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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 629 · 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: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.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) False (b) True
  8. 8.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) an unsigned poster (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  10. 10.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) check where it came from (c) make it bigger (d) round it to 100
  14. 14.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  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: 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
  17. 17.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  20. 20.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
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  22. 22.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  24. 24.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.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) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  37. 37.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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