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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 706 · 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: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) old and vague (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  6. 6.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  8. 8.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  14. 14.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  22. 22.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  28. 28.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.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) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) a chat forward (d) an unsigned poster
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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