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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 938 · 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 specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  2. 2.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
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  4. 4.True or false: “It is good for many reasons.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  5. 5.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  8. 8.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  9. 9.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  10. 10.True or false: In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  11. 11.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.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
  13. 13.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) False (b) True
  14. 14.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) not relevant (b) very specific (c) very strong
  15. 15.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
  16. 16.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) a chat forward (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) the city water board
  17. 17.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  18. 18.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) round it to 100 (b) make it bigger (c) check where it came from (d) hide the source
  19. 19.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  21. 21.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  23. 23.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  24. 24.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) funny and short (d) relevant and reliable
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school nurse’s record of sick days? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.True or false: “I saw it on a random poster once.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  31. 31.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  32. 32.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  33. 33.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  35. 35.True or false: the school nurse’s record of sick days is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  36. 36.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
  37. 37.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  38. 38.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  40. 40.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

Answer key

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

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