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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 765 · 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? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  8. 8.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  12. 12.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  14. 14.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  20. 20.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
  21. 21.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) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  25. 25.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  30. 30.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  32. 32.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  35. 35.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.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
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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