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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 171 · 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: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  4. 4.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  17. 17.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) a guess (d) an unsigned poster
  18. 18.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.🔎 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
  22. 22.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  24. 24.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  30. 30.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  38. 38.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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