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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 881 · 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? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  2. 2.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 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
  5. 5.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  7. 7.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  9. 9.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  12. 12.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  13. 13.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  15. 15.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  17. 17.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  21. 21.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  30. 30.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  35. 35.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  36. 36.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  38. 38.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  39. 39.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False

Answer key

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

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