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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 912 · 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: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  2. 2.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  3. 3.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  4. 4.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  6. 6.🔎 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
  7. 7.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  9. 9.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  10. 10.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  12. 12.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.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
  14. 14.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  15. 15.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
  16. 16.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  19. 19.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
  20. 20.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) relevant and reliable (c) funny and short (d) loud and long
  21. 21.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  22. 22.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  24. 24.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  25. 25.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  26. 26.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  27. 27.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) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  31. 31.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) an unsigned poster (c) a chat forward (d) a guess
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  33. 33.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  36. 36.True or false: “Lots of people think so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  38. 38.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
  39. 39.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  40. 40.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) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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