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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 456 · 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.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  5. 5.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) loud and long (d) relevant and reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) hide the source
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.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
  16. 16.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
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  19. 19.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  21. 21.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  26. 26.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  32. 32.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (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) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  39. 39.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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