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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 984 · 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 attendance register for the whole year? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  2. 2.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) lots of students (b) 30 of 40 students
  3. 3.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  4. 4.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  5. 5.True or false: figures from the city water board is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  6. 6.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A website with no name says so.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  9. 9.True or false: figures from the city water board is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.True or false: one friend’s guess is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  11. 11.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a survey of 300 students in our school? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  15. 15.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on sports periods: “Mangoes grow in summer.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on school gardens: “Cricket is popular in India.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  17. 17.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) True (b) False
  18. 18.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a fact from our science textbook? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  19. 19.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) True (b) False
  20. 20.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  21. 21.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not relevant (b) not reliable (c) not specific
  22. 22.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not relevant (b) not specific (c) not reliable
  23. 23.True or false: “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on homework: “Mount Everest is very tall.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  26. 26.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  27. 27.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
  28. 28.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Lots of students like it.” (a) not specific (b) not reliable (c) not relevant
  29. 29.True or false: “My cousin said so.” is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  30. 30.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on reading: “Trains run on tracks.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  31. 31.🔎 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
  32. 32.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  33. 33.True or false: the attendance register for the whole year is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  34. 34.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A forwarded message says so.” (a) not specific (b) not relevant (c) not reliable
  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: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  39. 39.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  40. 40.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True

Answer key

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

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