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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 776 · 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.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (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.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.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) True (b) False
  8. 8.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  10. 10.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  14. 14.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a chat forward
  17. 17.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  18. 18.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) funny and short (c) loud and long (d) old and vague
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  31. 31.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) round it to 100
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.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
  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. True
  2. strong evidence
  3. True
  4. True
  5. False
  6. weak evidence
  7. False
  8. False
  9. not reliable
  10. False
  11. True
  12. True
  13. not relevant
  14. False
  15. True
  16. the city water board
  17. not reliable
  18. False
  19. True
  20. False
  21. strong evidence
  22. True
  23. False
  24. relevant and reliable
  25. weak evidence
  26. not relevant
  27. weak evidence
  28. strong evidence
  29. strong evidence
  30. weak evidence
  31. False
  32. False
  33. not relevant
  34. strong evidence
  35. check where it came from
  36. strong evidence
  37. False
  38. True
  39. False
  40. True

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