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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 1 · 40 questions
TalentJR

Debater's tip (Relevant, specific, reliable): Relevant: does it talk about the topic of the motion? Specific: does it say exactly who, what, where or how many? “30 of 40 students” beats “lots of students”. Reliable: can we trust where it came from? Records, textbooks and official bodies beat rumours and unsigned posts.

NameDateTime takenScore ___ / 40
  1. 1.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  13. 13.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  20. 20.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) an unsigned poster
  24. 24.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) old and vague
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  27. 27.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  30. 30.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) make it bigger
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  32. 32.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  39. 39.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False

Answer key

  1. False
  2. not reliable
  3. weak evidence
  4. weak evidence
  5. strong evidence
  6. strong evidence
  7. 30 of 40 students
  8. strong evidence
  9. not relevant
  10. weak evidence
  11. True
  12. not specific
  13. False
  14. weak evidence
  15. False
  16. not relevant
  17. not relevant
  18. strong evidence
  19. not relevant
  20. False
  21. False
  22. True
  23. the city water board
  24. relevant and reliable
  25. strong evidence
  26. not relevant
  27. False
  28. not specific
  29. not reliable
  30. check where it came from
  31. not specific
  32. False
  33. strong evidence
  34. True
  35. True
  36. False
  37. True
  38. weak evidence
  39. False
  40. True

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