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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 206 · 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.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  17. 17.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  19. 19.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  20. 20.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) an unsigned poster
  23. 23.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) hide the source
  24. 24.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  26. 26.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific

Answer key

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

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