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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 353 · 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: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  7. 7.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  11. 11.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.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) True (b) False
  15. 15.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) relevant and reliable
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  22. 22.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) make it bigger
  34. 34.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  40. 40.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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