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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 793 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.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) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  6. 6.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.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
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  17. 17.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) check where it came from
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  22. 22.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong 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: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  32. 32.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  37. 37.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  38. 38.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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