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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 726 · 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? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  13. 13.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  15. 15.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  25. 25.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  29. 29.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
  30. 30.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  31. 31.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  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 fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 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

Answer key

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

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