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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 722 · 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? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  7. 7.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” 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.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
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a chat forward (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  23. 23.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  24. 24.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  26. 26.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  28. 28.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) check where it came from (c) make it bigger (d) hide the source
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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