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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 572 · 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 lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) an unsigned poster
  4. 4.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  6. 6.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  14. 14.🔎 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
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  26. 26.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  28. 28.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  30. 30.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) hide the source (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant

Answer key

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

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