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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 45 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  5. 5.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) check where it came from (c) make it bigger (d) round it to 100
  9. 9.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  12. 12.🔎 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
  13. 13.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  15. 15.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  16. 16.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  17. 17.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.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
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  25. 25.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.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
  32. 32.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.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
  40. 40.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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