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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 754 · 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 specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  2. 2.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  4. 4.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
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  11. 11.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  18. 18.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  19. 19.🔎 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
  20. 20.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  23. 23.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  25. 25.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) hide the source (c) check where it came from (d) round it to 100
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.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) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.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) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific

Answer key

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

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