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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 695 · 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: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  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.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  5. 5.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) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.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
  10. 10.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.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
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  17. 17.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  23. 23.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.🔎 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
  29. 29.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  31. 31.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  35. 35.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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