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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 174 · 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 story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  4. 4.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) the city water board
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  12. 12.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.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) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  21. 21.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  25. 25.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  35. 35.🔎 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
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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