Investigation hypothesis
A testable prediction about language use that guides an investigation. Hypotheses are based on observation or theory and should be specific and falsifiable.
Real World
A student investigating whether teenage girls use more hedging language than teenage boys in conversation would state a directional hypothesis: 'Female participants will produce a higher frequency of hedges than male participants in informal spoken interaction.'
Exam Focus
State hypotheses precisely using measurable linguistic variables; vague predictions lose AO1 marks — specify the feature, group, and predicted direction.
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