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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 458 · 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? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) old and vague
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  8. 8.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) a guess (d) an unsigned poster
  9. 9.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  16. 16.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  22. 22.🔎 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
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  32. 32.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant

Answer key

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

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