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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 819 · 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 attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  3. 3.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
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) the city water board (c) an unsigned poster (d) a guess
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  7. 7.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) relevant and reliable (c) old and vague (d) funny and short
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  17. 17.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.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
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) hide the source (d) check where it came from
  28. 28.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.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
  32. 32.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  37. 37.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  38. 38.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  40. 40.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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