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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 193 · 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: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  5. 5.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 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
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  8. 8.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  10. 10.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.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
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  17. 17.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  21. 21.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  27. 27.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  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) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  38. 38.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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