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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 795 · 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: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  5. 5.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) hide the source (c) round it to 100 (d) make it bigger
  7. 7.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
  8. 8.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
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  13. 13.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  16. 16.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) an unsigned poster (c) a guess (d) the city water board
  21. 21.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  26. 26.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.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
  32. 32.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  33. 33.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 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
  39. 39.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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