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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 508 · 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: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  3. 3.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  5. 5.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  8. 8.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  19. 19.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  20. 20.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  23. 23.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
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  29. 29.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  38. 38.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  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: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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