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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 167 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  8. 8.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  9. 9.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  12. 12.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  17. 17.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  19. 19.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) the city water board (c) a chat forward (d) a guess
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  21. 21.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  24. 24.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  29. 29.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  34. 34.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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