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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 248 · 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: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  4. 4.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) hide the source (d) check where it came from
  9. 9.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  11. 11.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  12. 12.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  15. 15.🔎 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
  16. 16.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  25. 25.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  32. 32.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — 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? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant

Answer key

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

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