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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 840 · 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: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: an unsigned post with no source 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 specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 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
  5. 5.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  7. 7.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  9. 9.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  12. 12.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  13. 13.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  14. 14.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 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
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.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
  22. 22.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) very specific (c) not relevant
  24. 24.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  32. 32.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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