IELTS: Yes/No/Not Given vs True/False/Not Given
They look like the same question with different labels — and that's exactly the trap. The two types testdifferent things, and the answer that trips almost everyone up (No vsNot Given) works the same way in both. Here's how to tell them apart and never guess.
The one difference that matters: facts vs opinions
| True / False / Not Given | Yes / No / Not Given | |
|---|---|---|
| Tests | Factual information in the passage | The writer's claims, views and opinions |
| You ask | "Does this statement match the facts given?" | "Does this match what the writer thinks/claims?" |
| Agrees → | TRUE | YES |
| Contradicts → | FALSE | NO |
| Not in the text → | NOT GIVEN | NOT GIVEN |
Mechanically they're the same three-way decision — agree, contradict, or absent. The label just tells youwhat kind of statement you're checking: TFNG follows factual information("The bridge was built in 1890"), while YNNG follows the writer's argument ("The bridge was a mistake"). If the statement is an opinion or a claim, you'll be in a Yes/No/Not Given set.
The real killer: No vs Not Given (and False vs Not Given)
This single distinction decides most lost marks:
- NO / FALSE = the passage says the opposite. There is information, and itcontradicts the statement.
- NOT GIVEN = the passage doesn't say. You can't find anything that confirmsor denies it — you'd have to use outside knowledge or a guess to answer, which means it's Not Given.
The test writers bait you with statements that feel true or false from general knowledge. Ignore what you know about the world. If the passage doesn't state it, the answer is Not Given — no matter how obviously "true" it seems.
A method that works for both
- Read the statement first and underline the part that can be checked — the specific claim, not the filler.
- Find the matching place in the passage (the questions follow the passage order, so answers appear roughly top-to-bottom).
- Compare precisely. Watch qualifiers — "some", "all", "may", "always". "Some experts agree" vs "Experts agree" can flip True to False.
- If you can't find it after a focused look, it's Not Given. Don't keep hunting — Not Given is designed to be un-findable. Mark it and move on.
This is IELTS's official approach, not a trick: the mark scheme rewards exactly this fact-vs-opinion, contradiction-vs-absence distinction.
Common mistakes
- Answering False when the passage simply doesn't mention it (should be Not Given).
- Using real-world knowledge instead of only the passage.
- Missing a qualifier ("often" vs "always") that changes the answer.
- Writing "T/F" on a Yes/No set (or vice-versa) — the exact word you write must match the instruction, or it's marked wrong.
Practise it
These appear in IELTS Reading. Drill full papers in the real format:GT Reading ·Academic Reading. The exact wording rules (capitals, spelling, limits) are inIELTS answer rules.