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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 728 · 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.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  2. 2.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
  3. 3.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  4. 4.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) hide the source (c) make it bigger (d) check where it came from
  6. 6.🔎 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
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.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
  19. 19.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.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
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.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
  24. 24.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  28. 28.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.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
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  38. 38.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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