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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 294 · 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) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  2. 2.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) loud and long (d) relevant and reliable
  4. 4.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  9. 9.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) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 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
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  13. 13.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.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
  21. 21.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) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  23. 23.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  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.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  29. 29.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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