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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 664 · 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: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  4. 4.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) funny and short
  8. 8.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.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
  11. 11.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.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
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.🔎 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
  17. 17.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.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) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  22. 22.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
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  24. 24.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  27. 27.🔎 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
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  36. 36.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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