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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 978 · 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.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  3. 3.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) the city water board (b) a guess (c) an unsigned poster (d) a chat forward
  4. 4.True or false: a story you are not sure about is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  6. 6.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  7. 7.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  8. 8.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) loud and long (b) funny and short (c) relevant and reliable (d) old and vague
  9. 9.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
  10. 10.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  12. 12.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  13. 13.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  14. 14.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  16. 16.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  17. 17.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  19. 19.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  20. 20.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very strong (b) not relevant (c) very specific
  21. 21.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  23. 23.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  24. 24.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  25. 25.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: figures from the city water board? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  26. 26.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) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  29. 29.True or false: one friend’s guess is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.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
  31. 31.True or false: “A website with no name says so.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  33. 33.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: “A forwarded message says so.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  35. 35.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  37. 37.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  38. 38.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  39. 39.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  40. 40.🔎 Before using a number in a debate, you should… (a) check where it came from (b) make it bigger (c) round it to 100 (d) hide the source

Answer key

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

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