IELTS ACADEMIC READING
IELTS Reading Yes / No / Not Given: how to answer, with practice questions
Yes / No / Not Given asks about the writer's opinions and claims, not plain facts. You decide whether the writer agrees, disagrees or says nothing about each statement.
Like True / False / Not Given, but about the writer's views or claims rather than facts. Ask: does the writer agree (Yes), disagree (No), or say nothing about it (Not Given)?
81 practice questions of this type in the full bank.
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How to answer
- Identify whose view the statement describes: it must be the writer's, not someone the writer quotes.
- Find where the writer discusses the same idea, following the order of the passage.
- Look for the writer's attitude: evaluative words such as fortunately, mistakenly or convincingly often decide the answer.
- Choose YES if the writer agrees, NO if the writer disagrees, and NOT GIVEN if the writer does not give a view on it.
Common mistakes
- Answering from the views of other people in the passage instead of the writer's own view.
- Treating a neutral description as agreement. If the writer only reports a view, the answer may be NOT GIVEN.
- Ignoring hedges: likely, some and may make a statement weaker than always or all.
One practice question with the answer
Read the passage, decide your answer, then open the explanation. Each question is from the examplat bank, written in the same format as the test.
Read the passage
The four-day week Trials of a four-day working week, in which staff work fewer hours for the same pay, have produced encouraging headlines. Participating companies frequently report that employees are less tired and that output has held steady. I am sympathetic to the idea, but the evidence so far deserves careful reading. Most trials have involved firms that volunteered to take part, and a company confident enough to volunteer is probably one where the change was likely to work. Results from such firms cannot simply be extended to hospitals, schools or factories, where work cannot easily be compressed into fewer days. Nor should a shorter week be regarded as the only route to better well-being; flexible start times, or a right to ignore work email after hours, may achieve some of the same benefits at lower risk. None of this means the trials are worthless. They have shown that the five-day week is a convention rather than a law of nature, and that is a useful lesson in itself.
Does the following statement agree with the views of the writer of the passage? Choose YES if it matches the writer's view, NO if it contradicts the writer's view, or NOT GIVEN if the passage does not tell us what the writer thinks about this. Statement: Employees prefer flexible start times to a four-day week.
- YES
- NO
- NOT GIVEN
Show the answer and explanation
NOT GIVEN. Flexible start times are mentioned as another possible route to well-being, but employees' preferences are not discussed.
- Incorrect. The writer says flexible start times 'may achieve some of the same benefits at lower risk', which is about risk and benefit, not about what employees prefer.
- Incorrect. The writer does not say employees prefer the four-day week either.
- Correct. No information is given about employee preference, so the writer's view on it cannot be determined.
Tip: Do not confuse what the writer recommends considering with what other people prefer.
That's the free sample. The rest of the questions are available with a paid plan.
That's the free sample. The rest is available with a plan.
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How is Yes / No / Not Given different from True / False / Not Given?
True / False / Not Given checks facts in the passage. Yes / No / Not Given checks the writer's opinions or claims, so you look for the writer's attitude.
What if the writer quotes an expert who disagrees with the statement?
That is not the writer's own view. Check whether the writer accepts or rejects the expert's opinion before you answer.
IELTS is a registered trademark of the British Council, IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. examplat is an unofficial question bank written by Sakakikaen Co., Ltd. and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Back to IELTS Reading practice.