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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 721 · 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: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  4. 4.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  9. 9.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  24. 24.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  27. 27.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  30. 30.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  32. 32.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.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
  34. 34.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  40. 40.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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