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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 384 · 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 library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) old and vague
  3. 3.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  5. 5.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 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
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  14. 14.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  18. 18.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  21. 21.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.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
  23. 23.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  28. 28.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  31. 31.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
  32. 32.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  35. 35.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  36. 36.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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