Yes / No / Not Given vs True / False / Not Given: the one difference that matters
They look identical and are marked differently. An original opinion passage with six statements shows where the writer's view, not the facts, decides.
Question typesReadingUpdated 7 min read
The instructions for the two question types differ by a few words, and most candidates never read them closely enough to notice — naming the question type from its instruction line is a drillable habit, and this pair is its sternest test. True / False / Not Given asks whether a statement agrees with the information in the passage. Yes / No / Not Given asks whether it agrees with the claims of the writer. The decision rule is the same (find the place, check whether the passage speaks to the exact point, only then compare), and it is set out with six worked statements in the True / False / Not Given guide. What changes is what you compare the statement against, and that change produces a trap that the fact-based version does not have.
The difference in one table
| True / False / Not Given | Yes / No / Not Given | |
|---|---|---|
| Passage type | descriptive, factual | argumentative: the writer takes positions |
| You compare the statement with | what the passage says happened or is the case | what the writer thinks, argues or claims |
| NOT GIVEN means | the passage has no information on the point | the writer expresses no view on the point |
| The characteristic trap | your own knowledge says the statement is wrong, but the passage never said so | a view is in the passage, but it belongs to someone the writer is quoting, not to the writer |
That last row is the whole article. In an argumentative passage the writer reports other people's opinions in order to agree or disagree with them. "Critics argue that", "it is often claimed that", "supporters of the scheme point out" all introduce views that are in the text and are not the writer's. A statement that matches one of those views is not YES. It is NOT GIVEN, unless the writer goes on to endorse or reject it, and then it is YES or NO on the strength of the writer's own sentence.
The passage
An original piece, written in the register of the argumentative passages that carry this question type in Section 3.
Every few years a city announces a scheme to get its residents onto bicycles, and every few years the results disappoint. The usual explanation is that people are lazy, or that the weather is wrong, or that a cycling culture takes generations to grow. I do not find any of these convincing. Cities with famously high cycling rates have wet winters and were car-dominated within living memory; what they have that other cities lack is not culture but continuous, physically separated routes.
Critics of separated cycle lanes argue that they take road space from cars and so worsen congestion. Traffic engineers have modelled this many times, and the results vary with the street; I am not in a position to say who is right. What I am confident of is that painted lanes, the cheap alternative most cities choose, do almost nothing. A line of paint does not stop a lorry, and everybody who does not already cycle knows it.
Supporters of hire-bike schemes often present them as the answer, and they have certainly made cycling more visible. Visibility, though, is not the same as safety, and the schemes that have lasted are the ones in cities that built the routes first. Spending on bicycles before spending on lanes is, I suspect, the order in which most cities get it wrong.
None of this means the schemes are a waste of money. It means that the money is spent on the wrong thing. A city that wants cycling should decide how much road it is prepared to give up and build that, without expecting the decision to be popular in the first year.
Questions 1 to 6. Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer? Write YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer, NO if it contradicts the claims of the writer, NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this.
- The failure of cycling schemes is mainly due to a lack of cycling culture.
- Cities with high cycling rates tend to have mild winters.
- Separated cycle lanes increase congestion for cars.
- Painted cycle lanes are ineffective.
- Hire-bike schemes have made cycling safer.
- Cycling schemes should receive less public money.
The answers
| Statement | Answer | The writer's own words | Why candidates get it wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NO | "I do not find any of these convincing" (culture is one of "these"); "what they have... is not culture but continuous, physically separated routes" | the culture explanation is in the passage, prominently; it is the usual explanation, and the writer rejects it |
| 2 | NO | "Cities with famously high cycling rates have wet winters" | wet winters are a fact the writer asserts in support of the argument, so the statement contradicts the writer's claim |
| 3 | NOT GIVEN | "Critics... argue that they... worsen congestion"; "I am not in a position to say who is right" | the view is in the passage and is not the writer's; the writer explicitly declines to take it, which makes this NOT GIVEN, not NO |
| 4 | YES | "painted lanes... do almost nothing" | none, except that "ineffective" paraphrases "do almost nothing" and some candidates want the exact word |
| 5 | NO | "Visibility, though, is not the same as safety" | "Supporters... present them as the answer" tempts a YES; the writer's own sentence rejects the link to safety |
| 6 | NO | "None of this means the schemes are a waste of money. It means that the money is spent on the wrong thing." | the writer's tone is critical throughout, and a candidate reading for tone rather than claims answers YES |
Statement 3 is the one to study. Everything a candidate needs for a NO is on the page: a claim, and a writer who does not accept it. But the writer does not reject it either; the writer says the evidence is mixed and steps back. Under Yes / No / Not Given, a writer who withholds a view has given you NOT GIVEN, however loudly other people in the passage hold the opinion.
The procedure, adjusted for views
- Find the place using the nouns in the statement (lanes, congestion, hire-bike, winters). Statements follow passage order.
- Ask who holds the view at that place. Mark the owner in your head: the writer ("I", "what I am confident of", an unattributed assertion) or someone reported ("critics argue", "supporters present", "the usual explanation is").
- If the only owner is a reported party, look for the writer's response. Endorsement makes it YES, rejection makes it NO, and silence or an explicit refusal to judge makes it NOT GIVEN.
- If the owner is the writer, compare as you would for True / False. Watch the strength words: "mainly", "tend to", "always", "less".
Two habits that transfer from the factual version
The first is to stop at the first step that gives an answer. If the writer has no view on the specific point, you are finished; a contradiction you construct from tone is not a NO. The second is to distrust your own opinion. A candidate who thinks separated lanes obviously do cause congestion will feel statement 3 is YES; a candidate who cycles will feel it is NO. The passage says neither, and the marking scheme does not know what you think.
Which of the two versions actually costs you marks is worth measuring rather than guessing: Reading practice that breaks your score down by question type separates the factual set from the opinion set instead of averaging both into one band.