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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 622 · 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: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  3. 3.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 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
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  12. 12.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  15. 15.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.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) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.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
  26. 26.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  28. 28.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.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
  40. 40.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) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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