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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 904 · 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.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) funny and short (b) loud and long (c) old and vague (d) relevant and reliable
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a guess (b) an unsigned poster (c) a chat forward (d) the city water board
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  7. 7.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  8. 8.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.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
  12. 12.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  14. 14.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  16. 16.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.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
  18. 18.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  21. 21.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  27. 27.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  28. 28.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  32. 32.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
  33. 33.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  34. 34.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) round it to 100 (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  35. 35.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  37. 37.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very strong (c) very specific
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I saw it on a random poster once.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  40. 40.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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