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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 374 · 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? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  2. 2.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  4. 4.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) hide the source (c) round it to 100 (d) make it bigger
  7. 7.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.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
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  14. 14.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  16. 16.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  18. 18.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
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  26. 26.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  27. 27.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  32. 32.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  36. 36.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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