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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 127 · 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: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  8. 8.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) funny and short
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  12. 12.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  16. 16.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  23. 23.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.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
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  39. 39.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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