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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 484 · 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.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) make it bigger
  2. 2.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (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.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  8. 8.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.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
  10. 10.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  15. 15.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  22. 22.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  24. 24.🔎 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
  25. 25.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.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) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  34. 34.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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