help you make better business decisions ).

Experiment #3: Backyard Bird Feeders (Integrating Multiple Variables and Rejecting the If-Then Hypothesis)

While watching your backyard bird feeder, you realized that different birds come on the days when you change the types of seeds. You decide that you want to see more cardinals in your backyard, so you decide to see what type of food they like the best and set up an experiment. 

However, one morning, you notice that, while some cardinals are present, blue jays are eating out of your backyard feeder filled with millet. You decide that, of all of the other birds, you would like to see the blue jays the least. This means you'll have more than one variable in your hypothesis. Your new hypotheses might look like this: 

If-then: “If sunflower seeds are placed in the bird feeders, then more cardinals will come than blue jays. If millet is placed in the bird feeders, then more blue jays will come than cardinals.”

Null: “If either sunflower seeds or millet are placed in the bird, equal numbers of cardinals and blue jays will come.”

Through simple observation, you actually find that cardinals come as often as blue jays when sunflower seeds or millet is in the bird feeder. In this case, you would reject your “if-then” hypothesis and “fail to reject” your null hypothesis . You cannot accept your first hypothesis, because it’s clearly not true. Instead you found that there was actually no relation between your different variables. Consequently, you would need to run more experiments with different variables to see if the new variables impact the results.

Experiment #4: In-Class Survey (Including an Alternative Hypothesis)

You’re about to give a speech in one of your classes about the importance of paying attention. You want to take this opportunity to test a hypothesis you’ve had for a while: 

If-then: If students sit in the first two rows of the classroom, then they will listen better than students who do not.

Null: If students sit in the first two rows of the classroom, then they will not listen better or worse than students who do not.

You give your speech and then ask your teacher if you can hand out a short survey to the class. On the survey, you’ve included questions about some of the topics you talked about. When you get back the results, you’re surprised to see that not only do the students in the first two rows not pay better attention, but they also scored worse than students in other parts of the classroom! Here, both your if-then and your null hypotheses are not representative of your findings. What do you do?

This is when you reject both your if-then and null hypotheses and instead create an alternative hypothesis . This type of hypothesis is used in the rare circumstance that neither of your hypotheses is able to capture your findings . Now you can use what you’ve learned to draft new hypotheses and test again! 

Key Takeaways: Hypothesis Writing

The more comfortable you become with writing hypotheses, the better they will become. The structure of hypotheses is flexible and may need to be changed depending on what topic you are studying. The most important thing to remember is the purpose of your hypothesis and the difference between the if-then and the null . From there, in forming your hypothesis, you should constantly be asking questions, making observations, doing secondary research, and considering your variables. After you have written your hypothesis, be sure to edit it so that it is plausible, clearly defined, observable, and helpful in explaining a general phenomenon.

Writing a hypothesis is something that everyone, from elementary school children competing in a science fair to professional scientists in a lab, needs to know how to do. Hypotheses are vital in experiments and in properly executing the scientific method . When done correctly, hypotheses will set up your studies for success and help you to understand the world a little better, one experiment at a time.

What’s Next?

If you’re studying for the science portion of the ACT, there’s definitely a lot you need to know. We’ve got the tools to help, though! Start by checking out our ultimate study guide for the ACT Science subject test. Once you read through that, be sure to download our recommended ACT Science practice tests , since they’re one of the most foolproof ways to improve your score. (And don’t forget to check out our expert guide book , too.)

If you love science and want to major in a scientific field, you should start preparing in high school . Here are the science classes you should take to set yourself up for success.

If you’re trying to think of science experiments you can do for class (or for a science fair!), here’s a list of 37 awesome science experiments you can do at home

Need more help with this topic? Check out Tutorbase!

Our vetted tutor database includes a range of experienced educators who can help you polish an essay for English or explain how derivatives work for Calculus. You can use dozens of filters and search criteria to find the perfect person for your needs.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Guide & Examples

How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Guide & Examples

Published on 6 May 2022 by Shona McCombes .

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a relationship between two or more variables, you need to write hypotheses before you start your experiment or data collection.

Table of contents

What is a hypothesis, developing a hypothesis (with example), hypothesis examples, frequently asked questions about writing hypotheses.

A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that address different aspects of your research question.

A hypothesis is not just a guess – it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations, and statistical analysis of data).

Variables in hypotheses

Hypotheses propose a relationship between two or more variables . An independent variable is something the researcher changes or controls. A dependent variable is something the researcher observes and measures.

In this example, the independent variable is exposure to the sun – the assumed cause . The dependent variable is the level of happiness – the assumed effect .

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Step 1: ask a question.

Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your project.

Step 2: Do some preliminary research

Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about the topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated assumptions about what your research will find.

At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to identify which variables you will study and what you think the relationships are between them. Sometimes, you’ll have to operationalise more complex constructs.

Step 3: Formulate your hypothesis

Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial answer to the question in a clear, concise sentence.

Step 4: Refine your hypothesis

You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have clear definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:

• The relevant variables
• The specific group being studied
• The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis

Step 5: Phrase your hypothesis in three ways

To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if … then form. The first part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable.

In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of correlations or effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between variables.

If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you expect to find between them.

Step 6. Write a null hypothesis

If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing , you will also have to write a null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default position that there is no association between the variables. The null hypothesis is written as H 0 , while the alternative hypothesis is H 1 or H a .

Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses , by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.

A hypothesis is not just a guess. It should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations, and statistical analysis of data).

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (‘ x affects y because …’).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses. In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, May 06). How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 February 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/research-methods/hypothesis-writing/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, operationalisation | a guide with examples, pros & cons, what is a conceptual framework | tips & examples, a quick guide to experimental design | 5 steps & examples.

I Help to Study

Useful information for students

Home » Writing » Writing a hypothesis using if and then

• Academic Writing
• Assignments
• Business Plans
• Buy Services
• Custom Writing
• Dissertations
• For Professionals
• Help & Assistance
• Useful Services
• Various Papers

Writing a hypothesis using if and then

Anne Helmenstine, Ph.D. is an author and consultant with a broad scientific and medical background. Read more

Updated August 19, 2015.

Question: What Are Examples of a Hypothesis?

Answer: Although you could state a scientific hypothesis in various ways, most hypothesis are either "If, then" statements or else forms of the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis sometimes is called the "no difference" hypothesis. The null hypothesis is good for experimentation because it’;s simple to disprove.

Continue Reading Below

If you disprove a null hypothesis. that is evidence for a relationship between the variables you are examining. For example:

Examples of the Null Hypothesis

• Hyperactivity is unrelated to eating sugar.
• All daisies have the same number of petals.
• The number of pets in a household is unrelated to the number of people living in it.
• A person’;s preference for a shirt is unrelated to its color.

Examples of an If, Then Hypothesis

• If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you will do better on tests than if you get less sleep.
• If you drop a ball, it will fall toward the ground.
• If you drink coffee before going to bed, then it will take longer to fall asleep.
• If you cover a wound with a bandage, then it will heal with less scarring.

Improving a Hypothesis To Make It Testable

While there are many ways to state a hypothesis, you may wish to revise your first hypothesis in order to make it easier to design an experiment to test it. For example, let’;s say you have a bad breakout the morning after eating a lot of greasy food. You may wonder if there is a correlation between eating greasy food and getting pimples.

You propose a hypothesis:

Eating greasy food causes pimples.

Next you need to design an experiment to test this hypothesis. Let’;s say you decide to eat greasy food every day for a week and record the effect on your face. Then, as a control, for the next week you’;ll avoid greasy food and see what happens. Now, this is not a very good experiment because it does not take into account other factors, such as hormone levels, stress, sun exposure, exercise or any number of other variables which might conceivably affect your skin. The problem is that you cannot assign cause to your effect. If you eat french fries for a week and suffer a breakout, can you definitely say it was the grease in the food that caused it? Maybe it was the salt. Maybe it was the potato. Maybe it was unrelated to diet.You can’;t prove your hypothesis. It’;s much easier to disprove a hypothesis. So, let’;s restate the hypothesis to make it easy to evaluate the data.

Getting pimples is unaffected by eating greasy food.

So, if you eat fatty food every day for a week and suffer breakouts and then don’;t breakout the week that you avoid greasy food, you can be pretty sure something is up. Can you disprove the hypothesis? Probably not, since it is so hard to assign cause and effect. However, you can make a strong case that there is some relationship between diet and acne.

A hypothesis is a description of a pattern in nature or an explanation about some real-world phenomenon that can be tested through observation and experimentation. The most common way a hypothesis is used in scientific research is as a tentative, testable, and falsifiable statement that explains some observed phenomenon in nature.ok ok [1] We more specifically call this kind of statement an explanatory hypothesis . However, a hypothesis can also be a statement that describes an observed pattern in nature. In this case we call the statement a generalizing hypothesis . [2] [3] Hypotheses can generate predictions . statements that propose that one variable will drive some effect on or change in another variable in the result of a controlled experiment. However, many science resources promote the myth that a hypothesis is simply an educated guess and no different from a prediction. [4] More on this misunderstanding below.

Many academic fields, from the physical sciences to the life sciences to the social sciences, use hypothesis testing as a means of testing ideas to learn about the world and advance scientific knowledge. Whether you are a beginning scholar or a beginning student taking a class in a science subject, understanding what hypotheses are and being able to generate hypotheses and predictions yourself is very important. These instructions will help get you started.

Part One of Two: Preparing to Write a Hypothesis Edit

Select a topic. Pick a topic that interests you, and that you think it would be good to know more about.

• If you are writing a hypothesis for a school assignment, this step may be taken care of for you.

Can you please put wikiHow on the whitelist for your ad blocker? wikiHow relies on ad money to give you our free how-to guides. Learn how .

Read existing research. Gather all the information you can about the topic you’ve selected. You’ll need to become an expert on the subject and develop a good grasp of what is already known about the topic.

• Focus on academic and scholarly writing. You need to be certain that your information is unbiased, accurate, and comprehensive.
• You can find information in textbooks, at a library, and online. If you are in school, you can also ask for help from teachers, librarians, and your peers.

Analyze the literature. Spend some time reading the materials you’ve collected. As you do so, look for and make note of unanswered questions in the literature. These can provide excellent ideas for areas to investigate.

• For example, if you are interested in the effects of caffeine on the human body, but notice that nobody seems to have explored whether caffeine affects men differently than it does women, this could be something to formulate a hypothesis about. Or, if you are interested in organic farming, you might notice that no one has tested whether organic fertilizer results in different growth rates for plants than non-organic fertilizer.
• You can sometimes find holes in the existing literature by looking for statements like “it is unknown” or places where information is clearly missing. You might also find a claim in the literature that seems far-fetched, unlikely, or too good to be true, like that caffeine improves math skills. If the claim is testable, you could provide a great service to scientific knowledge by doing your own investigation. If you confirm the claim, the claim becomes even more credible. If you do not find support for the claim, you are helping with the necessary self-correcting aspect of science.
• Examining these types of questions provides an excellent way for you to set yourself apart by filling in important gaps in a field of study.

Generate questions. After studying the literature on your topic, generate one or more unanswered questions you’d be interested in exploring further. These are your research questions.

• Following the examples above, you might ask: “How does caffeine affect women as compared to men?” or “How does organic fertilizer affect plant growth compared to non-organic fertilizer?” The rest of your research will be aimed at answering these questions.

Look for clues as to what the answer might be. Once you have generated your research question or questions, look in the literature to see if the existing findings and/or theories about the topic provide any clues that would allow you to come up with ideas about what the answers to your research questions might be. If so, these clues can form the basis for your hypothesis.

• Following the examples above, if you discover in the literature that there is a pattern that some other types of stimulants seem to affect women more than men, this could be a clue that the same pattern might be true for caffeine. Similarly, if you observe the pattern that organic fertilizer seems to be associated with smaller plants overall, you might explain this pattern with the hypothesis that plants exposed to organic fertilizer grow more slowly than plants exposed to non-organic fertilizer.

Determine your variables. A generalizing hypothesis describes a pattern you think may exist between two variables: an independent variable and a dependent variable. If your experiments confirm the pattern, you may decide to suggest a reason that the pattern exists or a mechanism that generates the pattern. The reason or mechanism you suggest is an explanatory hypothesis .

• You can think of the independent variable as the one that is causing some kind of difference or effect to occur. In the examples, the independent variable would be gender, i.e. whether a person is male or female, and fertilizer type, i.e. whether the fertilizer is organic or non-organically-based.
• The dependent variable is what is affected by (i.e. “depends” on) the independent variable. In the examples above, the dependent variable would be the measured impact of caffeine or fertilizer.
• Your hypothesis should only suggest one relationship. Most importantly, it should only have one independent variable. If you have more than one, you won’t be able to determine which one is actually the source of any effects you might observe.

Generate a simple hypothesis. Once you’ve spent some time thinking about your research question and variables, write down your initial idea about how the variables might be related as a simple declarative statement.

• Don’t worry too much at this point about being precise or detailed.
• In the examples above, one hypothesis would make a statement about whether a person’s gender might impact the way the person is affected by caffeine; for example, at this point, your hypothesis might simply be: “a person’s gender is related to how caffeine affects his or her heart rate.” The other hypothesis would make a general statement about plant growth and fertilizer; for example your simple explanatory hypothesis might be “plants given different types of fertilizer are different sizes because they grow at different rates.”

Decide on direction. Hypotheses can either be directional or non-directional. A non-directional hypothesis simply says that one variable affects the other in some way, but does not say specifically in what way. A directional hypothesis provides more information about the nature (or “direction”) of the relationship, stating specifically how one variable affects the other.

• Using our example, our non-directional hypotheses would be “there is a relationship between a person’s gender and how much caffeine increases the person’s heart rate,” and “there is a relationship between fertilizer type and the speed at which plants grow.”
• Directional predictions using the same example hypotheses above would be. “Women will experience a greater increase in heart rate after consuming caffeine than will men,” and “plants fertilized with non-organic fertilizer will grow faster than those fertilized with organic fertilizer.” Indeed, these predictions and the hypotheses that allow for them are very different kinds of statements. More on this distinction below.
• If the literature provides any basis for making a directional prediction, it is better to do so, because it provides more information. Especially in the physical sciences, non-directional predictions are often seen as inadequate.

Get specific. Once you have an initial idea on paper, it’s time to start refining. Make your hypotheses as specific as you can, so it’s clear exactly what ideas you will be testing and make your predictions specific and measurable so that they provide evidence of a relationship between the variables.

• Where necessary, specify the population (i.e. the people or things) about which you hope to uncover new knowledge. For example, if you were only interested the effects of caffeine on elderly people, your prediction might read: “Women over the age of 65 will experience a greater increase in heart rate than will men of the same age.” If you were interested only in how fertilizer affects tomato plants, your prediction might read: “Tomato plants treated with non-organic fertilizer will grow faster in the first three months than will tomato plants treated with organic fertilizer.”

Make sure it is testable. Your hypothesis must suggest a relationship between two variables or a reason that two variables are related that can feasibly be observed and measured in the real and observable world .

• For example, you would not want to make the hypothesis: “red is the prettiest color.” This statement is an opinion and it cannot be tested with an experiment. However, proposing the generalizing hypothesis that red is the most popular color is testable with a simple random survey. If you do indeed confirm that red is the most popular color, your next step may be to ask: Why is red the most popular color? The answer you propose is your explanatory hypothesis .
• Often, hypotheses are stated in the form of if-then sentences. For example, “if children are given caffeine, then their heart rates will increase.” This statement is not a hypothesis. This kind of statement is a brief description of an experimental method followed by a prediction and is the most common way that hypotheses are misrepresented in science education. An easy way to get to the hypothesis for this method and prediction is to ask yourself why you think heart rates will increase if children are given caffeine. Your explanatory hypothesis in this case may be that caffeine is a stimulant. At this point, some scientists write what is called a research hypothesis . a statement that includes the hypothesis, the experiment, and the prediction all in one statement: If caffeine is a stimulant, and some children are given a drink with caffeine while others are given a drink without caffeine, then the heart rates of those children given a caffeinated drink will increase more than the heart rate of children given a non-caffeinated drink.
• It may sound strange, but researchers rarely ever prove that a hypothesis is right or wrong. Instead, they look for evidence that the opposite of their hypotheses is probably not true. If the opposite (caffeine is not a stimulant) is probably not true, the hypothesis (caffeine is a stimulant) probably is true.
• Using the above example, if you were to test the effects of caffeine on the heart rates of children, evidence that your hypothesis is not true, sometimes called the null hypothesis . could occur if the heart rates of both the children given the caffeinated drink and the children given the non-caffeinated drink (called the placebo control) did not change, or lowered or raised with the same magnitude, if there was no difference between the two groups of children. If you wanted to test the effects of different fertilizer types, evidence that your hypothesis was not true would be that the plants grew at the same rate, regardless of fertilizer, or if plants treated with organic fertilizer grew faster. It is important to note here that the null hypothesis actually becomes much more useful when researchers test the significance of their results with statistics. When statistics are used on the results of an experiment, a researcher is testing the idea of the null statistical hypothesis. For example, that there is no relationship between two variables or that there is no difference between two groups. [5]

Test your hypothesis. Make your observations or conduct your experiment. Your evidence may allow you to reject your null hypotheses, thus lending support to your experimental hypothesis. However, your evidence may not allow you to reject your null hypothesis and this is okay. Any result is important, even when your result sends you back to the drawing board. Constantly having to go “back to the drawing board” and refine your ideas is how authentic science really works! [6]

When examining the literature, look for research that is similar to what you want to do, and try to build on the findings of other researchers. But also look for claims that you think are suspicious, and test them yourself.

Be specific in your hypotheses, but not so specific that your hypothesis can’t be applied to anything outside your specific experiment. You definitely want to be clear about the population about which you are interested in drawing conclusions, but nobody (except your roommates) will be interested in reading a paper with the prediction: “my three roommates will each be able to do a different amount of pushups.”

Keep your feelings and opinions out of your research. Hypotheses should never say “I believe. ” “I think. ” “I feel. ” or “My opinion is that. “

Remember that science is not necessarily a linear process and can be approached in various ways. [7]

How to Use Simple Words in Technical Writing

How to Make Distilled Water

How to Understand E=mc2

How to Make a Model of DNA Using Common Materials

How to Make an Electromagnet

How to Become a Scientist

How to Make a Simple Electrical Circuit

How to Measure the Height of a Tree

How to Calculate Buoyancy

How to Make a Hologram

Related Articles:

Latest Posts

• Privacy Policy

© 2016 | IHelptoStudy.Com

Please Wait!

• Science Notes Posts
• Contact Science Notes
• Todd Helmenstine Biography
• Anne Helmenstine Biography
• Free Printable Periodic Tables (PDF and PNG)
• Periodic Table Wallpapers
• Interactive Periodic Table
• Periodic Table Posters
• How to Grow Crystals
• Chemistry Projects
• Fire and Flames Projects
• Holiday Science
• Chemistry Problems With Answers
• Physics Problems
• Unit Conversion Example Problems
• Chemistry Worksheets
• Biology Worksheets
• Periodic Table Worksheets
• Physical Science Worksheets
• Science Lab Worksheets
• My Amazon Books

Hypothesis Examples

A hypothesis is a prediction of the outcome of a test. It forms the basis for designing an experiment in the scientific method . A good hypothesis is testable, meaning it makes a prediction you can check with observation or experimentation. Here are different hypothesis examples.

• Null Hypothesis Examples

The null hypothesis (H 0 ) is also known as the zero-difference or no-difference hypothesis. It predicts that changing one variable ( independent variable ) will have no effect on the variable being measured ( dependent variable ). Here are null hypothesis examples:

• Plant growth is unaffected by temperature.
• If you increase temperature, then solubility of salt will increase.
• Incidence of skin cancer is unrelated to ultraviolet light exposure.
• All brands of light bulb last equally long.
• Cats have no preference for the color of cat food.

Sometimes the null hypothesis shows there is a suspected correlation between two variables. For example, if you think plant growth is affected by temperature, you state the null hypothesis: “Plant growth is not affected by temperature.” Why do you do this, rather than say “If you change temperature, plant growth will be affected”? The answer is because it’s easier applying a statistical test that shows, with a high level of confidence, a null hypothesis is correct or incorrect.

Research Hypothesis Examples

A research hypothesis (H 1 ) is a type of hypothesis used to design an experiment. This type of hypothesis is often written as an if-then statement because it’s easy identifying the independent and dependent variables and seeing how one affects the other. If-then statements explore cause and effect. In other cases, the hypothesis shows a correlation between two variables. Here are some research hypothesis examples:

• If you leave the lights on, then it takes longer for people to fall asleep.
• If you refrigerate apples, they last longer before going bad.
• If you keep the curtains closed, then you need less electricity to heat or cool the house (the electric bill is lower).
• If you leave a bucket of water uncovered, then it evaporates more quickly.
• Goldfish lose their color if they are not exposed to light.
• Workers who take vacations are more productive than those who never take time off.

Is It Okay to Disprove a Hypothesis?

Yes! You may even choose to write your hypothesis in such a way that it can be disproved because it’s easier to prove a statement is wrong than to prove it is right. In other cases, if your prediction is incorrect, that doesn’t mean the science is bad. Revising a hypothesis is common. It demonstrates you learned something you did not know before you conducted the experiment.

Test yourself with a Scientific Method Quiz .

• Mellenbergh, G.J. (2008). Chapter 8: Research designs: Testing of research hypotheses. In H.J. Adèr & G.J. Mellenbergh (eds.), Advising on Research Methods: A Consultant’s Companion . Huizen, The Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Publishing.
• Popper, Karl R. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery . Hutchinson & Co. ISBN 3-1614-8410-X.
• Schick, Theodore; Vaughn, Lewis (2002). How to think about weird things: critical thinking for a New Age . Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN 0-7674-2048-9.
• Tobi, Hilde; Kampen, Jarl K. (2018). “Research design: the methodology for interdisciplinary research framework”. Quality & Quantity . 52 (3): 1209–1225. doi: 10.1007/s11135-017-0513-8

Related Posts

What is a hypothesis (science).

If...,Then...

Angela Lumsden/Getty Images

• Scientific Method
• Chemical Laws
• Periodic Table
• Projects & Experiments
• Biochemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Medical Chemistry
• Chemistry In Everyday Life
• Famous Chemists
• Activities for Kids
• Abbreviations & Acronyms
• Weather & Climate
• Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for an observation. The definition depends on the subject.

In science, a hypothesis is part of the scientific method. It is a prediction or explanation that is tested by an experiment. Observations and experiments may disprove a scientific hypothesis, but can never entirely prove one.

In the study of logic, a hypothesis is an if-then proposition, typically written in the form, "If X , then Y ."

In common usage, a hypothesis is simply a proposed explanation or prediction, which may or may not be tested.

Writing a Hypothesis

Most scientific hypotheses are proposed in the if-then format because it's easy to design an experiment to see whether or not a cause and effect relationship exists between the independent variable and the dependent variable . The hypothesis is written as a prediction of the outcome of the experiment.

• Null Hypothesis and Alternative Hypothesis

Statistically, it's easier to show there is no relationship between two variables than to support their connection. So, scientists often propose the null hypothesis . The null hypothesis assumes changing the independent variable will have no effect on the dependent variable.

In contrast, the alternative hypothesis suggests changing the independent variable will have an effect on the dependent variable. Designing an experiment to test this hypothesis can be trickier because there are many ways to state an alternative hypothesis.

For example, consider a possible relationship between getting a good night's sleep and getting good grades. The null hypothesis might be stated: "The number of hours of sleep students get is unrelated to their grades" or "There is no correlation between hours of sleep and grades."

An experiment to test this hypothesis might involve collecting data, recording average hours of sleep for each student and grades. If a student who gets eight hours of sleep generally does better than students who get four hours of sleep or 10 hours of sleep, the hypothesis might be rejected.

But the alternative hypothesis is harder to propose and test. The most general statement would be: "The amount of sleep students get affects their grades." The hypothesis might also be stated as "If you get more sleep, your grades will improve" or "Students who get nine hours of sleep have better grades than those who get more or less sleep."

In an experiment, you can collect the same data, but the statistical analysis is less likely to give you a high confidence limit.

Usually, a scientist starts out with the null hypothesis. From there, it may be possible to propose and test an alternative hypothesis, to narrow down the relationship between the variables.

Example of a Hypothesis

Examples of a hypothesis include:

• If you drop a rock and a feather, (then) they will fall at the same rate.
• Plants need sunlight in order to live. (if sunlight, then life)
• Eating sugar gives you energy. (if sugar, then energy)
• White, Jay D.  Research in Public Administration . Conn., 1998.
• Schick, Theodore, and Lewis Vaughn.  How to Think about Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age . McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2002.
• Null Hypothesis Definition and Examples
• Definition of a Hypothesis
• What Are the Elements of a Good Hypothesis?
• Six Steps of the Scientific Method
• What Are Examples of a Hypothesis?
• Understanding Simple vs Controlled Experiments
• Scientific Method Flow Chart
• Scientific Method Vocabulary Terms
• What Is a Testable Hypothesis?
• What 'Fail to Reject' Means in a Hypothesis Test
• How To Design a Science Fair Experiment
• What Is an Experiment? Definition and Design
• Hypothesis Test for the Difference of Two Population Proportions
• How to Conduct a Hypothesis Test
• Bipolar Disorder
• Therapy Center
• When To See a Therapist
• Types of Therapy
• Best Online Therapy
• Best Couples Therapy
• Best Family Therapy
• Managing Stress
• Sleep and Dreaming
• Understanding Emotions
• Self-Improvement
• Healthy Relationships
• Student Resources
• Personality Types
• Verywell Mind Insights
• 2023 Verywell Mind 25
• Mental Health in the Classroom
• Editorial Process
• Meet Our Review Board
• Crisis Support

How to Write a Great Hypothesis

Hypothesis Format, Examples, and Tips

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Alex Dos Diaz

• The Scientific Method

Hypothesis Format

Falsifiability of a hypothesis, operational definitions, types of hypotheses, hypotheses examples.

• Collecting Data

Frequently Asked Questions

A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more  variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study.

One hypothesis example would be a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states: "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived."

This article explores how a hypothesis is used in psychology research, how to write a good hypothesis, and the different types of hypotheses you might use.

The Hypothesis in the Scientific Method

In the scientific method , whether it involves research in psychology, biology, or some other area, a hypothesis represents what the researchers think will happen in an experiment. The scientific method involves the following steps:

• Forming a question
• Performing background research
• Creating a hypothesis
• Designing an experiment
• Collecting data
• Analyzing the results
• Drawing conclusions
• Communicating the results

The hypothesis is a prediction, but it involves more than a guess. Most of the time, the hypothesis begins with a question which is then explored through background research. It is only at this point that researchers begin to develop a testable hypothesis. Unless you are creating an exploratory study, your hypothesis should always explain what you  expect  to happen.

In a study exploring the effects of a particular drug, the hypothesis might be that researchers expect the drug to have some type of effect on the symptoms of a specific illness. In psychology, the hypothesis might focus on how a certain aspect of the environment might influence a particular behavior.

Remember, a hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what the researchers expect to see, the goal of the research is to determine whether this guess is right or wrong. When conducting an experiment, researchers might explore a number of factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.

In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment  do not  support the original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other options that should be explored in future studies.

In many cases, researchers might draw a hypothesis from a specific theory or build on previous research. For example, prior research has shown that stress can impact the immune system. So a researcher might hypothesize: "People with high-stress levels will be more likely to contract a common cold after being exposed to the virus than people who have low-stress levels."

In other instances, researchers might look at commonly held beliefs or folk wisdom. "Birds of a feather flock together" is one example of folk wisdom that a psychologist might try to investigate. The researcher might pose a specific hypothesis that "People tend to select romantic partners who are similar to them in interests and educational level."

So how do you write a good hypothesis? When trying to come up with a hypothesis for your research or experiments, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your hypothesis based on your research on a topic?
• Can your hypothesis be tested?
• Does your hypothesis include independent and dependent variables?

Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background research. Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking about potential questions you still have. Pay attention to the discussion section in the  journal articles you read . Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.

To form a hypothesis, you should take these steps:

• Collect as many observations about a topic or problem as you can.
• Evaluate these observations and look for possible causes of the problem.
• Create a list of possible explanations that you might want to explore.
• After you have developed some possible hypotheses, think of ways that you could confirm or disprove each hypothesis through experimentation. This is known as falsifiability.

In the scientific method ,  falsifiability is an important part of any valid hypothesis.   In order to test a claim scientifically, it must be possible that the claim could be proven false.

Students sometimes confuse the idea of falsifiability with the idea that it means that something is false, which is not the case. What falsifiability means is that  if  something was false, then it is possible to demonstrate that it is false.

One of the hallmarks of pseudoscience is that it makes claims that cannot be refuted or proven false.

A variable is a factor or element that can be changed and manipulated in ways that are observable and measurable. However, the researcher must also define how the variable will be manipulated and measured in the study.

For example, a researcher might operationally define the variable " test anxiety " as the results of a self-report measure of anxiety experienced during an exam. A "study habits" variable might be defined by the amount of studying that actually occurs as measured by time.

These precise descriptions are important because many things can be measured in a number of different ways. One of the basic principles of any type of scientific research is that the results must be replicable.   By clearly detailing the specifics of how the variables were measured and manipulated, other researchers can better understand the results and repeat the study if needed.

Some variables are more difficult than others to define. How would you operationally define a variable such as aggression ? For obvious ethical reasons, researchers cannot create a situation in which a person behaves aggressively toward others.

In order to measure this variable, the researcher must devise a measurement that assesses aggressive behavior without harming other people. In this situation, the researcher might utilize a simulated task to measure aggressiveness.

Hypothesis Checklist

• Does your hypothesis focus on something that you can actually test?
• Does your hypothesis include both an independent and dependent variable?
• Can you manipulate the variables?
• Can your hypothesis be tested without violating ethical standards?

The hypothesis you use will depend on what you are investigating and hoping to find. Some of the main types of hypotheses that you might use include:

• Simple hypothesis : This type of hypothesis suggests that there is a relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.
• Complex hypothesis : This type of hypothesis suggests a relationship between three or more variables, such as two independent variables and a dependent variable.
• Null hypothesis : This hypothesis suggests no relationship exists between two or more variables.
• Alternative hypothesis : This hypothesis states the opposite of the null hypothesis.
• Statistical hypothesis : This hypothesis uses statistical analysis to evaluate a representative sample of the population and then generalizes the findings to the larger group.
• Logical hypothesis : This hypothesis assumes a relationship between variables without collecting data or evidence.

A hypothesis often follows a basic format of "If {this happens} then {this will happen}." One way to structure your hypothesis is to describe what will happen to the  dependent variable  if you change the  independent variable .

The basic format might be: "If {these changes are made to a certain independent variable}, then we will observe {a change in a specific dependent variable}."

A few examples of simple hypotheses:

• "Students who eat breakfast will perform better on a math exam than students who do not eat breakfast."
• Complex hypothesis: "Students who experience test anxiety before an English exam will get lower scores than students who do not experience test anxiety."​
• "Motorists who talk on the phone while driving will be more likely to make errors on a driving course than those who do not talk on the phone."

Examples of a complex hypothesis include:

• "People with high-sugar diets and sedentary activity levels are more likely to develop depression."
• "Younger people who are regularly exposed to green, outdoor areas have better subjective well-being than older adults who have limited exposure to green spaces."

Examples of a null hypothesis include:

• "Children who receive a new reading intervention will have scores different than students who do not receive the intervention."
• "There will be no difference in scores on a memory recall task between children and adults."

Examples of an alternative hypothesis:

• "Children who receive a new reading intervention will perform better than students who did not receive the intervention."
• "Adults will perform better on a memory task than children." 

Collecting Data on Your Hypothesis

Once a researcher has formed a testable hypothesis, the next step is to select a research design and start collecting data. The research method depends largely on exactly what they are studying. There are two basic types of research methods: descriptive research and experimental research.

Descriptive Research Methods

Descriptive research such as  case studies ,  naturalistic observations , and surveys are often used when it would be impossible or difficult to  conduct an experiment . These methods are best used to describe different aspects of a behavior or psychological phenomenon.

Once a researcher has collected data using descriptive methods, a correlational study can then be used to look at how the variables are related. This type of research method might be used to investigate a hypothesis that is difficult to test experimentally.

Experimental Research Methods

Experimental methods  are used to demonstrate causal relationships between variables. In an experiment, the researcher systematically manipulates a variable of interest (known as the independent variable) and measures the effect on another variable (known as the dependent variable).

Unlike correlational studies, which can only be used to determine if there is a relationship between two variables, experimental methods can be used to determine the actual nature of the relationship—whether changes in one variable actually  cause  another to change.

A Word From Verywell

The hypothesis is a critical part of any scientific exploration. It represents what researchers expect to find in a study or experiment. In situations where the hypothesis is unsupported by the research, the research still has value. Such research helps us better understand how different aspects of the natural world relate to one another. It also helps us develop new hypotheses that can then be tested in the future.

Some examples of how to write a hypothesis include:

• "Staying up late will lead to worse test performance the next day."
• "People who consume one apple each day will visit the doctor fewer times each year."
• "Breaking study sessions up into three 20-minute sessions will lead to better test results than a single 60-minute study session."

The four parts of a hypothesis are:

• The research question
• The independent variable (IV)
• The dependent variable (DV)
• The proposed relationship between the IV and DV

Castillo M. The scientific method: a need for something better? . AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2013;34(9):1669-71. doi:10.3174/ajnr.A3401

Nevid J. Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Wadworth, 2013.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

Hypothesis Testing | A Step-by-Step Guide with Easy Examples

Published on November 8, 2019 by Rebecca Bevans . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics . It is most often used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses, that arise from theories.

There are 5 main steps in hypothesis testing:

• State your research hypothesis as a null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis (H o ) and (H a  or H 1 ).
• Collect data in a way designed to test the hypothesis.
• Perform an appropriate statistical test .
• Decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis.
• Present the findings in your results and discussion section.

Though the specific details might vary, the procedure you will use when testing a hypothesis will always follow some version of these steps.

Step 1: state your null and alternate hypothesis, step 2: collect data, step 3: perform a statistical test, step 4: decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis, step 5: present your findings, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about hypothesis testing.

After developing your initial research hypothesis (the prediction that you want to investigate), it is important to restate it as a null (H o ) and alternate (H a ) hypothesis so that you can test it mathematically.

The alternate hypothesis is usually your initial hypothesis that predicts a relationship between variables. The null hypothesis is a prediction of no relationship between the variables you are interested in.

• H 0 : Men are, on average, not taller than women. H a : Men are, on average, taller than women.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

For a statistical test to be valid , it is important to perform sampling and collect data in a way that is designed to test your hypothesis. If your data are not representative, then you cannot make statistical inferences about the population you are interested in.

There are a variety of statistical tests available, but they are all based on the comparison of within-group variance (how spread out the data is within a category) versus between-group variance (how different the categories are from one another).

If the between-group variance is large enough that there is little or no overlap between groups, then your statistical test will reflect that by showing a low p -value . This means it is unlikely that the differences between these groups came about by chance.

Alternatively, if there is high within-group variance and low between-group variance, then your statistical test will reflect that with a high p -value. This means it is likely that any difference you measure between groups is due to chance.

Your choice of statistical test will be based on the type of variables and the level of measurement of your collected data .

• an estimate of the difference in average height between the two groups.
• a p -value showing how likely you are to see this difference if the null hypothesis of no difference is true.

Based on the outcome of your statistical test, you will have to decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis.

In most cases you will use the p -value generated by your statistical test to guide your decision. And in most cases, your predetermined level of significance for rejecting the null hypothesis will be 0.05 – that is, when there is a less than 5% chance that you would see these results if the null hypothesis were true.

In some cases, researchers choose a more conservative level of significance, such as 0.01 (1%). This minimizes the risk of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis ( Type I error ).

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

The results of hypothesis testing will be presented in the results and discussion sections of your research paper , dissertation or thesis .

In the results section you should give a brief summary of the data and a summary of the results of your statistical test (for example, the estimated difference between group means and associated p -value). In the discussion , you can discuss whether your initial hypothesis was supported by your results or not.

In the formal language of hypothesis testing, we talk about rejecting or failing to reject the null hypothesis. You will probably be asked to do this in your statistics assignments.

However, when presenting research results in academic papers we rarely talk this way. Instead, we go back to our alternate hypothesis (in this case, the hypothesis that men are on average taller than women) and state whether the result of our test did or did not support the alternate hypothesis.

If your null hypothesis was rejected, this result is interpreted as “supported the alternate hypothesis.”

These are superficial differences; you can see that they mean the same thing.

You might notice that we don’t say that we reject or fail to reject the alternate hypothesis . This is because hypothesis testing is not designed to prove or disprove anything. It is only designed to test whether a pattern we measure could have arisen spuriously, or by chance.

If we reject the null hypothesis based on our research (i.e., we find that it is unlikely that the pattern arose by chance), then we can say our test lends support to our hypothesis . But if the pattern does not pass our decision rule, meaning that it could have arisen by chance, then we say the test is inconsistent with our hypothesis .

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Descriptive statistics
• Measures of central tendency
• Correlation coefficient
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Types of interviews
• Cohort study
• Thematic analysis

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Survivorship bias
• Availability heuristic
• Nonresponse bias
• Regression to the mean

A hypothesis is not just a guess — it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations and statistical analysis of data).

Null and alternative hypotheses are used in statistical hypothesis testing . The null hypothesis of a test always predicts no effect or no relationship between variables, while the alternative hypothesis states your research prediction of an effect or relationship.

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Bevans, R. (2023, June 22). Hypothesis Testing | A Step-by-Step Guide with Easy Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 22, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/hypothesis-testing/

Rebecca Bevans

Other students also liked, choosing the right statistical test | types & examples, understanding p values | definition and examples, what is your plagiarism score.

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons
• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

2.11: If Then Statements

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 2144

Hypothesis followed by a conclusion in a conditional statement.

Conditional Statements

A conditional statement (also called an if-then statement ) is a statement with a hypothesis followed by a conclusion . The hypothesis is the first, or “if,” part of a conditional statement. The conclusion is the second, or “then,” part of a conditional statement. The conclusion is the result of a hypothesis.

If-then statements might not always be written in the “if-then” form. Here are some examples of conditional statements:

• Statement 1: If you work overtime, then you’ll be paid time-and-a-half.
• Statement 2: I’ll wash the car if the weather is nice.
• Statement 3: If 2 divides evenly into \(x\), then \(x\) is an even number.
• Statement 4: I’ll be a millionaire when I win the lottery.
• Statement 5: All equiangular triangles are equilateral.

Statements 1 and 3 are written in the “if-then” form. The hypothesis of Statement 1 is “you work overtime.” The conclusion is “you’ll be paid time-and-a-half.” Statement 2 has the hypothesis after the conclusion. If the word “if” is in the middle of the statement, then the hypothesis is after it. The statement can be rewritten: If the weather is nice, then I will wash the car. Statement 4 uses the word “when” instead of “if” and is like Statement 2. It can be written: If I win the lottery, then I will be a millionaire. Statement 5 “if” and “then” are not there. It can be rewritten: If a triangle is equiangular, then it is equilateral.

What if you were given a statement like "All squares are rectangles"? How could you determine the hypothesis and conclusion of this statement?

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Determine the hypothesis and conclusion: I'll bring an umbrella if it rains.

Hypothesis: "It rains." Conclusion: "I'll bring an umbrella."

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)

Determine the hypothesis and conclusion: All right angles are \(90^{\circ}\).

Hypothesis: "An angle is right." Conclusion: "It is \(90^{\circ}\)."

Example \(\PageIndex{3}\)

Use the statement: I will graduate when I pass Calculus.

Rewrite in if-then form and determine the hypothesis and conclusion.

This statement can be rewritten as If I pass Calculus, then I will graduate. The hypothesis is “I pass Calculus,” and the conclusion is “I will graduate.”

Example \(\PageIndex{4}\)

Use the statement: All prime numbers are odd.

Rewrite in if-then form, determine the hypothesis and conclusion, and determine whether this is a true statement.

This statement can be rewritten as If a number is prime, then it is odd. The hypothesis is "a number is prime" and the conclusion is "it is odd". This is not a true statement (remember that not all conditional statements will be true!) since 2 is a prime number but it is not odd.

Example \(\PageIndex{5}\)

Determine the hypothesis and conclusion: Sarah will go to the store if Riley does the laundry.

The statement can be rewritten as "If Riley does the laundry then Sarah will go to the store." The hypothesis is "Riley does the laundry" and the conclusion is "Sarah will go to the store."

Determine the hypothesis and the conclusion for each statement.

• If 5 divides evenly into \(x\), then \(x\) ends in 0 or 5.
• If a triangle has three congruent sides, it is an equilateral triangle.
• Three points are coplanar if they all lie in the same plane.
• If \(x=3\), then \(x^2=9\).
• If you take yoga, then you are relaxed.
• All baseball players wear hats.
• I'll learn how to drive when I am 16 years old.
• If you do your homework, then you can watch TV.
• Alternate interior angles are congruent if lines are parallel.
• All kids like ice cream.

Additional Resources

Video: If-Then Statements Principles - Basic

Activities: If-Then Statements Discussion Questions

Study Aids: Conditional Statements Study Guide

Practice: If Then Statements

Real World: If Then Statements

What is a scientific hypothesis?

It's the initial building block in the scientific method.

Hypothesis basics

What makes a hypothesis testable.

• Types of hypotheses
• Hypothesis versus theory

Additional resources

Bibliography.

A scientific hypothesis is a tentative, testable explanation for a phenomenon in the natural world. It's the initial building block in the scientific method . Many describe it as an "educated guess" based on prior knowledge and observation. While this is true, a hypothesis is more informed than a guess. While an "educated guess" suggests a random prediction based on a person's expertise, developing a hypothesis requires active observation and background research. 

The basic idea of a hypothesis is that there is no predetermined outcome. For a solution to be termed a scientific hypothesis, it has to be an idea that can be supported or refuted through carefully crafted experimentation or observation. This concept, called falsifiability and testability, was advanced in the mid-20th century by Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper in his famous book "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" (Routledge, 1959).

A key function of a hypothesis is to derive predictions about the results of future experiments and then perform those experiments to see whether they support the predictions.

A hypothesis is usually written in the form of an if-then statement, which gives a possibility (if) and explains what may happen because of the possibility (then). The statement could also include "may," according to California State University, Bakersfield .

Here are some examples of hypothesis statements:

• If garlic repels fleas, then a dog that is given garlic every day will not get fleas.
• If sugar causes cavities, then people who eat a lot of candy may be more prone to cavities.
• If ultraviolet light can damage the eyes, then maybe this light can cause blindness.

A useful hypothesis should be testable and falsifiable. That means that it should be possible to prove it wrong. A theory that can't be proved wrong is nonscientific, according to Karl Popper's 1963 book " Conjectures and Refutations ."

An example of an untestable statement is, "Dogs are better than cats." That's because the definition of "better" is vague and subjective. However, an untestable statement can be reworded to make it testable. For example, the previous statement could be changed to this: "Owning a dog is associated with higher levels of physical fitness than owning a cat." With this statement, the researcher can take measures of physical fitness from dog and cat owners and compare the two.

Types of scientific hypotheses

In an experiment, researchers generally state their hypotheses in two ways. The null hypothesis predicts that there will be no relationship between the variables tested, or no difference between the experimental groups. The alternative hypothesis predicts the opposite: that there will be a difference between the experimental groups. This is usually the hypothesis scientists are most interested in, according to the University of Miami .

For example, a null hypothesis might state, "There will be no difference in the rate of muscle growth between people who take a protein supplement and people who don't." The alternative hypothesis would state, "There will be a difference in the rate of muscle growth between people who take a protein supplement and people who don't."

If the results of the experiment show a relationship between the variables, then the null hypothesis has been rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis, according to the book " Research Methods in Psychology " (​​BCcampus, 2015). 

There are other ways to describe an alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis above does not specify a direction of the effect, only that there will be a difference between the two groups. That type of prediction is called a two-tailed hypothesis. If a hypothesis specifies a certain direction — for example, that people who take a protein supplement will gain more muscle than people who don't — it is called a one-tailed hypothesis, according to William M. K. Trochim , a professor of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University.

Sometimes, errors take place during an experiment. These errors can happen in one of two ways. A type I error is when the null hypothesis is rejected when it is true. This is also known as a false positive. A type II error occurs when the null hypothesis is not rejected when it is false. This is also known as a false negative, according to the University of California, Berkeley . 

A hypothesis can be rejected or modified, but it can never be proved correct 100% of the time. For example, a scientist can form a hypothesis stating that if a certain type of tomato has a gene for red pigment, that type of tomato will be red. During research, the scientist then finds that each tomato of this type is red. Though the findings confirm the hypothesis, there may be a tomato of that type somewhere in the world that isn't red. Thus, the hypothesis is true, but it may not be true 100% of the time.

Scientific theory vs. scientific hypothesis

The best hypotheses are simple. They deal with a relatively narrow set of phenomena. But theories are broader; they generally combine multiple hypotheses into a general explanation for a wide range of phenomena, according to the University of California, Berkeley . For example, a hypothesis might state, "If animals adapt to suit their environments, then birds that live on islands with lots of seeds to eat will have differently shaped beaks than birds that live on islands with lots of insects to eat." After testing many hypotheses like these, Charles Darwin formulated an overarching theory: the theory of evolution by natural selection.

"Theories are the ways that we make sense of what we observe in the natural world," Tanner said. "Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts." 

• Read more about writing a hypothesis, from the American Medical Writers Association.
• Find out why a hypothesis isn't always necessary in science, from The American Biology Teacher.
• Learn about null and alternative hypotheses, from Prof. Essa on YouTube .

Encyclopedia Britannica. Scientific Hypothesis. Jan. 13, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-hypothesis

Karl Popper, "The Logic of Scientific Discovery," Routledge, 1959.

California State University, Bakersfield, "Formatting a testable hypothesis." https://www.csub.edu/~ddodenhoff/Bio100/Bio100sp04/formattingahypothesis.htm  

Karl Popper, "Conjectures and Refutations," Routledge, 1963.

Price, P., Jhangiani, R., & Chiang, I., "Research Methods of Psychology — 2nd Canadian Edition," BCcampus, 2015.‌

University of Miami, "The Scientific Method" http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/161/evolution/161app1_scimethod.pdf  

William M.K. Trochim, "Research Methods Knowledge Base," https://conjointly.com/kb/hypotheses-explained/  

University of California, Berkeley, "Multiple Hypothesis Testing and False Discovery Rate" https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~hhuang/STAT141/Lecture-FDR.pdf  

University of California, Berkeley, "Science at multiple levels" https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/howscienceworks_19

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Atlantic's hurricane alley is so hot from El Niño it could send 2024's storm season into overdrive

Thawing Arctic permafrost could release radioactive, cancer-causing radon

Bizarre 'Russian doll stars' predicted with Einstein's general relativity equations

Most Popular

By Anna Gora December 27, 2023

By Anna Gora December 26, 2023

By Anna Gora December 25, 2023

By Emily Cooke December 23, 2023

By Victoria Atkinson December 22, 2023

By Anna Gora December 16, 2023

By Anna Gora December 15, 2023

By Anna Gora November 09, 2023

By Donavyn Coffey November 06, 2023

By Anna Gora October 31, 2023

By Anna Gora October 26, 2023

• 2 Dead star smaller than Jupiter is one of the tiniest in the known universe
• 3 'Mind-blowing' deep sea expedition uncovers more than 100 new species and a gigantic underwater mountain
• 4 Casimir Funk: What is the biochemist celebrated in today's Google Doodle famous for?
• 5 World's oldest known decimal point discovered in merchant's notes from 1440s Italy
• 2 'Mind-blowing' deep sea expedition uncovers more than 100 new species and a gigantic underwater mountain
• 3 'The US has returned to the moon': Private company makes historic moon landing with Odysseus probe
• 4 Why is a mushroom growing on a frog? Scientists don't know, but it sure looks weird
• 5 Snakes are built to evolve at incredible speeds, and scientists aren't sure why

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids, How to Write, Tips

Crafting a hypothesis isn’t just for scientists in white lab coats; even young budding researchers can join in the fun! When kids learn to frame their curious wonders as hypothesis statements, they pave the way for exciting discoveries. Our guide breaks down the world of hypothesis writing into kid-friendly chunks, complete with relatable thesis statement examples and easy-to-follow tips. Dive in to spark a love for inquiry and nurture young scientific minds!

What is an example of a Hypothesis for Kids?

Question: Do plants grow taller when they are watered with coffee instead of water?

Hypothesis: If I water a plant with coffee instead of water, then the plant will not grow as tall because coffee might have substances that aren’t good for plants.

This hypothesis is based on a simple observation or question a child might have, and it predicts a specific outcome (the plant not growing as tall) due to a specific condition (being watered with coffee). It’s presented in simple language suitable for kids.

100 Kids Hypothesis Statement Examples

Size: 170 KB

Children’s innate curiosity lays the foundation for numerous questions about the world around them. Framing these questions as good hypothesis statements can transform them into exciting learning experiments. Presented below are relatable and straightforward examples crafted especially for young minds, offering them a structured way to articulate their wonders and predictions.

• Sunlight & Plant Growth : If a plant gets more sunlight, then it will grow taller.
• Sugary Drinks & Tooth Decay : Drinking sugary drinks daily will lead to faster tooth decay.
• Chocolates & Energy : Eating chocolate will make me feel more energetic.
• Moon Phases & Sleep : I’ll sleep more during a full moon night.
• Homework & Weekend Moods : If I finish my homework on Friday, I’ll be happier over the weekend.
• Pets & Happiness : Owning a pet will make a child happier.
• Rain & Worms : Worms come out more after it rains.
• Shadows & Time of Day : Shadows are longer in the evening than at noon.
• Snow & School Holidays : More snow means there’s a better chance of school being canceled.
• Ice Cream & Brain Freeze : Eating ice cream too fast will give me a brain freeze.
• Video Games & Dreams : Playing video games before bed might make my dreams more vivid.
• Green Vegetables & Strength : Eating more green vegetables will make me stronger.
• Bicycles & Balance : The more I practice, the better I’ll get at riding my bike without training wheels.
• Stars & Wishes : If I wish on the first star I see at night, my wish might come true.
• Cartoons & Laughing : Watching my favorite cartoon will always make me laugh.
• Soda & Bone Health : Drinking soda every day will make my bones weaker.
• Beach Visits & Sunburn : If I don’t wear sunscreen at the beach, I’ll get sunburned.
• Loud Noises & Pet Behavior : My cat hides when she hears loud noises.
• Bedtime & Morning Energy : Going to bed early will make me feel more energetic in the morning.
• Healthy Snacks & Hunger : Eating a healthy snack will keep me full for longer. …
• Toys & Sharing : The more toys I have, the more I want to share with my friends.
• Homemade Cookies & Taste : Homemade cookies always taste better than store-bought ones.
• Books & Imagination : The more books I read, the more adventures I can imagine.
• Jumping & Height : The more I practice, the higher I can jump.
• Singing & Mood : Singing my favorite song always makes me happy.
• Snowmen & Temperature : If the temperature rises, my snowman will melt faster.
• Costumes & Play : Wearing a costume will make playtime more fun.
• Gardening & Patience : Waiting for my plants to grow teaches me patience.
• Night Lights & Sleep : Having a night light makes it easier for me to sleep.
• Handwriting & Practice : The more I practice, the better my handwriting will become.
• Painting & Creativity : Using more colors in my painting lets me express my creativity better.
• Puzzles & Problem Solving : The more puzzles I solve, the better I become at problem-solving.
• Dancing & Coordination : The more I dance, the more coordinated I will become.
• Stargazing & Constellations : If I stargaze every night, I’ll recognize more constellations.
• Bird Watching & Species Knowledge : The more I watch birds, the more species I can identify.
• Cooking & Skill : If I help in the kitchen often, I’ll become a better cook.
• Swimming & Confidence : The more I swim, the more confident I become in the water.
• Trees & Birds’ Nests : The taller the tree, the more likely it is to have birds’ nests.
• Roller Skating & Balance : If I roller skate every weekend, I’ll improve my balance.
• Drawing & Observation : The more I draw, the better I become at observing details.
• Sandcastles & Water : If I use wet sand, I can build a stronger sandcastle.
• Hiking & Endurance : The more I hike, the farther I can walk without getting tired.
• Camping & Outdoor Skills : If I go camping often, I’ll learn more about surviving outdoors.
• Magic Tricks & Practice : The more I practice a magic trick, the better I’ll get at performing it.
• Stickers & Collection : If I collect stickers, my album will become more colorful.
• Board Games & Strategy : The more board games I play, the better strategist I’ll become.
• Pets & Responsibility : The more I take care of my pet, the more responsible I become.
• Music & Concentration : Listening to calm music while studying will help me concentrate better.
• Photographs & Memories : The more photos I take, the more memories I can preserve.
• Rainbows & Rain : If it rains while the sun is out, I might see a rainbow.
• Museums & Knowledge : Every time I visit a museum, I learn something new.
• Fruits & Health : Eating more fruits will keep me healthier.
• Stories & Vocabulary : The more stories I listen to, the more new words I learn.
• Trees & Fresh Air : The more trees there are in a park, the fresher the air will be.
• Diary & Feelings : Writing in my diary helps me understand my feelings better.
• Planets & Telescopes : If I look through a telescope, I’ll see more planets clearly.
• Crafting & Creativity : The more crafts I make, the more creative I become.
• Snowflakes & Patterns : Every snowflake has a unique pattern.
• Jokes & Laughter : The funnier the joke, the louder I’ll laugh.
• Riddles & Thinking : Solving riddles makes me think harder.
• Nature Walks & Observations : The quieter I am on a nature walk, the more animals I’ll spot.
• Building Blocks & Structures : The more blocks I use, the taller my tower will be.
• Kites & Wind : If there’s more wind, my kite will fly higher.
• Popcorn & Movie Nights : Watching a movie with popcorn makes it more enjoyable.
• Stars & Wishes : If I see a shooting star, I should make a wish.
• Diets & Energy : Eating a balanced diet gives me more energy for playtime.
• Clay & Sculptures : The more I play with clay, the better my sculptures will be.
• Insects & Magnifying Glass : Using a magnifying glass will let me see more details of tiny insects.
• Aquarium Visits & Marine Knowledge : Every time I visit the aquarium, I discover a new marine creature.
• Yoga & Flexibility : If I practice yoga daily, I’ll become more flexible.
• Toothpaste & Bubbles : The more toothpaste I use, the more bubbles I’ll get while brushing.
• Journals & Memories : Writing in my journal every day helps me remember special moments.
• Piggy Banks & Savings : The more coins I save, the heavier my piggy bank will get.
• Baking & Measurements : If I measure ingredients accurately, my cake will turn out better.
• Coloring Books & Art Skills : The more I color, the better I get at staying inside the lines.
• Picnics & Outdoor Fun : Having a picnic makes a sunny day even more enjoyable.
• Recycling & Environment : The more I recycle, the cleaner my environment will be.
• Treasure Hunts & Discoveries : Every treasure hunt has a new discovery waiting.
• Milk & Bone Health : Drinking milk daily will make my bones stronger.
• Puppet Shows & Stories : The more puppet shows I watch, the more stories I learn.
• Field Trips & Learning : Every field trip to a new place teaches me something different.
• Chores & Responsibility : The more chores I do, the more responsible I feel.
• Fishing & Patience : Fishing teaches me to be patient while waiting for a catch.
• Fairy Tales & Imagination : Listening to fairy tales expands my imagination.
• Homemade Pizza & Toppings : The more toppings I add, the tastier my homemade pizza will be.
• Gardens & Butterflies : If I plant more flowers, I’ll see more butterflies in my garden.
• Raincoats & Puddles : Wearing a raincoat lets me jump in puddles without getting wet.
• Gymnastics & Balance : The more I practice gymnastics, the better my balance will be.
• Origami & Craft Skills : The more origami I fold, the better my craft skills become.
• Basketball & Shooting Skills : The more I practice, the better I get at shooting baskets.
• Fireflies & Night Beauty : Catching fireflies makes summer nights magical.
• Books & Knowledge : The more books I read, the smarter I become.
• Pillows & Forts : With more pillows, I can build a bigger fort.
• Lemonade & Summers : Drinking lemonade makes hot summer days refreshing.
• Bicycles & Balance : The more I practice, the better I get at riding my bike without training wheels.
• Pencils & Drawings : If I have colored pencils, my drawings will be more colorful.
• Ice Cream & Happiness : Eating ice cream always makes me happy.
• Beach Visits & Shell Collections : Every time I visit the beach, I find new shells for my collection.
• Jump Ropes & Fitness : The more I jump rope, the fitter I become.
• Tea Parties & Imagination : Hosting tea parties lets my imagination run wild.

Simple Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids

Simple hypothesis are straightforward predictions that can be tested easily. They help children understand the relationship between two variables. Here are some examples tailored just for kids.

• Plants & Sunlight : Plants placed near the window will grow taller than those in the dark.
• Chocolates & Happiness : Eating chocolates can make kids feel happier.
• Rain & Puddles : The more it rains, the bigger the puddles become.
• Homework & Learning : Doing homework helps kids understand lessons better.
• Toys & Sharing : Sharing toys with friends makes playtime more fun.
• Pets & Care : Taking care of a pet fish helps it live longer.
• Storytime & Sleep : Listening to a bedtime story helps kids sleep faster.
• Brushing & Cavity : Brushing teeth daily prevents cavities.
• Games & Skill : Playing a new game every day improves problem-solving skills.
• Baking & Patience : Waiting for cookies to bake teaches patience.

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids Psychology

Child psychology hypothesis delves into how kids think, behave, and process emotions. These hypotheses help understand the psychological aspects of children’s behaviors.

• Emotions & Colors : Kids might feel calm when surrounded by blue and energetic with red.
• Friendship & Self-esteem : Making friends can boost a child’s self-confidence.
• Learning Styles & Memory : Some kids remember better by seeing, while others by doing.
• Play & Development : Pretend play is crucial for cognitive development.
• Rewards & Motivation : Giving small rewards can motivate kids to finish tasks.
• Music & Mood : Listening to soft music can calm a child’s anxiety.
• Sibling Bonds & Sharing : Having siblings can influence a child’s willingness to share.
• Feedback & Performance : Positive feedback can improve a kid’s academic performance.
• Outdoor Play & Attention Span : Playing outside can help kids concentrate better in class.
• Dreams & Reality : Kids sometimes can’t differentiate between dreams and reality.

Hypothesis Examples in Kid Friendly Words

Phrasing hypothesis in simple words makes it relatable and easier for kids to grasp. Here are examples with kid-friendly language.

• Socks & Warmth : Wearing socks will keep my toes toasty.
• Jumping & Energy : The more I jump, the more energy I feel.
• Sandcastles & Water : A little water makes my sandcastle stand tall.
• Stickers & Smiles : Getting a sticker makes my day shine brighter.
• Rainbows & Rain : After the rain, I might see a rainbow.
• Slides & Speed : The taller the slide, the faster I go.
• Hugs & Love : Giving hugs makes me and my friends feel loved.
• Stars & Counting : The darker it is, the more stars I can count.
• Paint & Mess : The more paint I use, the messier it gets.
• Bubbles & Wind : If I blow my bubble wand, the wind will carry them high.

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids in Research

Even in a research setting, research hypothesis should be age-appropriate for kids. These examples focus on concepts children might encounter in structured studies.

• Reading & Vocabulary : Kids who read daily might have a richer vocabulary.
• Games & Math Skills : Playing number games can improve math skills.
• Experiments & Curiosity : Conducting science experiments can make kids more curious.
• Doodles & Creativity : Drawing daily might enhance a child’s creativity.
• Learning Methods & Retention : Kids who learn with visuals might remember lessons better.
• Discussions & Understanding : Talking about a topic can deepen understanding.
• Observation & Knowledge : Observing nature can increase a kid’s knowledge about the environment.
• Puzzles & Cognitive Skills : Solving puzzles regularly might enhance logical thinking.
• Music & Rhythmic Abilities : Kids who practice music might develop better rhythm skills.
• Teamwork & Social Skills : Group projects can boost a child’s social skills.

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids Science Fair

Science fairs are a chance for kids to delve into the world of experiments and observations. Here are hypotheses suitable for these events.

• Magnet & Metals : Certain metals will be attracted to a magnet.
• Plants & Colored Light : Plants might grow differently under blue and red lights.
• Eggs & Vinegar : An egg in vinegar might become bouncy.
• Solar Panels & Sunlight : Solar panels will generate more power on sunny days.
• Volcanoes & Eruptions : Mixing baking soda and vinegar will make a mini eruption.
• Mirrors & Reflection : Shiny surfaces can reflect light better than dull ones.
• Battery & Energy : Fresh batteries will make a toy run faster.
• Density & Floating : Objects with lower density will float in water.
• Shadows & Light Source : Moving the light source will change the shadow’s direction.
• Freezing & States : Water turns solid when kept in the freezer.

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Science Experiments

Experiments let kids test out their predictions in real-time. Here are hypotheses crafted for various scientific tests.

• Salt & Boiling Point : Adding salt will make water boil at a higher temperature.
• Plants & Music : Playing music might affect a plant’s growth rate.
• Rust & Moisture : Metals kept in a moist environment will rust faster.
• Candles & Oxygen : A candle will burn out faster in an enclosed jar.
• Fruits & Browning : Lemon juice can prevent cut fruits from browning.
• Yeast & Sugar : Adding sugar will make yeast activate more vigorously.
• Density & Layers : Different liquids will form layers based on their density.
• Acids & Bases : Red cabbage juice will change color in acids and bases.
• Soil Types & Water : Sandy soil will drain water faster than clay.
• Thermometers & Temperatures : Thermometers will show higher readings in the sun.

Hypothesis Statement Examples for Kids At Home

These hypotheses are crafted for experiments and observations kids can easily make at home, using everyday items.

• Chores & Time : Setting a timer will make me finish my chores faster.
• Pets & Behavior : My cat sleeps more during the day than at night.
• Recycling & Environment : Recycling more can reduce the trash in my home.
• Cooking & Tastes : Adding spices will change the taste of my food.
• Family Time & Bonding : Playing board games strengthens our family bond.
• Cleaning & Organization : Organizing my toys daily will keep my room tidier.
• Watering & Plant Health : Watering my plant regularly will keep its leaves green.
• Decor & Mood : Changing the room decor can influence my mood.
• Journals & Memories : Writing in my journal daily will help me remember fun events.
• Photos & Growth : Taking monthly photos will show how much I’ve grown.

How do you write a hypothesis for kids? – A Step by Step Guide

Step 1: Start with Curiosity Begin with a question that your child is curious about. This could be something simple, like “Why is the sky blue?” or “Do plants need sunlight to grow?”

Step 2: Observe and Research Before formulating the hypothesis, encourage your child to observe the world around them. If possible, read or watch videos about the topic to gather information. The idea is to get a general understanding of the subject.

Step 3: Keep it Simple For kids, it’s essential to keep the hypothesis straightforward and concise. Use language that is easy to understand and relatable to their age.

Step 4: Make a Predictable Statement Help your child frame their hypothesis as an “If… then…” statement. For example, “If I water a plant every day, then it will grow taller.”

Step 5: Ensure Testability Ensure that the hypothesis can be tested using simple experiments or observations. It should be something they can prove or disprove through hands-on activities.

Step 6: Avoid Certainty Teach kids that a hypothesis is not a definitive statement of fact but rather a best guess based on what they know. It’s okay if the hypothesis turns out to be wrong; the learning process is more important.

Step 7: Review and Refine After forming the initial hypothesis, review it with your child. Discuss if it can be made simpler or clearer. Refinement aids in better understanding and testing.

Step 8: Test the Hypothesis This is the fun part! Plan an experiment or set of observations to test the hypothesis. Whether the hypothesis is proven correct or not, the experience provides a learning opportunity.

Tips for Writing Hypothesis for Kids

• Encourage Curiosity : Always encourage your child to ask questions about the world around them. It’s the first step to formulating a hypothesis.
• Use Familiar Language : Use words that the child understands and can relate to. Avoid jargon or technical terms.
• Make it Fun : Turn the process of forming a hypothesis into a game or a storytelling session. This will keep kids engaged.
• Use Visual Aids : Kids often respond well to visuals. Drawing or using props can help in understanding and formulating the hypothesis.
• Stay Open-minded : It’s essential to teach kids that it’s okay if their hypothesis is wrong. The process of discovery and learning is what’s crucial.
• Practice Regularly : The more often kids practice forming hypotheses, the better they get at it. Use everyday situations as opportunities.
• Link to Real-life Scenarios : Relate the hypothesis to real-life situations or personal experiences. For instance, if discussing plants, you can relate it to a plant you have at home.
• Collaborate : Sometimes, two heads are better than one. Encourage group activities where kids can discuss and come up with hypotheses together.
• Encourage Documentation : Keeping a journal or notebook where they document their hypotheses and results can be a great learning tool.
• Celebrate Efforts : Regardless of whether the hypothesis was correct, celebrate the effort and the learning journey. This reinforces the idea that the process is more important than the outcome.

AI Generator

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

10 Examples of Public speaking

20 Examples of Gas lighting

What is an example of a Hypothesis If Then Statement? For instance, let's consider a basic experiment related to plant growth: Hypothesis: If a plant is exposed to direct sunlight for at least 6 hours a day, then it will grow taller than a plant that is kept in the shade.

Examples: If 7th graders and 8th graders complete the same math problems, then the 8th graders will have more answers correct, because they have studied math for one year longer than the 7th graders.

Examples of If, Then Hypotheses If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you will do better on tests than if you get less sleep. If you drop a ball, it will fall toward the ground. If you drink coffee before going to bed, then it will take longer to fall asleep. If you cover a wound with a bandage, then it will heal with less scarring.

Step 1. Ask a question Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer.

Product Company How to Write a Hypothesis in 6 Steps, With Examples Matt Ellis Updated on June 22, 2023 Students A hypothesis is a statement that explains the predictions and reasoning of your research—an "educated guess" about how your scientific experiments will end.

For example, let us say that you hypothesize that earthworms do not exist in places that have very cold winters because it is too cold for them to survive. You then predict that you will find earthworms in the dirt in Florida, which has warm winters, but not Alaska, which has cold winters.

If-then arguments, also known as conditional arguments or hypothetical syllogisms, are the workhorses of deductive logic. They make up a loosely defined family of deductive arguments that have an if-then statement —that is, a conditional —as a premise. The conditional has the standard form If P then Q.

The hypothesis is an educated guess as to what will happen during your experiment. The hypothesis is often written using the words "IF" and "THEN." For example, "If I do not study, then I will fail the test." The "if' and "then" statements reflect your independent and dependent variables.

General Education Think about something strange and unexplainable in your life. Maybe you get a headache right before it rains, or maybe you think your favorite sports team wins when you wear a certain color.

Step 5: Phrase your hypothesis in three ways. To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if … then form. The first part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable. If a first-year student starts attending more lectures, then their exam scores will improve.

For example: Examples of the Null Hypothesis. Hyperactivity is unrelated to eating sugar. All daisies have the same number of petals. The number of pets in a household is unrelated to the number of people living in it. A person';s preference for a shirt is unrelated to its color. Examples of an If, Then Hypothesis

If-then statements explore cause and effect. In other cases, the hypothesis shows a correlation between two variables. Here are some research hypothesis examples: If you leave the lights on, then it takes longer for people to fall asleep. If you refrigerate apples, they last longer before going bad.

In science, a hypothesis is part of the scientific method. It is a prediction or explanation that is tested by an experiment. Observations and experiments may disprove a scientific hypothesis, but can never entirely prove one. In the study of logic, a hypothesis is an if-then proposition, typically written in the form, "If X, then Y ."

One hypothesis example would be a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance might have a hypothesis that states: "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived."

Hypothesis testing example You want to test whether there is a relationship between gender and height. Based on your knowledge of human physiology, you formulate a hypothesis that men are, on average, taller than women. To test this hypothesis, you restate it as: H 0: Men are, on average, not taller than women.

Mathematics Geometry 2: Reasoning and Proof 2.11: If Then Statements

Several examples include the idea that living organisms develop from nonliving matter, which formed the basis of spontaneous generation, a hypothesis that ultimately was disproved (first in 1668, with the experiments of Italian physician Francesco Redi, and later in 1859, with the experiments of French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur );...

1. Null hypothesis: 2. Alternative hypothesis: 3. Directional hypothesis: 4. Non-directional hypothesis: 5. Simple hypothesis: 6. Complex hypothesis: 7. Associative hypothesis: 8.

A hypothesis is usually written in the form of an if-then statement, which gives a possibility (if) and explains what may happen because of the possibility (then). The statement could also...

Example 1 Determine the hypothesis and conclusion: I'll bring an umbrella if it rains. Hypothesis: "It rains." Conclusion: "I'll bring an umbrella." Example 2 Determine the hypothesis and conclusion: All right angles are 90 ∘. Hypothesis: "An angle is right." Conclusion: "It is 90 ∘ ." Example 3

Examples . First rewrite in if-then form, then determine the hypothesis and conclusion. Example 1. Sally eats a snack if she is hungry. In if-then form, the statement is If Sally is hungry, then she eats a snack. The hypothesis is Sally is hungry and the conclusion is she eats a snack. Example 2. The angles in a triangle add up to 180 degrees.

To form a solid theory, the vital first step is creating a hypothesis. See the various types of hypotheses and how they can lead you on the path to discovery.

Phrasing hypothesis in simple words makes it relatable and easier for kids to grasp. Here are examples with kid-friendly language. Socks & Warmth: Wearing socks will keep my toes toasty. Jumping & Energy: The more I jump, the more energy I feel. Sandcastles & Water: A little water makes my sandcastle stand tall.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Outline Nasil Yazilir - Essay Sepeti

Bu infografikte Essay Sepeti'nin uzman yazarları outline nasil yazilir ve outline örnekleri nelerdir onları anlattı. Siz de bu outline örneğindeki basamakları uygulayarak kolayca outline yazabilirsiniz. https://essaysepeti.com/outline-nasil-yazilir/

Related Papers

Qualitative studies

Serap CAVKAYTAR

Takyettin Karakaya

GHAZALİ'S METHOD OF THE SUFİ İNTERPRETATİON OF QUR'AN Sûfî Qur’ânic commentary is the interpretation of Qur’ân verses by sûfîs in the light of mystic experiences and knowledge that entitled by the sûfîs as the inner knowledge (gnosis). The beginning of the sûfî commentary of Qur’ân dates back to hijrî first and second centuries. Hasan-ı Basrî (d. 110/728) and Ca’fer es-Sâdık (d. 148/765) are the pioneers of this kind of interpretation. Although great İslamic scholar Ebû Hâmid Muhammed al-Ghazâlî (d. 505/1111) wrote on a wide range of fields including jurisprudence, theology, mysticism and philosophy, he had not a separate book on Qur’ânic interpretation. But his voluminous corpus is full of sûfî Qur’anic commentaries. Accordingly, he is accepted one of the most important sûfî Qur’anic interpreter. The aim of this study is to specify the sufî commentaries in Ghazâlî’s corpus and so determine the main principles of his commentary method. The study is divided into three sections: In the first section, Ghazâlî’s view of Qur’an will be clarified. In the second section, the central theme of the study will be treated: Ghazâlî’s sufî commentary method. In this section firstly the main principles of the method which Ghazâlî adopted will be handled and then the commentary examples made by Ghazâlî’s in his several books will be presented. The last section of the study will be on the Ghazali’s allegorical/esoteric interpretation of Qur’ân. Keywords: Qur’ân, Sûfî Qur’ânic commentary, al-Ghazâlî, Allegorical Interpretation.

International Journal Of Turkish Literature Culture Education

İlknur Tatar

gurol yokus

TURKISH STUDIES

Nazlı MEMIS BAYTIMUR

Türk Edebiyatı’nda ilk defa Mehmet KAPLAN tarafından dile getirilen Ara Nesil, Tanzimat dönemi ikinci nesli ile Servet-i Fünûn arasında kalan topluluk olarak tanımlanır. Edebi faaliyetlerini 1880’li yıllardan 1900’lü yıllara kadar sürdüren Ara Nesil mensupları, şiir, roman, deneme, tenkit ve tercüme gibi pek çok alanda faaliyetlerde bulunur. Bu alanlardan bir diğeri de hikâyedir. Özellikle 1890’lı yıllardan sonra edebi tür olarak kendini bulmaya başlayan hikâye, tema ve yapı bakımından bir değişim ve gelişim dönemine girer. Böylece hikâye bilinçlenmesi başlar. Hikâye vakasının içinde hâl ve hareketleriyle yaşayan, ruh dünyası tekdüze alınan hikâye kişileri, yavaş yavaş alışılagelmiş bu özelliklerinden sıyrılarak ruh dünyasıyla, karakterinin barındırdığı çeşitli özelliklerle hikâyenin içine girer. Ara Nesil dönemi yazarlarının kaleme aldığı hikâyelere bakıldığında, hem uzun hem kısa hikâyelerin olduğu görülür. Hatta dönemin gazete ve dergilerinde yayımlanan hikâyelerde kısa hikâyeye doğru bir yönelişin izlerine rastlamak mümkündür. Dönemin önemli yönlerinden birisi de kadın yazarların da hikâye türünde eserler vermesi ve türe katkıda bulunmalarıdır. Bu durum, pek çok alanda pasif kalan Türk kadınının, edebiyat dünyasında var olması ve eserler vücuda getirmesi açısından son derece önemli bir aşamadır. Onlarca farklı yazarın yüzlerce telif hikâyesinin yayımlandığı Ara Nesil döneminde en dikkat çekenlerden birisi “Nevbahâr Yâhûd Saadet-i Aile” isimli hikâyedir. Söz konusu hikâye, 1880-1900 yılları arasında yazılan hikâyeler içerisinde iki yazarlı olarak yayımlanan tek hikâye olup yazarlarının kadın olması da ayrıca önem teşkil eder. Tema ve yapı unsurları bakımından değerlendirilen hikâyenin, Osmanlı Türkçesi’nden günümüz Türkçesi’ne aktarılmış hali de çalışmanın sonunda yer almaktadır.

kaplan kaplan

Journal of Turkish Studies

Duygu Karadağ

Zeynep K Korkman

Akademik Kaynak

Akademik makale yazımını, araştırma ve yazım evreleri olarak ikiye ayırabiliriz. Metin ÖZ tarafından kaleme alınan bu makalemizde makale nasıl yazılır, kaynak taraması nasıl yapılır bu çalışmalara değindik. Giriş ve 2 bölümden oluşan makalemizi sitemizden de okuyabilirsiniz. https://www.akademikkaynak.com/makale-nasil-yazilir.html

osman aydınlı

RELATED PAPERS

Luis Armando Montaño Angel

Maria Mercedes Lafaurie

Ashley Lewis Presser

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

Gehan Ahmed

BMC Neuroscience

Steve Furber

Journal of clinical and experimental hepatology

JRI (Jurnal Radiografer Indonesia)

guntur winarno

Munibe Antropologia-Arkeologia

Rosa Ruiz Idarraga

Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine

Choudhury Hasan

International Journal of Cancer Management

Acidentes industriais ampliados: desafios e perspectivas para o controle e a prevenção

Bruna De Marchi

Aguas Subterrâneas

Maria Cristina Santiago

Neuroscience Letters

Joseph Steiner

Animal Welfare

Belinda Mistry

Massimiliano Savorra

Molecular Pharmacology

Sylvie MICHEL

Gaetano Albergo

Occupational Therapy Journal of Research

Charlotte Royeen

Ban N . Dhannoon

Anna Fenyvesi

American Journal of Roentgenology

Ertugrul Mavili

Roczniki Humanistyczne

Aleksander Kiklewicz

hukyytj jkthjfgr

Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program

Eric De Kaenel

See More Documents Like This

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• GÜNDEM
• VİOP&VARANT
• KRİPTO PARALAR
• MUCİZE LEZZETLER
• LEZZETLİ HAYAT
• ÇOCUKLA HAYAT
• RESMİ İLANLAR
• HÜRRİYET AİLE
• FOTO GALERİ
• KİTAP SANAT
• HAVA DURUMU
• IK/YENİ EKONOMİ
• YEREL HABERLER
• BİZE ULAŞIN
• VERİ POLİTİKASI

Essay Nedir Ve Nasıl Yazılır? Essay Konuları, Kalıpları Ve Örnekleri

Güncelleme Tarihi: Mayıs 05, 2021 22:59

Üniversite denildiğinde akla ilk gelen unsurların başında essay konusu gelmektedir. Özellikle üniversiteye hazırlanan öğrencilerin çok fazla merak ettiği bir konu olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Sizin için Essay nedir ve nasıl yazılır? Essay konuları, kalıpları ve örnekleri konularını tüm detayları ile derledik.

Essay yazı biçimi çok fazla araştırılmakta olup bu konun araştırılma kanalı olarak da sıklıkla internetten yararlanılmaktadır.

Essay Nedir?

Essay, belirlenmiş bir konuda yazmış durumda olduğunuz giriş, gelişme ve sonuç bölümlerinden meydana gelen ve konunun farklı yönleri ile tartışılıp ele alan bir veya iki sayfalık üniversite düzeyinde başvuru yazısı yahut kompozisyonudur.

Essay Nasıl Yazılır?

Aklınıza geldiği gibi, düzensiz şekildeki cümleler yahut başı sonu belli olmayan paragrafların yer aldığı bir essay yazamazsınız. Ayrıca yazacak olduğunuz, essay'ın belli bir düzende ve sorulan soru yahut istenilen konuyu net bir şekilde cevaplayacak biçimde bazı bölümlerden oluşması gerektiğinin bilinmesi önemlidir.

Essay yazma, yeterli düzeyde bir bilgi birikiminin yanı sıra, araştırma ve dilbilgisini esas almaktadır.

Yazım sırasında farklı konulara girseniz dahi yazılacak olan yazının ana fikrinden çok fazla uzaklaşmamaya ve düşünceler ifade edilirken tarafsız bir üslupla yazmaya özen gösterilmesi çok önemlidir. Son derece iyi bir essay için, öncelikle başlıkta sizden talep edilen yahut sorulan soruyu net ve açık bir biçimde incelemek suretiyle, sizi yönlendirecek olan anahtar kelimelere göre yazının geri kalanını yazmaktan oluşmaktadır.

Bir örnek verilmesi gerekirse; verilmiş olan başlığı analiz etmek, kelimenin tam anlamıyla uygun olduğu yerlerde karmaşık nitelikteki bir teoriyi yahut süreci delillere ve dokümanlara dayanarak açıklamayı kapsamaktadır. Tüm bunların yanı sıra bir şeyin nasıl ve neden olduğunu ayrıntılı bir biçimde tanımlaya çalışmak da iyi bir örnek olarak gösterilebilir.

Essay Konuları

Essay konuları kendi içinde farklı türlerden oluşmaktadır. Yazılacak olan essay için konu türü önem taşır. Bu anlamda essay konularını şu şekilde listelemek mümkündür:

- Cause & effect essay konuları

- Argumentative essay konuları

- Essay Konuları (Güncel & Klasik)

- Advantage & disadvantage essay konuları

- Compare & contrast essay konuları

- Problem solution essay konuları

  Essay Kalıpları

Essay kalıpları daha doğru ve hızlı essay yazmak için önemli bir fayda sağlar.

Kişinin Kendisinden Bahsetmesi

I belive that

I strongly believe that

As far as ı am concerned

In my opinion/ I think/ From my point of view

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bir Kişinin Bir Şeyin Öneminden Bahsetmesi

It shoul be noted that

It is wort bearing in mind that

Vital that / crucial / It is essential

Altını Çizmek / Vurgulamak Fiilleri İçin Kullanılacak İngilizce Karşılıklar

Emphasize / highlight / stress / underline

Above all...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neden - Sonuç Bildirme

As/ Because ( NOT: Bu yapıların kullanımın sonrasında cümle kullanılır.)

Becouse of / Owing to / Due to ( NOT: Bu yapıların ardından isim yahut gerud ( walking, earning etc.) kullanılır.

So / Therefore...

From all reason above...

For this reason / As a result / That is why / Consequently

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gelişme (Body) Paragrafları İçin Sıralama, Düşünceyi Sürdürme Kalıpları - Sıralama

Initially ...

First of all...

At the beginnig / To begin with...

Secondly / Thirdly ...

In addition / Moreover / Besides / Furthermore / Also

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Örnekleme Yapılırken Kullanılacak Olan Kalıplar

To demonstrate

For instance / For example

To illitrate

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zaman Sıralaması Yapma

Currently ...

First , Second , etc.

Formerly...

Previously...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zıtlık Anlatma

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonuç Bildirmede Kullanılan Kalıplar

As as a consequence of that ..

Briefly ...

To sum up ..

In closing..

With the aforementioned reasons...

There is no doubt that..

Essay Örnekleri

1- Essay Örneği

Disadvantages of Social Networks

A social networking site is a website which allows of individuals to share information and socialize over the internet. Twitter and Facebook are some notable examples of social networking sites. Users can use these sites to find their friends with whom they could not meet for a long time. The use of these sites makes them popular. However, social networking sites are harmful to our society because they cause students to get lower grades and persuade people to waste their time.

First of all, students who use social media too much tend to get low grades because they are always uncomfortable with social media and don't have time to study. Even if they're reading, they're always distracted by social media. Because of this, they cannot concentrate and work properly. As a result, students who continue to use social media are likely to have lower grades.

Second, social networking sites convince individuals to waste their time. For example, they include some games that require people to play every day or whose progress is lost. It makes no sense since there is no material loss. Still, the competitive environment of the leaderboards allows individuals to play to show that they are better than their friends.

On the other hand, social networking sites allow people to improve their relationships and make new friends. Most social networking platforms match people based on their interests. Therefore, people have the opportunity to make new friends who enjoy the same things as them. For example, if someone is interested in boxing, they can use social networks to make a new friend who also likes boxing. As a result, social networking sites and social media negatively affect individuals in various ways. Some of these negative effects can be listed as low grades of students who are heavy social media users and encourage people to waste their time.

2- Essay Örneği

Advantages of Online Education

Online education has the characteristic of being a type of education offered on the internet. Today, our daily life has become much more intense.As a result, it became more difficult to attend a class in a traditional classroom. An online education system has been developed to solve this problem. Online education provides flexibility to individuals. Moreover, there are many advantages that make online education seen as an alternative to traditional education.

One of the major advantages of online education is flexibility. If a student or teacher is not free during the lesson, this lesson can be delayed for another hour. Therefore, participation in classes will increase. For example, if a student has a shortage of internet connection, classes can be postponed to a later date until the existing problems are resolved.

Second, students' learning speeds vary widely. Online education allows students to learn at their own pace. Therefore, unlike traditional education, students do not have to slow down or force themselves to keep up with the rest of the class. In this way, students have the opportunity to learn in a way that will not bore themselves.

Finally, online education is cheaper than traditional education. Since there is no transportation and material costs, even low-budget students have the opportunity to receive online education. The books and media used in the lessons can be accessed mostly online, so students who want to review the lessons have the opportunity to download the books and media used in the lessons.

As a result, online education has several advantages over traditional education. Students have the opportunity to learn more easily through online education. The flexibility and cheapness of online education and allowing students to learn at their own pace makes online education an alternative to traditional education.

BAKMADAN GEÇME!

Tartışmacı Bir Deneme Anahattı Nasıl Yazılır?

Tartışmacı bir deneme, okuyucuları bir konu hakkında belirli bir pozisyona ikna etmek için mantıksal kanıtları ve ampirik verileri kullanan bir yazı parçasıdır. Yapı ve planlamaya bağlı olması nedeniyle, yazarken ilk adım genellikle sağlam bir tartışmacı makale taslağı hazırlamaktır.

Elbette, tartışmacı bir makale taslağı hazırlamak, aslında bir makale yazmak kadar göz korkutucu olabilir. Konuları seçmek bir şeydir, ancak tezinizi, araştırmanızı, akıl yürütmenizi ve sonucunuzu organize etmek tamamen başka bir çabadır - ve hepsi ilk taslağa başlamadan önce!

Bu hızlı kılavuzda, üç ana formatı da kapsayan etkili bir tartışmacı makale taslağının nasıl oluşturulacağını açıklıyoruz: Klasik (Aristotelesçi), Rogerian ve Toulmin. Neyin işe yaradığını anlamanıza yardımcı olacak tartışmacı makale anahat örnekleri ve şablonları da ekleyeceğiz.

Güvenle iletişim kurun. Grammarly, etkili bir şekilde iletişim kurmanıza yardımcı olur Grammarly ile yaz

Tartışmacı bir makale nasıl yapılandırılır?

Tartışmacı bir deneme , herhangi bir konuda belirli bir duruşu doğrulamak için gerçekleri, verileri ve mantıksal akıl yürütmeyi kullanır. Bunlar tipik olarak açık bir tez ifadesi , açık bir sonuç ve gerektiği kadar kanıta dayalı destek ile "bir argüman oluşturmak" için yapılandırılmıştır .

Yedi tür denemenin tümü aynı giriş-gövde-sonuç yapısını takip ederken, tartışmacı denemeler, ikna edici bir argümanın gerekli tüm bileşenlerine uyması için daha karmaşık olma eğilimindedir. Örneğin, kendi argümanınızı güçlendirmek için karşıt bakış açılarını incelemek isteyebilirsiniz, ancak bu bölümü nereye koyarsınız? Tartışmanızdan önce mi? Sonrasında? Makale boyunca her yeni kanıt parçasıyla mı karıştı?

Tartışmacı bir makaleyi yapılandırmanın tek bir doğru yolu yoktur; diğer şeylerin yanı sıra konunuza, karşıt bakış açılarına ve okuyuculara bağlıdır. Aslında, farklı türdeki tartışmacı makale stillerini barındırmak için, tercih edilen biçimler olarak üç yöntem ortaya çıkmıştır: Aşağıda açıklanan Klasik (Aristotelesçi), Rogerian ve Toulmin.

Biçim veya konu ne olursa olsun, güçlü bir tartışmacı makale taslağı, düşüncelerinizi düzenlemenizi ve durumunuzu mümkün olan en iyi şekilde sunmanızı kolaylaştırır. Bu nedenle, asıl kompozisyon yazmaya başlamadan önce , bir taslakta söylemek istediklerinizi hazırlamak için biraz zaman ayırın.

Tartışmacı bir deneme taslağı nasıl oluşturulur

Nasıl bir taslak yazılacağını bilmek savaşın sadece yarısıdır. Tartışmacı bir makale taslağı ekstra yapı ve organizasyon gerektirdiğinden, genellikle standart makale taslağından daha kapsamlı bir planlama gerektirir . Sonuçta amaç, konunuz için en iyi argümanı sunmaktır, bu nedenle her bölümün en uygun yerde olduğundan emin olmanız gerekir.

Belirtildiği gibi, tartışmacı bir makalenin nasıl yapılandırılacağına ilişkin üç ana seçenek vardır. Ayrıntılara dalmadan önce, kompozisyonunuza en uygun olanı seçebilmeniz için her birine genel bir bakış atalım.

Klasik (Aristotelesçi)

Ne zaman kullanılır: basit ve doğrudan argümanlar

En açık sözlü yaklaşım olan Klasik veya Aristotelesçi format , geleneksel deneme yapılarına en yakın olanıdır. Basit bir düzeni takip eder: argümanınızı açıklayın, muhalefetinizin argümanını açıklayın ve ardından okuyucuyu etkilemek için güvenilirliğe ( ethos ), duyguya ( pathos ) ve akıl yürütmeye ( logos ) güvenerek kanıtınızı sunun.

Ne zaman kullanılır: her iki taraf da geçerli argümanlar sunar; okuyucularınız karşı pozisyona sempati duyuyor

Rogerian formatı , karşıt duruşlara bolca saygı göstererek, onu her iki tarafı temsil etmek için harika bir “orta yol” yaklaşımı haline getirir. Teziniz çatışan konumlar arasında bir uzlaşma veya bunları birleştirme girişimiyse, bu yöntem idealdir.

Aynı şekilde, bu biçim, örneğin toplumsal normlara karşı çıkıyormuşsunuz gibi, karşıt bir konuma zaten önyargılı olan okuyucular için yazıyorsanız en iyisidir .

Ne zaman kullanılır: birden çok yönü olan karmaşık argümanlar; çürütmeler ve karşı argümanlar

Toulmin yöntemi , tek bir argümanın derin bir analizidir. Yöntemli ve ayrıntılı doğası göz önüne alındığında, karmaşık bir tezi sindirilebilir kısımlara bölmek için en iyi sonucu verir.

Toulmin yöntemi, çok sistematik bir şekilde oldukça titizdir. Bu, makaleniz başka bir makaleye karşı bir çürütme veya karşı argüman ise, onu ideal bir format haline getirir - daha makul bir alternatif sunarken muhalefetinizi nokta nokta inceleyebilir ve çürütebilirsiniz.

Klasik tartışmacı makale anahat şablonu

Aristoteles'in her şeyi açık ve mantıklı bir şekilde açıklama yeteneği vardı ve Aristotelesçi tartışmacı deneme yapısı buna dayanıyor. Klasik veya Klasik olarak da bilinen Aristotelesçi format en basit olanıdır: yazar önce argümanını sunar, sonra karşı argümanı çürütür.

Klasik veya Aristotelesçi format için bu tartışmacı deneme anahat örneğindeki ayrıntılara bakalım.

A. Bir kanca ile açın, sonuca kadar okuyucunun ilgisini çekecek bir şey ( exordium olarak bilinir) B. Konuyu anlamak için gerekli herhangi bir arka plan bilgisini veya bağlamı verin ( anlatı olarak bilinir ) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); C. Duruşunuzu ve neden böyle hissettiğinizi açıklayan bir tez ifadesi sağlayın ( önerme ve partitio olarak bilinir )

II. İlk sebep

A. Argümanınızı desteklemek için en az tartışmalı nedenle başlayın, amacınızı bir genel bakış olarak net bir şekilde açıklayın 1. Sebebinizle ilgili ilk kanıt desteği ( onay olarak bilinir)

2. Mantığınızın ikinci kanıtsal desteği, ardından üçüncü vb.

B. İlk nedeninizi tekrar özetleyin ve kanıtsal destekle birleştirin

III. İkinci sebep vb.

A. Sebeplerinizi ilkiyle aynı formatta listelemeye devam edin. Sebeplerinizi en azdan en tartışmalıya doğru sıralayın

IV. İlk karşıt görüş

A. Karşı tarafın gerekçesini açıklayın. Savunmalarını ve kanıtlarını belirtin - makaleyi yazıyor olsalardı ne derlerdi? 1. Argümanlarındaki zayıflıkları ve tutarsızlıkları belirtin

2. Kanıtsal destekle görüşlerini çürütün (refutatio olarak bilinir )

3. Konumunuzu daha makul bir konum olarak güçlendirin

V. İkinci karşıt bakış açısı, vb.

A. İlki ile aynı formatta karşıt görüşleri sunmaya ve çürütmeye devam edin

A. En güçlü kanıt desteğinizden ve karşıt noktaların çürütücülerinden yararlanarak ( peroratio olarak bilinir ) görüşünüzü ve tez beyanınızı yineleyin B. Her şeyi düşündürücü bir sonla veya harekete geçirici mesajla (okuyucunun almasını istediğiniz bir öneri) toplayın (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Rogerian tartışmacı makale anahat şablonu

Tüm formatlar arasında Rogerian, karşıt argümanlara en fazla dikkati verir. Amacı, iki argüman arasında bir orta yol oluşturmak, her birinin geçerliliğine işaret etmek ve onları bir olarak birleştirmenin bir yolunu bulmaktır. Belirli bir konudaki konumlar çok kutupluysa veya bir arada bulunamıyorsa, bu biçim çalışmaz.

Aşağıdaki Rogerian tartışmacı makale anahat örneğine daha yakından bakalım ve karşıt bakış açıları için verilen tavizlere dikkat edelim.

A. Çözülmesi gereken sorunu ve onu anlamak için gerekli herhangi bir bağlamı belirtin B. Bulunduğunuz konumdaki ideal çözümleri ve karşı konumlardaki ideal çözümleri açıklayın (ve herhangi bir örtüşme olduğunu belirtin) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); C. Tez açıklamanızı yapın

II. Karşı duruşu özetleyin

A. Muhalefetin bakış açısını saygıyla özetleyin; savunmalarını ve akıl yürütmelerini düşünün 1. Muhalif pozisyon için mevcut kanıt desteği

2. Desteklerini yorumlayın veya çürütün

B. Ek karşıt bakış açıları için aynı formatı izleyin

III. Karşı konumu doğrulayın

A. Karşı duruşu anladığınızı ve/veya ona sempati duyduğunuzu gösterin 1. Muhalefetinizin bakış açısının arkasındaki bağlamı ve mantığı açıklayın

2. Muhalif konumlardan elde edilen kanıtları ve verileri detaylandırın

B. Muhalefete katıldığınız alanları onaylayın

IV. pozisyonunuzu sunun

A. Pozisyonunuzu korumak için ilk nedeninizi özetleyin 1. Kanıtsal desteğin ilk parçasını sunun

2. Kanıtsal desteğin ikinci parçasını sunun, vb.

B. Konumunuzu korumak için ikinci nedeninizi özetleyin vb.

V. Her iki tarafı bir araya getirin (uzlaşma)

A. Her bir argümanın hangi yönlerinin en makul olduğunu düşünün B. Her pozisyondan en iyi unsurları birleştiren bir uzlaşma önerin

A. Muhalif bakış açısına olan saygınızı yeniden teyit edin B. Muhalefetin argümanınızdan yararlanabileceği alanları tekrar edin ve bunun tersini yapın. C. Daha önceki uzlaşmayı özetleyin ve mümkünse olumlu bir notla sonlandırın

Toulmin tartışmacı makale anahat şablonu

Stephen Toulmin'in asıl amacı, argümanların doğasını analiz etmekti, ancak öğretilerinin uygulanması, özellikle mevcut argümanlara meydan okumak için tartışmacı bir makale formatına dönüştü. İyi bir argüman oluşturan altı unsura odaklanır: iddia (tez), gerekçeler (veriler ve gerekçeler), gerekçeler, destekler, niteleyiciler ve çürütücüler.

Aşağıdaki tartışmacı makale anahat örneği, bu öğelerin yerleştirilmesi için önerilen sırayı göstermektedir:

A. İlgi toplamak için mümkünse bir kancayla açın B. Konuyu ve gerekli bağlamı açıklayın C. Tez açıklamanızı yapın

II. Tezinizi doğrulamak için gerekçeleri (sabit kanıtlar) sunun

A. İlk kanıtsal veri desteğinizi veya mantıksal nedenlerinizi sunun B. İkinci kanıtsal veri desteğinizi veya mantıksal nedenleri sunun, vb.

III. İlk izninizi açıklayın (tezinizin gerekçesi)

A. İzin belgesinin tezinizle nasıl bir ilişkisi olduğunu açıklayın B. Emrinizi desteklemek için destek sağlayın (daha fazla kanıt veya veri veya sadece mantıksal akıl yürütme olabilir) C. Kararınızı baltalayan veya sınırlayan tüm niteleyicileri listeleyin - buradaki fikir, kendi argümanınızdaki herhangi bir zayıflığı kabul etmektir.

IV. İkinci emrinizi açıklayın, vb.

A. Bireysel garantilerinizi yukarıdaki gibi açıklamaya devam edin

V. Muhalefeti tartışın

A. İlk karşıt bakış açısını açıklayın 1. Muhalefeti adil ve şeffaf bir şekilde tartışın

2. Tezinizi savunmak için çürütmenizi açıklayın

B. İkinci karşıt bakış açısını açıklayın, vb.

A. Tüm garantilerinizi ve verilerinizi birbirine bağlayın B. Muhalif pozisyonu ve çürütmelerinizi tekrar edin C. Nihai iddianızı yapmak için bir sonuç çıkarın ve tezinizi yeniden onaylayın

Tartışmacı makale SSS

Tartışmacı makale nedir?

Tartışmacı bir deneme, okuyucuyu belirli bir bakış açısına ikna etmek için mantıksal kanıtları ve ampirik verileri kullanan kısa, kurgusal olmayan bir yazı parçasıdır.

Tartışmacı denemeler tipik olarak yazarın konumunun (tezinin) bir açıklamasını, bu tezi destekleyen kanıtları, karşıt bakış açılarını ve bu muhalefete karşı çürütücüleri içerir. Ancak bu bölümlerin sunulma sırası formata bağlıdır.

Tartışmacı bir makale taslağı düzenlemenin bazı yaygın yolları nelerdir?

Tartışmacı bir makale taslağı için en basit yaklaşım, önce onu destekleyecek kanıtlar ve gerekçeler de dahil olmak üzere konumunuzu sunmak ve ardından karşıt bakış açılarını ele almaktır. Bununla birlikte, konu ne kadar karmaşıksa, ana hatlara o kadar fazla katman eklenmelidir.

• Ücret Politikası

Essay Ne Demek [17 Essay Türünü Detaylı Açıkladık]

İçindekiler

• 1 Essay Nedir?
• 2.1 Narrative Essay Ne Demek? Narrative Essay Nedir?
• 2.2 Descriptive Essay Ne Demek? Descriptive Essay Nedir?
• 2.3 Classification Essay Ne Demek? Classification Essay Nedir? 
• 2.4 Illustration Essay Ne Demek? Example Essay Nedir? 
• 2.5 Reflective Essay Ne Demek? Reflective Essay Nedir? 
• 2.6 Process Essay Ne Demek? Process Essay Nedir? 
• 2.7 Definition Essay Ne Demek? Definition Essay Nedir? 
• 2.8 Expository Essay Ne Demek? Expository Essay Nedir?
• 2.9 Persuasive Essay Ne Demek? Persuasive Essay Nedir?
• 2.10 Argumentative Essay Ne Demek? Argumentative Essay Nedir?
• 2.11 Opinion Essay Ne Demek? Opinion Essay Nedir? 
• 2.12 Critical Essay Ne Demek? Critical Essay Nedir? 
• 2.13 Cause and Effect Essay Ne Demek? Cause and Effect Essay Nedir? 
• 2.14 Problem Solution Essay Ne Demek? Problem Solution Essay Nedir? 
• 2.15 Compare and Contrast Essay Ne Demek? Compare and Contrast Essay Nedir? 
• 2.16 Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Ne Demek? Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Nedir?
• 2.17 Admission Essay Ne Demek? Admission Essay Nedir? 
• 3.1 Expository essay introduction, body paragrafları ve conclusion gibi bölümlerden oluşur.
• 3.2 Introduction, body paragrafları ve conclusion paragrafları arasında açık ve mantıklı geçişler olmalıdır.
• 3.3 Introduction paragrafından sonra body paragrafları gelir.
• 3.4 Essay yazarken kanıt sunmak önemlidir. 
• 3.5 Biraz yaratıcı olun.
• 3.6 Son olarak, expository essay’i sonlandıran bir conclusion paragrafı yazmalıyız.
• 4.1 Essay nedir?
• 4.2 Expository essay nedir?
• 4.3 Persuasive essay nedir?
• 4.4 Argumentative essay nedir?
• 4.5 Descriptive essay nedir?
• 4.6 Narrative essay nedir?

Essay Nedir?

Essay, bir fikri anlatmak ve bunları kendi sözlerinizle açıklamak için yazılan ve Türkçe’de makale diye karşılık bulan bir yazı parçasıdır. Essay, genellikle, belirli bir sorunu veya soruyu ele almak için fikirleri, kanıtları ve argümanları bir araya getiren bir şekilde yazılır.

Essay, belirli bir yapıda yazılır: Girişte, yani introduction paragrafında, argümanınızı ortaya koyarsınız; ana gövde paragraflarında (yani body paragraflarında) argümanınızı oluşturur ve sunarsınız; ve sonuç paragrafında (yani conclusion paragrafında) thesis statement ile ve argümanınızla essay yazmayı bitirirsiniz.

Essay ne demek, essay nedir, essay nasıl yazılır gibi konularda danışmanlık almak isterseniz sağ altta bulunan mesaj bölümünden, iletişim kısmından ya da [email protected] ’dan bize ulaşabilirsiniz. Essay yazmak istiyorsanız, Essay Sepeti’nin uzman hocalarının sizler için hazırladığı ve essay yazmayı çok kolaylaştıracak essay nasıl yazılır outline PDF’sini ücretsiz indirip siz de essay yazabilirsiniz.

Essay ne demek? Essay nedir?

Essay’lerin tamamlanması zaman alır. Bu zaman boyunca da essay’ler, aşağıdaki yazım aşamalarından geçerler.

• Soru hakkında düşünmek (brainstorm yapmak)
• Konu hakkında araştırmalardan bilgi ve fikir toplamak (background information toplamak)
• Fikirlerinizi organize etmek (essay için bir structure oluşturmak)
• Konu hakkında notlar almak
• İlk taslağı yazmak (outline yazmak)
• Hocanızdan aldığınız feedback ile düzeltmeler yapmak
• Son olarak ise, essay yazmak

Essay Türleri

Essay türleri, yazarın okuyucusuna iletmek istediği şeye bağlı olarak değişiklik gösterir. Essay ne demek diye merak eden bir kişinin bu türleri bilmesi gerekir. Genel olarak dört tür makale vardır ve bunlar da aşağıdaki ilk dört makale türü olarak verilmiştir. Ama bunun yanı sıra ondan fazla çokça bilinen ve yaygın olarak kullanılan makale türleri de vardır. Bunlar şu şekildedir:

Narrative Essay Ne Demek? Narrative Essay Nedir?

Narrative essay, yazarın essay yoluyla bir olayı veya hikayeyi anlattığı akademik makale türüdür. Narrative essay, öyküsünü birinci şahıs ile anlatılır. Narrative essay yazarken amaç, okuyucuyu olay anında oradaymış gibi makaleye dahil etmektir. Bu yüzden olanlar mümkün olduğunca canlı ve gerçek bir şekilde anlatılmalıdır. Bunu mümkün kılmanın bir yolu, “göster, söyleme” ilkesini takip etmektir. Bu yüzden okuyucuyu hikayeye dahil etmelisiniz.

Essay ne demek diye merak eden birinin görebileceği ilk essay türlerinden biri narrative essay türüdür. Deneyimsiz kişiler tarafından yazılması da kolaydır.

Descriptive Essay Ne Demek? Descriptive  Essay Nedir?

Descriptive essay bir yeri, bir nesneyi, bir olayı ya da belki bir anıyı betimleyen akademik makale türüdür. Ama yazar, sadece olayları açık bir şekilde anlatmakla kalmamalıdır. Yazar, sözleriyle bir resim çizmelidir. Bunu yapmanın akıllıca bir yolu, okuyucunun duyularını uyandırmaktır. Yazar, sadece görmeye duyusuna hitap etmemelidir; aynı zamanda diğer koku, dokunma, ses vb. duyuları da dahil etmelidir.

İyi yazıldığında, descriptive essay, okuyucuya yazarın o anda ne hissettiği etkili bir şekilde anlatır.

Classification Essay Ne Demek? Classification Essay Nedir? 

Classification essay, ortak özelliklere sahip fikirleri, karakterleri veya nesneleri belirli gruplar veya kategoriler halinde sınıflandıran akademik bir makale türüdür.

Yazar, classification essay yazarken şeyi kategoriler halinde düzenlemeli ve her kategoride yer alan nesneler, olaylar veya kişiler hakkında örnekler vermelidir. Örneğin, bilgisayarlar hakkında bir classification essay yazmak istiyorsanız, body paragraflarınızın her biri farklı bir bilgisayar türünün özelliklerini ele almalıdır.

Başka bir deyişle, classification essay yazarken her grup kendine özgü tanımlayıcı özelliklere sahip olmalıdır. Bu nedenle, classification essay açıklamalar ve örnekleri destekleyici ayrıntılar ve kanıtlar kullanır. Açıklamalar, farklı özelliklerin tanımlanmasını sağlar. Örnekler, her kategorideki öğelerin veya üyelerin okuyucuya tanıtılmasında kullanılır. 

Illustration Essay Ne Demek? Example Essay Nedir? 

Illustration essay, bir konu hakkında örnekler vermek ve konuyu açıklamak için yazılan bir akademik makale türüdür. Illustration essay, exemplification essay olarak da bilinir. Illustration essay yazarken yazar, ampirik verileri derler ve konu ile ilgili olan tanımlara makalede yer verir.

Bu akademik makale türünde yazar yeni bir şeyi keşfetmez, sadece konuyu açıklığa kavuşturan örnekler vererek konu ile ilgili deneyimleri özetler. Bu örnekler, bir illustration essay’i iyi yapan kısımlardır.

Bu essay türünde yazar duygulara veya keşiflere odaklanmaz. Yazar, örnekleri bulgular ile açıklar. Bulguların bir örnekler silsilesi ile açıklanması zorunludur. 

Reflective Essay Ne Demek? Reflective Essay Nedir? 

Reflective essay, yazarın yaşamdaki deneyimlerini incelediği bir akademik makale türüdür. Yazar deneyimleri hakkında okuyucusunu bilgilendirir ve bu deneyimlerle nasıl değiştiğini, geliştiğini veya büyüdüğünü okuyucusuna aktarır.

Reflective essay formatı, okuyucunun kim olduğuna ve hangi derste yazıldığına bağlı olarak değişebilir. Örneğin, üniversitelerin hazırlık sınıflarında reflective essay, yazarın bir gününün nasıl geçtiğini ve o günde ne öğrendiğini içerirken akademik bir reflective essay derste öğrenilen bir konu üzerine karşılaştırmalar içerebilir.

Process Essay Ne Demek? Process Essay Nedir? 

“Nasıl yapılır” denemesi olarak da bilinen process essay, yazar tarafından bir süreci anlatmak için yazılan akademik bir makale türüdür. Process essay, okuyucun konuyu iyice kavraması için süreci adım adım ve açıkça anlatır.

Process essay, paragrafların adım adım bir mantık bütünü içerisinde ve birbirini tamamlayan bölümler halinde ilerlemesiyle yazılır. Process essay’de ilk adım ikinciyi etkiler, ikinci adım da üçüncüyü etkiler. Her adım kendinden bir önceki adımı daha ileriye götürür ve tüm süreç anlatılana kadar bu debam eder. Process essay yazarken özlü ve verimli kalmak önemlidir. Ancak process essay yazmaya başlamadan önce süreci iyice kavramalı ve yazmaya bundan sonra başlamalısınız.

Definition Essay Ne Demek? Definition Essay Nedir? 

Definition essay, okuyucuya bir terimi, fikri veya kavramı açıklamak için yazılan akademik bir makale türüdür. Definition essay tipik olarak expository essay şeklinde yazılır ve yazılan terimin hem tanımını hem de analizini içerir. 

Definition essay, bir terimi, kavramı veya fikri açıklamak için yazılır. Basit bir sözlük tanımıyla başlasanız da, makaleniz nihayetinde genişletilmiş bir tanım içerecektir.

Expository Essay Ne Demek?  Expository Essay Nedir?

Expository essay öğrencinin bir fikri araştırmalar sonucunda tarafsız olarak sunduğu akademik makale türüdür. Expository essay yazabilmek için yazarın konu hakkında gerçek ve kapsamlı bilgiye sahip olması gerekir. Expository bir essay türünde yazarın duygularına yer yoktur. Tamamen gerçeklere, istatistiklere, örneklere vb. dayanmalıdır.

Argumentative essay , cause and effect essay , contrast essay, opinion essay expository essay alt türleri olarak kabul edilirler. Bu türler hakkında çok basit bir dille yazılmış detaylı bilgileri adım adım öğrenmek için linklere tıklayabilirsiniz. Essay ne demek diye araştıran birinin ilk göreceği essay türü expository essay türüdür.

Expository essay nedir?

Persuasive essay ne demek persuasive essay nedir.

Persuasive essay, okuyucuyu ikna etmeyi amaçlayan akademik bir yazı parçasıdır. Persuasive essay, yalnızca gerçeklerin bir sunumu değil, okuyucuyu yazarın bakış açısına ikna etme girişimidir. Argümanın her iki tarafı da bu persuasive essay türünde sunulmalıdır. Ancak nihai amaç, okuyucuları yazarın argümanının daha doğru olduğuna ikna etmektir.

Persuasive essay nedir?

Argumentative essay ne demek argumentative essay nedir.

Argumentative essay, yazarın tartışmalı bir konuda tartışmanın bir tarafını seçerek seçtiği tarafı kanıtlarla, örneklerle ve araştırmalarla savunmasını amaç edinen akademik bir makale türüdür.

Argumentative essay yazan bir öğrenci, görüşmeler, anketler, gözlemler veya deneyler ile veri toplayıp bu bilgileri makalesinde kullanabilir. Bu ayrıntılı araştırma, öğrencinin konu hakkında bilgi edinmesine ve konuyla ilgili farklı bakış açılarını anlamasına olanak tanır, böylece bir öğrenci tartışmalı konuda savunacağı fikri seçebilir ve araştırma sırasında toplanan kanıtlarla bu fikri destekleyebilir. İlgili araştırmanın miktarı veya türü ne olursa olsun, argumentative essay net bir tez oluşturmalı ve sağlam bir mantık örgüsü ile desteklenmelidir.

Argumentative essay nedir?

Opinion essay ne demek opinion essay nedir .

Opinion essay, yazarın bir konu hakkındaki fikirlerini araştırmalar, örnekler ve kanıtlarla destekleyip okuyucusuna aktardığı akademik bir makale türüdür. Diğer essay türlerinden farklı olarak, opinion essay mutlak somut gerçeklere dayanması gerekmez; bunun yerine, yazarın görüşlerinin ikna edici argümanlarla destekleyebilmesi koşuluyla, yalnızca yazarın görüşüne dayanabilir.

Opinion essay, agree or disagree essay olarak da bilinir. Opinion essay herhangi bir konuda yazarın konu üzerindeki fikrini öğrenmek için üniversite hocaları tarafından talep edilebilir. Opinion essay üniversitelerde üzerine en çok essay yazılan akademik makale türlerinden biridir.

Critical Essay Ne Demek? Critical Essay Nedir? 

Critical essay, bir metni analiz eden, yorumlayan, eleştiren ve/veya değerlendiren bir akademik yazı biçimidir. Critical essay yazan bir yazar, ele aldığı metni belirli bir bakış açısı ile yorumlar ya da eleştirir. 

Critical essay, eleştirel okuma, eleştirel düşünme ve eleştirel yazma becerilerini birleştiren bir akademik makale türüdür. Critical essay’de yazar, bir edebiyat parçasını, bir akademik makaleyi veya bir sanat eserini ele alır ve yazarın veya sanatçının noktalarını eleştirel bir biçimde analiz eder. Bu tür bir essay, mantıksal akıl yürütme metotlarına bağlı kalarak ve destekleyici kanıtlar sunarak yazarın tezine, argümanına ve bakış açısına odaklanır ve bunları değerlendirir.

Cause and Effect Essay Ne Demek? Cause and Effect Essay Nedir? 

Cause and effect essay, iki konu arasındaki neden ve sebep ilişkilerini ele alan bir tartışmacı makale türüdür. Cause and effect essay türü, bir kişinin, durumun, fikrin veya olayın başka bir kişiyi, durumu, fikri veya olayı doğrudan nasıl etkilediğini gösterir.

Üniversitelerde, öğretmenler eleştirel düşünmeyi, sebep sonuç ilişkilerini açıklamayı ve ikna edici yazılar yazmayı öğretmek için cause and effect essay yazdırabilir. Cause and effect essay, bir laboratuvar raporu özeti, bilimsel bir vaka çalışması veya bilimsel bir araştırma makalesi şeklinde yazılabilir çünkü bunlar bir sürecin nasıl geliştiğini sebep ve sonuç ilişkisi açısından açıklayan makale türleridir. Tüm bu formatlarda, yazar bir olayı tanımlar, sebep ve sonuçlarını belirlemeye çalışır.

Problem Solution Essay Ne Demek? Problem Solution Essay Nedir? 

Problem solution essay, yazarın bir sorunu ele aldığı ve kanıtlarla, örneklerle ve araştırmalarla bu soruna bir çözüm aradığı akademik makale türüdür. Problem solution essay yazarken yazar günümüzde çokça gördüğümüz bir sorun üzerine makalesinde bir veya birden fazla çözümler üreterek bu sorunu etkili bir şekilde çözmeye çalışır.

Problem solution essay, belirli bir problemi ortaya koyan ve onu çözmenin farklı yollarını arayan akademik yazı parçalarıdır. Problem solution essay dört temel bileşenden oluşur: bir durum, sorun, çözümü ve çözümün değerlendirmesi. Durum genellikle girişin bir parçası olarak tanımlanırken, değerlendirme yazının son bölümünde sonuç paragrafında verilir. Problem solution essay, yapıları çok benzer olduğu için cause and effect essay türüne çok benzer.

Essay ne demek, essay nedir diye araştıran biri kendi sorununa çözüm aramaktadır. Bu problemin çözümü ise Essay Sepeti’dir 🙂

Compare and Contrast Essay Ne Demek? Compare and Contrast Essay Nedir? 

Compare and contrast essay, iki konu arasında karşılaştırma yapabilmemizi sağlayan bir akademik makale türüdür. Adından da anlaşıldığı gibi, compare and contrast essay, tartışılan konunun bazı yönlerden benzer, bazı yönlerden farklı olduğunu okuyucusuna göstermeyi amaçlar.

Compare and contrast essay, aynı makaledeki iki konuyu yan yana koyarak onları karşılaştırmanıza olanak tanır. Bu, tez cümlelerinin, konu cümlelerinin ve betimleyici detayların her iki konuyu da kapsaması gerektiği anlamına gelir.

Compare and contrast essay eleştirel düşünmeyi gerektirir. İyi bir compare and contrast essay yazmak için, verilen konular arasındaki ilişkiyi iyi bir şekilde analiz etmek ve savunduğunuz fikri kaynaklarla, örneklerle ve araştırmalarla desteklemeniz gerekir. İyi bir compare and contrast essay, güncel olaylar, tartışmalı fikirler, siyasi teoriler, seyahat yerleri veya ürünler hakkında bilgi verebilir.

Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Ne Demek? Advantages and Disadvantages Essay Nedir?

Advantages and disadvantages essay türü, yazarın belirli bir konunun olumlu ve olumsuz yanlarını ortaya koyduğu ve daha sonra da fikrini belirttiği akademik makale türüdür. Burada olumlu yanlar avantajları, olumsuz yanlar da dezavantajları sembolize eder.

Dezavantaj ve avantaj arasındaki fark şudur: dezavantaj zayıflık veya istenmeyen bir özellikler iken; avantajların, özellikle başarı için elverişli olan herhangi bir koşulu, durumu, fırsatı, aracı veya istenen herhangi bir amacı belirtir.

Admission Essay Ne Demek? Admission Essay Nedir? 

Bazen statement of purpose veya personal statement olarak da adlandırılan admission essay, genellikle üniversiteye veya yüksek lisansa başvuran aday öğrenci tarafından yazılmış bir akademik makale ve adayın okula başvuru beyanıdır. Admission essay, üniversite ve yüksek lisans kabul sürecinin önemli bir parçasıdır.

Bazı üniversitelere veya yüksek lisans programlarına başvurular, bir veya daha fazla admission essay’in yazılmasını gerektirebilirken, diğer üniversiteler veya yüksek lisans programları bu makaleleri isteğe bağlı veya tamamlayıcı olarak talep edebilir. Admission essay, çok spesifik konularda olabileceği gibi açık uçlu cevaplar halinde de talep edilebilir.

Essay Ne Demek – Essay Nasıl Yazılır?

Daha önce detaylı olarak anlattığımız essay nasıl yazılır konusu, kısaca okuyanların merakını gidermek için bu bölümde anlatılacaktır. İsteyenler essay nasıl yazılır makalemizi okuyup detaylı bir şekilde öğrenebilirler. Essay ne demek sorusunun cevabını öğrendikten sonra büyük ihtimalle sorularacak soru essay nasıl yazılır olacaktır. Bu bölümde expository essay nasıl yazılır kısaca değineceğiz. 

Expository essay, öğrencinin bir fikri araştırmasını, kanıtları değerlendirmesini, fikir üzerinde açıklama yapmasını ve bu fikirle ilgili bir argümanı açık ve özlü bir şekilde ortaya koymasını gerektiren bir deneme türüdür. Bu, karşılaştırma ve karşıtlık, tanım, örnek, neden-sonuç analizi vb. yoluyla gerçekleştirilebilir.

Expository essay introduction, body paragrafları ve conclusion gibi bölümlerden oluşur.

Introduction paragrafı, essay’in ilk paragrafındır ve thesis statement ile son bulur. Thesis statement’ten önce konu hakkında kısaca bilgi verdiğimiz bir background information bölümünü de unutmamak gerekir. Thesis statement ise essay’de savunduğumuz fikrin bir özetidir.

Bu thesis statement’in, esssay’de belirtilen yönergeleri takip etmek için uygun şekilde daraltılması önemlidir. Öğrenci, essay’in bu bölümünde ustalaşmazsa, etkili veya ikna edici bir essay yazmak oldukça zor olacaktır. Thesis statement nasıl yazılır öğrenmek için tıklayabilirsiniz.

Introduction, body paragrafları ve conclusion paragrafları arasında açık ve mantıklı geçişler olmalıdır.

Geçişler yani transition’lar, essay’in temelini bir arada tutan harçtır. Düşüncenin mantıksal ilerlemesi olmadan, okuyucu essay’in argümanını takip edemez ve yapı çöker.

Introduction paragrafından sonra body paragrafları gelir.

Her body paragrafı bir genel fikrin açıklanmasıyla sınırlı olmalıdır. Bu, makale boyunca netlik ve yön sağlayacaktır. Dahası, bu kısalık, kişinin hedef kitlesi için bir okunabilirlik kolaylığı yaratır. Essay’in gövdesindeki (body’sindeki) her paragrafın, introduction paragrafındaki thesis statement ile mantıklı bir bağlantısı olması gerektiğini belirtmek önemlidir. Essay ne demek, essay nedir sorusundan sonra sıkça sorulan diğer bir sorunun yanıtı için İngilizce paragraf örnekleri makalemize tıklayabilirsiniz.

Essay yazarken kanıt sunmak önemlidir. 

Expository essay türleri, yani argumentative essay, cause and effect essay, opinion essay gibi essay türlerinde fikirlerimizi kanıtlara dayandırmak önemlidir. Kanıtlara dayanmayan fikirler akademik essay parçalarında yazılamazlar. Onun için okulunuzun database’lerinden fikirlerinizi savunan kanıtlar bulmanız önemlidir.

Biraz yaratıcı olun.

Yaratıcılık ve ustalık her zaman essay yazmakla ilişkilendirilmese de, yine de bir sanat biçimidir. Unutmayın, bir sonraki harika romanı hazırlamıyor olsanız da, essay’inizi değerlendiren öğretmenlerinizden iyi bir not almaya çalıştığınız için essay’inizde yaratı olmanız ve ilginç kanıtları bir araya getirmeniz önemlidir.

Son olarak, expository essay’i sonlandıran bir conclusion paragrafı yazmalıyız.

Thesis statement’imizi basitçe yeniden ifade edip, konu hakkında bulduğumuz ilgi çekici ve önemli kısımları yazıp essay’imizi bitirebiliriz.

Öğrencilerin kaçınılmaz olarak mücadele etmeye başlayacakları makalenin bu noktasındadır. Conclusion paragrafı, essay’in okuyucunun zihninde en hızlı izlenimi bırakacak kısmıdır. Bu nedenle, etkili ve mantıklı olmalıdır. Conclusion paragrafına yeni bir bilgi eklenmemelidir; daha ziyade, makalenin body paragraf’larında sunulan bilgileri derlenmeli ve bir sonuca varılmalıdır.

Buraya kadar okuduysanız size bir kıyağımız var 🙂 Anlamadığınız kısımları bu yazının altına sorabilirsiniz. Bekliyoruz.

Sıkça Sorulan Sorular

Essay nedir.

Essay, okuyucuyu bilgilendirmek veya bir fikre ikna etmek için yazılan, giriş, gelişme ve sonuç bölümlerinden oluşan ve Türkçe’de makale diye karşılık bulan kısa yazı parçasıdır.

Expository essay, yazarın bir fikri araştırmalar sonucunda elde ettiği bilgi ile tarafsız olarak okuyucusuna sunduğu akademik bir makale türüdür. Yazar, expository essay yazarken duygularından ve yargılarından arınarak sadece araştırmalarında bulduğu ve bilimsel olarak desteklenmiş gerçekleri yazar. Expository essay giriş, gelişme ve sonuç paragraflarından oluşur.

Persuasive essay, yazarın okuyucusunu ikna etmek için yazdığı akademik bir makale türüdür. Persuasive essay sadece bilimsel gerçekleri değil, yazarın kişisel görüşlerini de içeren bir İngilizce makale türüdür. Persuasive essay, essay giriş, gelişme ve sonuç paragraflarından oluşur.

Argumentative essay, yazarın belirli bir konu hakkındaki karşıt görüşler arasından birini seçip o görüşü kanıtlarla ve örneklerle karşıt görüşe karşı savunan akademik bir makale türüdür. Argumentative essay, essay giriş, gelişme ve sonuç paragraflarından oluşur.

Descriptive essay nedir?

Descriptive essay, bir yeri, bir nesneyi, bir olayı ya da belki bir anıyı betimleyen İngilizce akademik makale türüdür. Descriptive essay yazarken yazar okuyucunun gözünde olayı, nesneyi ya da anıyı bir resim gibi çizerek okuyucunun bunları gözünde canlandırmasını sağlar. Descriptive essay giriş, gelişme ve sonuç bölümlerinden oluşur..

Narrative essay nedir?

Narrative essay, yazarın okuyucusuna kendi bakış açısından bir hikayeyi anlattığı makale türüdür. Narrative essay’de yazar diğer akademik makale türlerinin aksine yaratıcı öğeleri ve kişisel deneyimlerini de yazının içine katar. Narrative essay giriş, gelişme ve sonuç bölümlerinden oluşur.