Working Hypothesis Answer

When to use

Reach for this to avoid analysis without a thesis. It commits to a provisional answer up front, names the two-to-four pillars that would support it, and lists the assumptions to test, so research confirms or refutes a clear claim rather than wandering.

Instructions

1. State a single governing thought: the one-sentence answer you currently believe to the governing question.
2. Decompose it into two to four supporting pillars that would each have to be true.
3. For each pillar, name the critical assumption and how you would test it.
4. Flag which assumption, if false, would most likely break the whole hypothesis.
5. Mark the hypothesis as provisional and define what evidence would force you to revise it.

Example prompts

• "Help me set an answer-first hypothesis and the pillars I need to prove for this deck."
• "What's my governing thought and which assumptions must hold for it to be true?"

Output

A one-line governing thought, a bulleted pillar list with assumptions and tests, and a flagged make-or-break assumption.