By Dr Na Pham

WHAT ARE YES, NO, NOT GIVEN OR TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN QUESTIONS?

This task will ask you to
•    Identify the writer’s views
•    Identify the writer’s attitude or opinion
•    Identify detailed information in the test

From the list of sentences/statements provided (opinions or facts) you have to decide
•    If they are OPINIONS, whether they ARE opinions of the writers or NOT or NOT GIVEN in the text.
•    If they are FACTS, whether these facts are TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN

Sometimes you need to read between the lines to work out the implied view or attitude of the author, when it is not clearly stated.
Its noted that the questions will often be IN THE SAME ORDER as the reading passage.

HOW TO TACKLE THESE QUESTIONS
•    Read the instructions very carefully
•    Quickly scan all the statements in the questions to get  an idea about the topic
•    Read the first statement again, slowly and more carefully
•    Always underline key words to focus on the main points
•     Go back to the text, quickly look for the selection/the paragraph in the test which is relevant to the idea or the fact
•    Once you already find out the relevant paragraph, read it very carefully.

WHAT OPTION TO CHOOSE?
•    If the statement disagrees with writer’s opinion, then select NO
•    If the author doesn’t give any opinion, select NOT GIVEN
•    If the statement is contradictory or different to the information in the text, then select FALSE
•    If the statement is not even mentioned in the text, select NOT GIVEN.