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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 821 · 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) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  5. 5.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) check where it came from (c) make it bigger (d) round it to 100
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  11. 11.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  14. 14.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  16. 16.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  18. 18.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  22. 22.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  24. 24.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  29. 29.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  30. 30.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.🔎 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
  38. 38.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  40. 40.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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