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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 225 · 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.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  2. 2.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  4. 4.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a chat forward (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  6. 6.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  11. 11.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.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
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  18. 18.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  19. 19.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.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
  27. 27.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  34. 34.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  39. 39.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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