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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 515 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  5. 5.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  7. 7.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 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
  10. 10.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) an unsigned poster (c) a chat forward (d) a guess
  11. 11.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  15. 15.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.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
  17. 17.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.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
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  27. 27.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  32. 32.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.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) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.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
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  40. 40.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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