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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 736 · 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.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  4. 4.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
  5. 5.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.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
  7. 7.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
  8. 8.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  10. 10.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) check where it came from (c) make it bigger (d) round it to 100
  11. 11.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  14. 14.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  17. 17.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  24. 24.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.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
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  27. 27.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.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
  34. 34.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.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) True (b) False
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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