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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

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

Answer key

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

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