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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 891 · 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 sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  4. 4.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  5. 5.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) hide the source (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) make it bigger
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  7. 7.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) loud and long
  8. 8.🔎 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
  9. 9.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.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
  11. 11.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  12. 12.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  19. 19.🔎 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
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.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
  22. 22.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.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
  29. 29.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  33. 33.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  35. 35.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.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) True (b) False
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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