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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 132 · 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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  3. 3.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a chat forward
  9. 9.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.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) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 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
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  20. 20.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  24. 24.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  26. 26.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  32. 32.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.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
  35. 35.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  37. 37.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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