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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 551 · 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: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  3. 3.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  4. 4.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
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.🔎 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
  10. 10.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 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
  12. 12.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  16. 16.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  18. 18.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  31. 31.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  34. 34.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  39. 39.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
  40. 40.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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