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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 202 · 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: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  4. 4.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 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
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.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) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  16. 16.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  20. 20.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  28. 28.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  34. 34.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  36. 36.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) relevant and reliable (c) old and vague (d) loud and long

Answer key

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

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