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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 860 · 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: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  4. 4.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  5. 5.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  8. 8.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) old and vague (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  9. 9.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  10. 10.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  12. 12.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 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
  14. 14.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  16. 16.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  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: In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  22. 22.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  25. 25.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  26. 26.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) an unsigned poster (c) the city water board (d) a chat forward
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  30. 30.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  38. 38.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
  39. 39.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) hide the source (c) check where it came from (d) round it to 100
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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