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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 723 · 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: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) an unsigned poster
  5. 5.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong 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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) hide the source (d) check where it came from
  11. 11.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  16. 16.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  23. 23.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  29. 29.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.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) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  38. 38.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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