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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 526 · 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 story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) relevant and reliable (c) loud and long (d) old and vague
  3. 3.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  4. 4.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  8. 8.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) False (b) True
  9. 9.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  13. 13.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  15. 15.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  16. 16.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  38. 38.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  40. 40.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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