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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 162 · 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: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) funny and short (c) old and vague (d) loud and long
  4. 4.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
  5. 5.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  6. 6.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  19. 19.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.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
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  25. 25.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 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
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  35. 35.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.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
  39. 39.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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