Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 438 · 40 questions

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.

1. 1.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
6. 6.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) an unsigned poster
7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
8. 8.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
11. 11.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
17. 17.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
19. 19.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
20. 20.🔎 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
21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
22. 22.🔎 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
23. 23.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
24. 24.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
27. 27.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
29. 29.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
31. 31.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
32. 32.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
33. 33.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
34. 34.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
35. 35.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
36. 36.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) True (b) False
37. 37.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
38. 38.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
39. 39.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
40. 40.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False

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