IELTS Reading True / False / Not Given: Strategy, Traps and Practice

TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN questions give you a list of statements and ask whether each one matches the facts in a Reading passage. They appear in both Academic and General Training Reading, usually in sets of four to seven statements.

If the questions are about the writer's opinions or claims instead of facts, the set is labelled YES / NO / NOT GIVEN. The logic is the same; see Yes / No / Not Given.

What it tests

• Reading for specific detail: you must find the exact sentence the statement is based on.
• Recognising paraphrase: the statement almost never repeats the passage word for word.
• Judging how much the text really says, which is the hard part. Many wrong answers come from adding your own knowledge or assumptions.

The three answers mean:

Answer	Meaning
TRUE	The passage states the same fact, usually in different words.
FALSE	The passage states something that contradicts the statement.
NOT GIVEN	The passage neither confirms nor contradicts the statement. It may not mention the point at all, or it may mention the topic without answering the question the statement raises.

Step-by-step strategy

1. Read the instructions. Check whether it says TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN (facts) or YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (views).
2. Underline the key words in each statement, especially names, numbers, dates and words that are hard to paraphrase (proper nouns, technical terms).
3. Mark the qualifiers. Words like all, only, always, never, most, some, first, more than and up to decide the answer more often than the topic words do.
4. Locate the area in the passage. Statements follow passage order, so the answer to statement 3 is normally between the answers to statements 2 and 4.
5. Read the whole sentence, plus the ones either side. A contrast word (however, but, although) in the next sentence can reverse the meaning.
6. Compare claim by claim. Ask: does the passage say the same thing (TRUE), the opposite thing (FALSE), or not enough (NOT GIVEN)?
7. Don't get stuck. If you can't find any matching information after a careful scan, NOT GIVEN is often the answer. Flag it for review and move on.

Common traps

Traps that make a statement NOT GIVEN (it looks TRUE or FALSE, but isn't):

• A real name with an extra claim. The statement uses a person, place or group from the passage but adds something the passage never says about them.
• An unsupported comparison or superlative. The passage says something is popular; the statement says it is the most popular.
• An absolute claim from a partial figure. The passage says two thirds of participants did something; the statement says participants did it, implying all of them.
• A number moved onto a different claim. The figure is in the passage, but it describes something else.
• Past turned into present. The passage describes how something was; the statement says how it is now.
• A plausible extra step. The statement adds a sensible-sounding detail to a process that the passage never mentions.

Traps that make a statement FALSE (it looks TRUE or NOT GIVEN, but isn't):

• A clear reversal, often hidden by a negative prefix or an antonym (increase vs fell).
• Wrong purpose, place, time or limit. Everything matches except one detail, such as the reason something was done.
• A "you might think X, but…" sentence. The passage mentions the common belief and then rejects it. The statement repeats the belief.
• A dropped hedge. The passage says up to three days; the statement says three days. The limit has changed, so they contradict each other.

Try it: mini-example

This passage is original practice material written for Bee English.

Night-time pollinators

Most studies of crop pollination have focused on bees, which work during daylight. A three-year survey of apple orchards in northern Portugal, however, found that moths visited the blossom on almost every night of the flowering season. The researchers had expected moth activity to drop sharply on cold nights, but visits fell only slightly when temperatures were below eight degrees. In orchards where moths were excluded with fine netting at night, fruit set was up to 15% lower than in uncovered trees. The team now plans to repeat the survey in pear orchards.

Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage? Choose TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.

1. Research on crop pollination has mainly looked at insects that are active during the day.
2. Moths are more important than bees for apple pollination in northern Portugal.
3. Cold weather caused a large fall in the number of moth visits.
4. Covering trees at night always reduced fruit set by 15%.
5. The researchers have already begun studying pear orchards.

Answers and explanations

1. TRUE. "Most studies… have focused on bees, which work during daylight" is paraphrased as "mainly looked at insects that are active during the day".
2. NOT GIVEN. The passage shows moths matter, but it never compares their importance with bees. This is the unsupported comparison trap.
3. FALSE. The researchers expected a sharp drop, but visits "fell only slightly". This is the you might think X, but… trap.
4. FALSE. The passage says up to 15%, so 15% is the maximum, not a fixed result in every case. The statement drops the hedge and adds always.
5. FALSE. The team "now plans to" study pear orchards, so the study has not begun. Plans to and have already begun cannot both be true. (If the passage had not mentioned pear orchards at all, the answer would be NOT GIVEN.)

Related guides

• IELTS Reading: complete guide
• Yes / No / Not Given
• Answer rules: word limits, spelling and numbers
• The computer-delivered test screen

Sources

• IELTS, Academic Reading format and question types
• IELTS, General Training Reading format