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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 905 · 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: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  4. 4.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) funny and short (c) loud and long (d) relevant and reliable
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.True or false: In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.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
  10. 10.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  12. 12.True or false: In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  13. 13.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  15. 15.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) make it bigger (b) check where it came from (c) hide the source (d) round it to 100
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  17. 17.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  18. 18.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  19. 19.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  22. 22.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  23. 23.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
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  27. 27.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  31. 31.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) an unsigned poster (c) a guess (d) a chat forward
  33. 33.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.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
  35. 35.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  37. 37.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.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
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence

Answer key

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

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