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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 857 · 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: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  8. 8.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  10. 10.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) loud and long (d) funny and short
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  12. 12.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  15. 15.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  23. 23.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 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
  31. 31.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.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
  36. 36.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
  37. 37.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  40. 40.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific

Answer key

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

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