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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 476 · 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) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  10. 10.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  20. 20.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a chat forward
  21. 21.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.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) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  28. 28.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.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
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  34. 34.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  36. 36.🔎 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
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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