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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 644 · 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 survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  8. 8.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a chat forward (c) a guess (d) an unsigned poster
  10. 10.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  13. 13.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  23. 23.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
  24. 24.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.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) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  33. 33.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.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) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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