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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 653 · 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: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  3. 3.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  4. 4.🔎 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
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong 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 relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  9. 9.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  15. 15.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) the city water board
  24. 24.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  25. 25.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  32. 32.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
  33. 33.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
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) old and vague
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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