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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 291 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  10. 10.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  18. 18.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) an unsigned poster (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  19. 19.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) old and vague
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  33. 33.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  39. 39.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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