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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 390 · 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) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  2. 2.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  7. 7.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  9. 9.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  17. 17.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) make it bigger (c) hide the source (d) check where it came from
  25. 25.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.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
  31. 31.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 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
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  37. 37.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.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) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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