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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 568 · 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: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  8. 8.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) old and vague
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  13. 13.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  16. 16.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  22. 22.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  30. 30.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  32. 32.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  33. 33.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  35. 35.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  39. 39.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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