Skip to content
HighTargets

IELTS Reading guide

True, False, Not Given: How to Get These IELTS Reading Questions Right

A clear method for IELTS True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given questions: what each answer means, how to tell FALSE from NOT GIVEN, and the traps that cost the most marks.

By Danial Saleem · Updated · 5 min read

True/False/Not Given questions appear in almost every IELTS Reading test. In Cambridge IELTS 21 Reading Test 1, for example, six of the first thirteen answers are TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN. They look simple, but they are where many Band 6 candidates lose the marks that would have made them Band 7. The problem is rarely English. It is not being exact about what each answer means.

What each answer means

You are given a list of statements and asked whether they agree with the information in the passage.

  • TRUE: the passage states the same thing, usually in different words.
  • FALSE: the passage states the opposite, or something that cannot be true at the same time as the statement.
  • NOT GIVEN: the passage does not say whether the statement is true or false. The topic might be mentioned, but the specific claim is not confirmed or denied.

Yes/No/Not Given works the same way, but it asks about the writer’s views or claims rather than facts. YES means the writer agrees with the statement, NO means the writer disagrees, and NOT GIVEN means the writer’s opinion on it cannot be found. These appear more often with argumentative passages, as in Passage 3 of many Cambridge tests.

Write the answer the instructions ask for. Writing YES in a True/False/Not Given set, or TRUE in a Yes/No/Not Given set, is marked wrong even if you meant the right thing.

The rule that matters most: only the passage counts

Your own knowledge is irrelevant. If a statement says “Coffee contains caffeine” and the passage never says so, the answer is NOT GIVEN, even though the statement is obviously true in real life. Examiners deliberately write statements that sound reasonable so that students who answer from general knowledge choose TRUE.

FALSE or NOT GIVEN? A three-step test

This is the decision students get wrong most often. Use these steps for every statement you are unsure about.

  1. Find the part of the passage the statement is about. Questions follow the order of the passage, so the answer to question 9 comes after the answer to question 8.
  2. Ask: does the passage say the same thing? If yes, the answer is TRUE.
  3. Ask: can I point to words that make the statement impossible? If you can underline a phrase that contradicts it, the answer is FALSE. If you are only thinking “it doesn’t say that”, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

The key point is in step 3. FALSE needs evidence. “The passage doesn’t mention it” is the definition of NOT GIVEN, not FALSE.

Worked example

Imagine the passage says:

The first public library in the town opened in 1851, funded mainly by donations from local factory owners.

Now look at these statements:

  • The town’s first public library was paid for largely by local businesses. TRUE. “Factory owners” are local businesses and “mainly” matches “largely”.
  • The library was funded by the national government. FALSE. It was funded mainly by local donations, which contradicts this.
  • The library was popular with factory workers. NOT GIVEN. Factory owners are mentioned, but nothing is said about who used the library.
  • The library was the first in the country. NOT GIVEN. It was the first in the town. Nothing is said about the rest of the country.

The last example is the classic trap: a small change in scope, from “town” to “country”, turns a TRUE-looking sentence into NOT GIVEN.

Words that change the answer

Most TRUE/FALSE decisions depend on a single word. Read the statement slowly and circle these:

  • Quantity and frequency: all, most, some, a few, always, usually, never, rarely. “Most scientists agree” in the passage does not support “All scientists agree” in the statement.
  • Comparisons: more than, the largest, the first, faster. Check both what is compared and the direction of the comparison.
  • Certainty: may, might, is likely to, proved, confirmed. “Researchers suspect” does not support “Researchers have proved”.
  • Cause and effect: because, led to, resulted in. The passage might mention two events without saying one caused the other. That is NOT GIVEN.
  • Time: before, after, until, since, dates. A changed date or order of events usually makes a statement FALSE.

Common mistakes

  • Matching words instead of meaning. A statement that repeats words from the passage is often the one that has been changed. TRUE answers are usually paraphrased; exact word matches deserve suspicion.
  • Reading too far. If you cannot find the answer, check the space between the previous and next answers before moving on. It is almost always there.
  • Spending too long on one statement. If you cannot decide after one careful reread, choose the answer your evidence best supports, mark the question, and come back if time allows. A blank is always wrong.

Practise with real tests

The only way to get consistent is volume with feedback. Do a Cambridge Reading test, then mark it with the matching answer key. For every True/False/Not Given answer you got wrong, go back and find the exact words in the passage that decide it. Recording why each one was wrong is covered in how to review a practice test. For the other question formats in the Reading paper, see IELTS Reading question types and time plan.

IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. HighTargets is independent; always confirm test rules with your test centre. See our editorial policy or report a correction.