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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 630 · 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: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  5. 5.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  19. 19.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  27. 27.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.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
  33. 33.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) hide the source (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  35. 35.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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