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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 62 · 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: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  6. 6.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.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
  8. 8.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) check where it came from (c) round it to 100 (d) make it bigger
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  11. 11.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
  12. 12.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  13. 13.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.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
  17. 17.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.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
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  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: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.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
  30. 30.🔎 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
  31. 31.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.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
  34. 34.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) relevant and reliable (c) old and vague (d) funny and short
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  39. 39.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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