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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 222 · 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) relevant and reliable (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) funny and short
  2. 2.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  8. 8.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  26. 26.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  32. 32.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  34. 34.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  36. 36.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.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) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific

Answer key

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

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