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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 430 · 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? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  2. 2.🔎 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
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) the city water board (c) a chat forward (d) an unsigned poster
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  16. 16.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  20. 20.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  24. 24.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  28. 28.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.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
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.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) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  38. 38.🔎 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
  39. 39.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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