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Debate Worksheet: Strong and Weak Evidence

Debate lesson 3: Strong and weak evidence · Set 991 · 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.🔎 Which source is most reliable in a debate on saving water? (a) an unsigned poster (b) a chat forward (c) the city water board (d) a guess
  2. 2.🔎 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
  3. 3.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  4. 4.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Some people say it helps somehow.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  5. 5.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “Studies show things.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  6. 6.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  7. 7.🔎 Which is more specific? (a) 30 of 40 students (b) lots of students
  8. 8.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “I think I dreamt it.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  9. 9.True or false: a story you are not sure about is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  10. 10.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: measured results from our class experiment? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  11. 11.🔎 What makes evidence strong? (a) old and vague (b) loud and long (c) relevant and reliable (d) funny and short
  12. 12.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: the school library’s record of books borrowed? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  13. 13.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a rumour forwarded in a chat group? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  14. 14.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: one friend’s guess? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  15. 15.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  16. 16.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? In a debate on saving water: “My favourite colour is green.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  17. 17.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: a story you are not sure about? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  18. 18.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
  19. 19.True or false: the school library’s record of books borrowed is strong evidence. (a) False (b) True
  20. 20.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “My neighbour heard it from someone.” (a) not reliable (b) not specific (c) not relevant
  21. 21.🔎 A fact about cricket in a debate on school uniforms is… (a) very specific (b) not relevant (c) very strong
  22. 22.True or false: “I think I dreamt it.” — this is weak because it is not relevant to the topic. (a) False (b) True
  23. 23.True or false: “Some people say it helps somehow.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) False (b) True
  24. 24.True or false: “Lots of students like it.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  25. 25.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “A lot of water gets wasted somewhere.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  26. 26.True or false: “Studies show things.” — this is weak because it is not specific (no who, what or how many). (a) True (b) False
  27. 27.True or false: an unsigned post with no source is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  28. 28.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Everybody knows it.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  29. 29.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “Lots of people think so.”? (a) weak evidence (b) strong evidence
  30. 30.True or false: “Everybody knows it.” is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  31. 31.True or false: measured results from our class experiment is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  32. 32.True or false: a rumour forwarded in a chat group is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  33. 33.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is strong evidence. (a) True (b) False
  34. 34.True or false: a survey of 300 students in our school is weak evidence. (a) True (b) False
  35. 35.True or false: a fact from our science textbook is weak evidence. (a) False (b) True
  36. 36.True or false: “My neighbour heard it from someone.” — this is weak because its source is not reliable. (a) False (b) True
  37. 37.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
  38. 38.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: “My cousin said so.”? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence
  39. 39.🔎 Why is this weak evidence? “It is good for many reasons.” (a) not reliable (b) not relevant (c) not specific
  40. 40.🔎 Strong or weak evidence: an unsigned post with no source? (a) strong evidence (b) weak evidence

Answer key

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

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