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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 417 · 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: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  3. 3.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.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
  11. 11.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  18. 18.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a guess (c) the city water board (d) a chat forward
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) make it bigger
  29. 29.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  30. 30.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
  31. 31.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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