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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 714 · 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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  4. 4.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  8. 8.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  15. 15.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.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
  19. 19.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.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
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) round it to 100
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board

Answer key

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

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