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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 849 · 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.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  3. 3.🔎 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
  4. 4.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) relevant and reliable (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  12. 12.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.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) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.🔎 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
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  20. 20.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) very strong (c) not relevant
  21. 21.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  24. 24.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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