Reading
The question type most often confused with True False Not Given, and the mistake that costs the mark. With a practice exercise and answers.
IELTS Yes No Not Given questions look almost identical to True False Not Given questions, and candidates lose marks simply by answering with the wrong words. The two types test different things, and the instructions tell you which one you are looking at.
The short version: True False Not Given is about facts. Yes No Not Given is about what the writer thinks. If the passage is arguing a case rather than reporting information, expect Yes No Not Given.
The rule
You are deciding whether the writer would agree with the statement, not whether the statement is factually correct.
The writer expresses this view. The wording will differ, but the opinion in the statement matches the opinion in the passage.
The writer expresses the opposite view. There is something in the passage that shows the writer would disagree.
The writer does not express a view on this. The topic may be mentioned, but the writer never says what they think about it.
Method
Six differences worth knowing before you sit the test.
True False Not Given asks whether the passage states the information. Yes No Not Given asks whether the writer holds the view.
Yes No Not Given usually appears with argumentative or opinion writing. True False Not Given appears more often with descriptive or factual passages.
Words like argues, claims, believes, suggests, maintains and it is clear that signal the writer's own position rather than reported fact.
If the instructions say YES / NO / NOT GIVEN and you write TRUE, the answer is marked wrong even though the thinking was right.
In both types, NOT GIVEN means the passage does not tell you. The difference is whether you are looking for information or for a view.
A single reading test can contain both question types in different sections. Check before you start each set.
Practice
Read the passage, then decide whether the writer would agree with each statement.
Congestion charging has been in place in several European cities for two decades now, and the results are consistent enough that the argument should really be settled. Traffic falls, air quality improves, and the money raised is usually spent on public transport. Yet councils elsewhere continue to hesitate, apparently more worried about the reaction of a vocal minority of drivers than about the health of everyone else who lives there.
The objection most often raised is that a charge penalises people on low incomes. This deserves a serious answer rather than the dismissal it usually receives, but it is worth noting that in most cities the poorest residents are the least likely to own a car and the most likely to live beside a congested road. A charge, properly designed, moves costs towards those who can afford them.
None of this means the scheme is simple to introduce. The technology is expensive, the boundary is always contentious, and cities that have rushed the process have generally regretted it.
1Congestion charging reduces traffic in city centres.
YES. The writer states that traffic falls, and presents it as an established result rather than a claim under debate.
2Councils that have not introduced charging are acting sensibly.
NO. The writer says they are apparently more worried about a vocal minority than about public health. That is clear criticism, so the writer would disagree.
3The objection about low incomes is worth taking seriously.
YES. The writer says it deserves a serious answer rather than the dismissal it usually receives.
4Congestion charging works better in large cities than small ones.
NOT GIVEN. City size is never discussed. The passage compares cities that have introduced charging with those that have not, which is a different comparison.
5Introducing a congestion charge is straightforward.
NO. The final paragraph says none of this means the scheme is simple to introduce, and lists three difficulties.
6Most drivers support congestion charging once it is in place.
NOT GIVEN. The passage refers to a vocal minority of drivers objecting, but never says what drivers think after a scheme has started.
Almost every candidate does at first. Facts and opinions look similar on the page, and the only reliable way to separate them is to work through a lot of both.
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True False Not Given is about facts and information in the passage. Yes No Not Given is about the writer's opinions, views and claims. The thinking is similar, but you must answer using the words the instructions ask for.
No. If the instructions ask for YES, NO or NOT GIVEN, then TRUE and FALSE are marked wrong, even if your reasoning was correct. This is one of the easiest marks to lose in the whole reading test.
The instructions above the questions tell you. Read them before you start each set, because a single reading test can contain both types in different sections.
No. Both Yes No Not Given and True False Not Given are reading question types. The listening test uses multiple choice, matching, labelling, completion and short-answer questions instead.
Effectively, yes. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not tell you. In True False Not Given the missing thing is information, and in Yes No Not Given it is the writer's view.
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