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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 284 · 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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  2. 2.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 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
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.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
  18. 18.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  31. 31.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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