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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 775 · 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) relevant and reliable (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) old and vague
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  4. 4.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  15. 15.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
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  17. 17.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  19. 19.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  22. 22.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) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.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
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.🔎 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
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — 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? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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