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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 544 · 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: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  5. 5.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.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
  8. 8.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  23. 23.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) the city water board (c) a chat forward (d) a guess
  26. 26.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  31. 31.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  34. 34.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  39. 39.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  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. relevant and reliable
  3. strong evidence
  4. 30 of 40 students
  5. True
  6. True
  7. True
  8. True
  9. False
  10. check where it came from
  11. weak evidence
  12. not reliable
  13. strong evidence
  14. True
  15. True
  16. True
  17. False
  18. False
  19. weak evidence
  20. not specific
  21. False
  22. not relevant
  23. False
  24. weak evidence
  25. the city water board
  26. True
  27. True
  28. False
  29. not specific
  30. not relevant
  31. True
  32. strong evidence
  33. not relevant
  34. True
  35. False
  36. False
  37. not specific
  38. not relevant
  39. False
  40. False

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