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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 129 · 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.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) old and vague (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) hide the source (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  5. 5.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) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  7. 7.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
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  22. 22.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  26. 26.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  28. 28.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  30. 30.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  31. 31.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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