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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 290 · 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? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) funny and short (c) loud and long (d) old and vague
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) a chat forward (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  13. 13.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  14. 14.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) round it to 100 (c) hide the source (d) make it bigger
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.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
  27. 27.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  31. 31.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  36. 36.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  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) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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