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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 510 · 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 story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  5. 5.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) old and vague (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  13. 13.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) the city water board (c) a guess (d) a chat forward
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  17. 17.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
  18. 18.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.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) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 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
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  29. 29.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  33. 33.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  37. 37.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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