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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 829 · 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: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  8. 8.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  13. 13.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  16. 16.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  17. 17.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  18. 18.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  20. 20.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  30. 30.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  32. 32.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  36. 36.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) relevant and reliable (c) old and vague (d) loud and long
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  40. 40.🔎 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

Answer key

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

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