IELTS Reading Yes / No / Not Given: how to answer writer's views questions

Yes / No / Not Given asks what the writer thinks, not what the facts are. Here is how to tell the answers apart, with a method and a fully explained example.

By Stride team · Published 19 October 2026

The short answer

In an IELTS Yes / No / Not Given task you read a set of statements and decide whether each one agrees with the views or claims of the writer. You are not judging whether the statement is true in the real world, and you are not checking a fact. You are working out what the writer believes, argues or recommends.

The three answers at a glance
Answer	What it means	A quick test
YES	The statement agrees with the writer's view or claim.	Can you point to words where the writer says or clearly argues the same thing?
NO	The statement contradicts the writer's view or claim.	Can you point to words where the writer takes the opposite position?
NOT GIVEN	The writer neither agrees with nor contradicts the statement.	Have you checked carefully and found that the writer simply does not give a view on this point?

The official IELTS format calls this question type 'identifying writer's views/claims'. The instructions ask either 'Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer?' or 'Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer?' IELTS also points out that it is important to understand the difference between NO and NOT GIVEN, and that you should not use what you already know about the topic.

Yes / No / Not Given vs True / False / Not Given

The two tasks look similar and use the same three-way logic, but they test different things. Mixing them up is one of the most common reasons candidates lose marks on both. If you have not yet read it, our guide to True / False / Not Given covers the factual version in detail.

How the two question types differ
	True / False / Not Given	Yes / No / Not Given
Official name	Identifying information	Identifying writer's views/claims
What it checks	Facts, events and details in the passage	What the writer thinks, argues, recommends or claims
Typical passage	Descriptive or explanatory text: history, science, how something works	Argumentative text: the writer takes a position, criticises or recommends
Key question to ask	What does the passage say happened or is the case?	What does the writer believe or want?
Answer words	TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN	YES, NO, NOT GIVEN

Here is a simple way to feel the difference. Imagine a passage contains this sentence: Last year the council removed the bus lane on King Street, which in my view was a serious error.

A True / False / Not Given statement would test the fact: The council removed a bus lane. That is TRUE because the passage reports it as an event.
A Yes / No / Not Given statement would test the opinion: The writer approves of the council's decision. That is NO, because the writer calls it 'a serious error'.

Write only the answer words the instructions ask for. If the task asks for YES, NO or NOT GIVEN, writing TRUE or FALSE is not the answer the task asks for, even if your reasoning is right.

How to spot the writer's view

Because these questions are about opinion, the most useful skill is noticing who is speaking in each sentence. Argumentative passages often report other people's views before the writer gives their own. Only the writer's position counts.

Language that usually signals the writer's own view

First person: In my view, I would argue, I am not convinced that, we should.
Evaluative adjectives and adverbs: a mistake, unreasonable, sensible, wrongly, rightly, surprisingly.
Modal verbs of recommendation: should, ought to, must, would do well to. Our lesson on modals and hedging explains how these soften or strengthen a claim.
Concession followed by the writer's real point: That said, Admittedly … but, While it is true that … . The part after the contrast is usually the writer's position. See concession and contrast for the patterns.

Language that reports someone else's view

Critics argue, Some economists believe, It is often claimed that, Supporters say.
According to, X suggests that, Many people assume.
A view reported in this way is not automatically the writer's. Read on to see whether the writer accepts it, rejects it or stays neutral.

A step-by-step method

Check the instructions. Confirm the task asks about the writer's views or claims, and note the exact answer words.
Read the statement and find its key idea. Who or what is it about, and what opinion does it express? Underline the opinion word (too quick, sufficient, should be ignored).
Circle limiting words. All, only, always, most, never and more than often decide the answer.
Locate the relevant part of the passage. Many candidates find the statements track the passage from beginning to end, so the location of the previous answer is a useful starting point. Expect synonyms rather than the same words.
Ask who holds the view in that part. Is it the writer, or someone the writer is reporting?
Decide. If the writer clearly holds the same position, answer YES. If the writer clearly holds the opposite position, answer NO. If the writer does not commit either way on that exact point, answer NOT GIVEN.
Check your evidence. For YES and NO you should be able to point to specific words. For NOT GIVEN you should be able to say what the writer would have needed to say for the answer to be YES or NO.

The key test for NO: can you find a sentence where the writer says the opposite? If you cannot, the answer is probably NOT GIVEN, even if you feel the writer would disagree.

Worked example

The passage and statements below were written by Stride as a study model. They are not official IELTS material. Try the five statements yourself before reading the explanations.

Paint is not a policy. Few urban policies divide opinion as sharply as the painted cycle lane. Critics complain that new lanes slow down traffic and harm local shops, and councils have often responded by removing them at the first sign of protest. In my view, this is a mistake. A lane that has existed for six months has not had time to change how people travel; habits take far longer than that to shift. Councils should commit to any new lane for at least three years before judging it. That said, I do not believe that paint alone is enough. A line on the road offers a nervous cyclist very little protection, and it is unreasonable to expect parents to send their children to school along one. Physical barriers, even simple kerbs or planters, cost more, but they are far more likely to attract new riders. Shopkeepers' fears deserve to be taken seriously, yet they are often based on guesses rather than evidence. Many owners assume that most of their customers arrive by car, when a simple survey would often show otherwise. Before a lane is approved, councils would do well to count who actually visits the high street, and how.

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer? Write YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.

Councils are too quick to remove new cycle lanes.
Painted lines provide enough protection for most cyclists.
Cycle lanes damage the trade of local shops.
The concerns of shop owners should be ignored.
Most people who visit city high streets arrive on foot.

Answers and explanations

Statement	Answer	Why
1. Councils remove lanes too quickly	YES	The writer says councils remove lanes 'at the first sign of protest' and calls this 'a mistake', then recommends waiting at least three years. 'Too quick' paraphrases the writer's criticism.
2. Paint gives enough protection	NO	The writer says 'paint alone is not enough' and that a line 'offers a nervous cyclist very little protection'. That is the opposite of the statement.
3. Lanes damage local shops	NOT GIVEN	This is what the critics say, not the writer. The writer says shopkeepers' fears are often 'based on guesses', but never states whether lanes do or do not hurt trade. Reported views are the classic trap.
4. Shop owners' concerns should be ignored	NO	The writer says these fears 'deserve to be taken seriously', which directly contradicts 'should be ignored'.
5. Most visitors arrive on foot	NOT GIVEN	The writer suggests a survey would often show that most customers do not arrive by car. But 'not by car' could mean by bus, bike or on foot. The writer makes no claim about walking specifically.

Look at statements 3 and 4 together. Both are about shopkeepers, and both use words from the same part of the passage. Statement 4 tests a view the writer holds (concerns deserve attention), so it can be contradicted. Statement 3 tests a view the writer only reports, so it is NOT GIVEN. Learning to separate these two is most of the skill.

Notice also that the answers are not spread evenly. There is one YES, two NO and two NOT GIVEN. Do not try to balance your answers; judge each statement on its own.

Common traps

Treating a reported view as the writer's. Critics complain, it is widely believed and some argue introduce other people's positions. Check whether the writer agrees before answering YES or NO.
Missing a concession. A writer may admit a point (Admittedly, barriers cost more) and then argue against its importance. Both parts matter, so read the whole sentence and the one after it.
Answering NO because the writer would probably disagree. NO needs a stated contradiction. If you are guessing what the writer might think, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Ignoring the strength of the claim. If the writer says something is often true and the statement says it is always true, the statement goes further than the writer. Decide whether the writer contradicts it or simply does not go that far.
Matching words instead of meaning. Statement 3 above repeats the passage's words ('harm local shops') but is NOT GIVEN. Correct YES answers are often paraphrased, so practise paraphrasing to recognise them.

How to practise Yes / No / Not Given

Read opinion pieces and mark who is speaking. Take any newspaper comment article and highlight the writer's own views in one colour and reported views in another. This quickly trains you to notice the switch.
Write the evidence. For each YES or NO answer, copy the exact words that prove it. For NOT GIVEN, write one line saying what the writer would need to have said.
Build topic vocabulary. Argumentative passages often deal with social issues; our cities and transport vocabulary and other topic vocabulary lessons help you read them faster.
Practise under time pressure. Academic Reading has 40 questions in 60 minutes, so you cannot spend several minutes on one statement. Our Reading tips cover time management, and the full list of Reading question types shows where this task fits.

Each correct answer is worth one mark, the same as every other Reading question. For Academic Reading, IELTS publishes 30 correct answers out of 40 as band 7 and 35 as band 8, so a handful of Yes / No / Not Given questions can make a real difference. You can convert a raw score with our band score calculator.

Practise IELTS ReadingTry a timed Reading test that marks instantly and explains each answer. Your first full test on Stride is free.

Once you are comfortable with writer's views, the next task worth mastering is matching headings, which tests a related skill: telling the main idea of a paragraph apart from its supporting details.

What is the difference between NO and NOT GIVEN?: NO means the writer states a view or claim that contradicts the statement. NOT GIVEN means the writer neither agrees with nor contradicts it. If you cannot point to the writer's words that say the opposite, the answer is not NO.
Is Yes / No / Not Given the same as True / False / Not Given?: No. IELTS lists them as separate question types. True / False / Not Given checks factual information; Yes / No / Not Given checks the writer's views or claims. The reasoning is similar, but you must use the answer words the instructions give. See our True / False / Not Given guide.
What if the passage reports someone else's opinion?: A reported opinion is not the writer's opinion unless the writer clearly accepts it. If the writer only reports a view and never says whether they agree, a statement about that view is usually NOT GIVEN.
Where in the passage should I look for each answer?: Start from the location of the previous answer, as many candidates find the statements work through the passage in order. Then read around that spot, because a writer often states a view in one sentence and qualifies it in the next.
Does Yes / No / Not Given appear in General Training Reading?: The official IELTS format lists 'identifying writer's views/claims' among the Academic Reading question types. It is not listed on the official General Training Reading format page, which does include True / False / Not Given. If you are taking General Training, still learn the logic: it is the same reasoning applied to opinions.

Sources

IELTS Academic: Reading test format — checked 2026-10-19
IELTS scoring in detail — checked 2026-10-19
IELTS General Training: Reading test format — checked 2026-10-19

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