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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 852 · 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: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  4. 4.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) old and vague (c) loud and long (d) relevant and reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  14. 14.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) hide the source (c) make it bigger (d) round it to 100
  19. 19.🔎 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
  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: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  30. 30.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  37. 37.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) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific

Answer key

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

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