Identify the task target
Writer view or claim
IELTS Academic Reading · Question-type lesson
Yes / No / Not Given: track the writer’s position
Compare a statement with the writer’s view or claim, preserving degree, recommendation, preference and uncertainty.
Short answer: Writer view or claim. Start from evaluation, recommendation and stance markers, and control the main risk: answering a factual question instead of a view question.
What this skill changes
Use it with a clear purpose
A useful reading skill changes what you notice, what you ignore and how you prove an answer.
Locate the right evidence
Evaluation, recommendation and stance markers
Control the distractor
Answering a factual question instead of a view question
WeLearn method
A repeatable process, not a shortcut
Follow these steps until the sequence becomes automatic under time pressure.
Mark the stance verb
Look for believes, argues, recommends, prefers or suggests.
Find the writer’s evaluation
Locate the sentence where the author judges, limits or recommends.
Compare direction and strength
Preserve positive or negative stance and modal force.
Separate silence from disagreement
No requires an opposing view; missing stance is Not Given.
Worked contrast
See the difference before you practise
Weak move
The topic appears in the passage, so the writer agrees.
Strong move
The writer discusses the policy but never evaluates the specific proposal, so the position is Not Given.
Guided practice
Apply the method with immediate feedback
Make a decision first. Then use the explanation to compare your reasoning with the evidence.
Guided practice · three writer-view decisions
Public art in transport stations
Attribute the view first, then decide whether the statement matches it, opposes it or invents a position the writer never reveals.
Passage
Public art in transport stations
Paragraph A
Public art in transport stations is often defended as a way to make commuting more pleasant. Murals, small exhibitions and temporary installations can certainly soften places that otherwise feel rushed and anonymous. Yet the strongest argument for station art is not that it decorates a journey. In my view, it gives a public system a visible connection to the neighborhoods it serves.
Paragraph B
This does not mean that every station should become a gallery. Transport authorities sometimes commission large works without asking local residents what would feel meaningful or useful. When that happens, art can appear imposed, even if it is technically impressive. A modest project developed with community groups may do more for public trust than an expensive installation chosen by distant planners.
Paragraph C
Critics often claim that station art distracts from urgent transport problems. That criticism has force when art budgets replace maintenance or accessibility work. However, the choice is not always so simple. Art programs can be funded separately, supported by cultural grants or used to explain local history while renovation is already taking place. The real test is whether a project improves the station experience without pretending to solve operational failures.
Paragraph D
For this reason, public art should be judged by process as much as by appearance. A successful station artwork is not necessarily the largest or most photogenic one. It is the one that helps passengers understand where they are, respects the daily function of the space and gives local people a reason to recognize the station as part of their own environment.
01writer · stance · degree
The writer believes the main value of station art is its connection to local communities.
02writer · stance · degree
The writer thinks every transport station should display art like a gallery.
03writer · stance · degree
The writer prefers community-informed modest projects over expensive works chosen by remote planners.
Source boundary: WeLearn editorial training passage informed by public creative-placemaking themes. The source informs the topic; it does not endorse the writer position or certify the questions. Review the primary source (opens in a new tab).
Independent practice
Transfer the method to a new passage
Complete the full set before feedback opens. This checks whether the process survives without step-by-step prompting.
Full passage · feedback closed
0/5 answeredWhy city centres still need office workers
Complete all five statements before feedback opens. A mentioned topic is not evidence of the writer’s position.
Passage
Why city centres still need office workers
Paragraph A
The rise of remote work has encouraged some commentators to predict the end of central business districts. I think this conclusion is too neat. Fewer daily commuters may reduce pressure on trains and roads, but a city centre is not only a container for desks. It is also a place where shops, cafes, cultural venues and public services depend on repeated daytime movement.
Paragraph B
That does not mean every company should force employees back five days a week. A rigid return-to-office policy can waste time and damage trust when people have already shown they can complete focused tasks at home. However, entirely optional attendance can create another problem: if nobody knows when colleagues will be present, the office loses its value as a shared meeting place.
Paragraph C
The best approach, in my view, is not to count hours at a desk but to design predictable overlap. Teams may choose two or three common days for meetings, mentoring and decisions that benefit from quick conversation. The remaining time can be used more flexibly. This model accepts that not all work has the same social requirement.
Paragraph D
City governments also have a role, but they should not rescue office districts by protecting old habits. Instead, they should make centres more mixed and resilient. Empty ground-floor units can become clinics, classrooms or small performance spaces. Streets designed only for peak-hour office crowds should be adjusted for residents, students and visitors who use the area at different times.
Paragraph E
Remote work has changed the city centre, but it has not made proximity irrelevant. The real challenge is to use proximity deliberately, rather than pretending that every task becomes better simply because it happens in the same building.
Agrees · opposes · unstated
The writer believes predictions about the end of central business districts are oversimplified.
Agrees · opposes · unstated
The writer says remote employees are less productive than office employees.
Agrees · opposes · unstated
The writer believes completely optional attendance can reduce the office's usefulness.
Agrees · opposes · unstated
The writer argues that governments should preserve office districts exactly as they were.
Agrees · opposes · unstated
The writer believes clinics and classrooms are better than shops in city centres.
One complete submissionFeedback stays closed so every writer-view decision remains independent.
Source boundary: WeLearn editorial training passage informed by OECD teleworking analysis. It is not an OECD opinion piece or an official IELTS item. Review the primary source (opens in a new tab).
Independent protocol
Repeat the set without weakening the evidence rule
- Complete one new Yes / No / Not Given set without opening feedback.
- For every item, record the exact evidence used for the decision.
- Name the closest distractor and explain its specific failure.
- Repeat only the items where your evidence or reasoning was incomplete.
Mastery check
You are ready to move on when…
- you can state what Yes / No / Not Given is testing before you search
- you can point to exact passage evidence for every answer
- you can explain why the closest alternative fails
- you preserve scope, polarity, logic and any stated word limit
WeLearn Progress Engine
Track the writer’s exact position across six levels
Two stance drills lead into four full passage sets. Drafts, time, scores and YNNG error patterns stay on this device.
0/6levels mastered
0 statements in review
0:00 current attempt
Loading… draft and progress
Level 1 of 6 · Same view · opposing view · unstated view
Separate agreement, opposition and silence
Attribute the position to the writer before choosing Yes, No or Not Given.
3/4to master
01A careful argument about school uniforms · writer view
The writer believes both sides of the uniform debate are too absolute.
02A careful argument about school uniforms · writer view
The writer thinks uniforms completely solve economic inequality between students.
03Who should city shade serve? · writer view
The writer believes heat protection should be the primary aim of urban shade projects.
04Who should city shade serve? · writer view
The writer thinks visual design has no value in a shade programme.
Source boundary: WeLearn editorial training passage about fair school policy. The linked guidance supplies context, not the passage wording or answer key. Review the primary source (opens in a new tab).
Guided Learn mode delivers answers and explanations to this browser. It is not a secure Practice, Exam or proctored mode.
Review and sources
How this Yes / No / Not Given lesson was reviewed
This material was reviewed in August 2026 to keep the official IELTS Reading format separate from the WeLearn learning strategy used on this page.
Review focus
- Guided, independent and Progress Engine passage pools are separated.
- NO requires an opposing writer position rather than a merely qualified or weaker view.
- NOT GIVEN decisions name the exact unstated preference, recommendation, comparison or policy.
Sources used
Official IELTS Academic Reading format: Confirms identifying writer views or claims and the YES, NO and NOT GIVEN response relationship.
WeLearn practice blueprint: Defines held-back transfer, writer-view attribution, local progress and the client-key security boundary.
Scope: these WeLearn exercises support academic-reading practice. They are not official IELTS questions and do not predict a band score by themselves.
FAQ en español
Preguntas frecuentes
Esta es la única sección de la lección que se conserva en español.
¿Yes/No/Not Given es igual a True/False/Not Given?
No. True/False/Not Given evalúa si una afirmación factual coincide con el texto. Yes/No/Not Given evalúa si una afirmación coincide con la opinión, postura o claim del autor.
¿Cuándo marco No en IELTS Yes/No/Not Given?
Marca No cuando el texto muestra que el autor sostiene lo contrario de la afirmación. Debe existir contradicción de postura, no solo ausencia de información.
¿Cuándo marco Not Given en este tipo de pregunta?
Marca Not Given cuando el texto menciona un tema relacionado, pero no revela suficiente información sobre la opinión o claim exacto del autor.
Continue your Reading pathway
Turn the skill into exam decisions
Yes / No / Not Given is presented here as guided WeLearn practice. The official IELTS format source defines the task family; the passages, explanations and distractors on this page are original training material.
- Official IELTS Academic Reading format — used to distinguish official task types from WeLearn strategy training.
- WeLearn original guided practice — explanations and distractors are designed for skill transfer, not copied from official questions.