← Strong and weak evidence lesson New set →

Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 501 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) hide the source (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  3. 3.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  4. 4.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  8. 8.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  10. 10.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) the city water board (d) an unsigned poster
  13. 13.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  17. 17.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  20. 20.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  29. 29.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.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
  34. 34.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  39. 39.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.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) True (b) False

Answer key

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

Free debate lessons, practice and worksheets at talentjr.in/debate-for-students