If you’re preparing for the IELTS Academic Reading test, you’ve probably met the three most frustrating words in the English language: True, False, Not Given.
For countless students, these questions are the main reason for losing precious marks. You find the right part of the text, you read it ten times, but you’re still stuck in a loop of confusion. Is it False? Or is the information just… Not Given?
It’s a common struggle, but it’s one you can overcome. The good news is there’s a clear, simple strategy to solve these questions with confidence. Forget the guesswork. This guide will give you the “hack” you need to master them.
The Golden Rule: Understand the Core Difference
The number one mistake students make is not understanding the fundamental difference between False and Not Given. Let’s make it simple.
Think of yourself as a detective looking at a witness statement (the reading passage). You have a claim (the question statement) and you need to verify it.
- ✅ TRUE: The claim is a clear paraphrase of the information in the passage. The meaning is exactly the same, just with different words.
- ❌ FALSE: The claim directly contradicts the information in the passage. The passage says the opposite of the statement.
- ❓ NOT GIVEN: You cannot find the information for the claim in the passage. The topic might be mentioned, but that specific piece of information isn’t there.
Let’s use a very simple example:
- Passage: “The cat, which was black and white, sat calmly on the red mat.”
- Statement 1: “The mat the cat was on was red.” -> TRUE (Information matches)
- Statement 2: “The cat was completely black.” -> FALSE (Contradicts “black and white”)
- Statement 3: “The cat was feeling sleepy.” -> NOT GIVEN (We know the cat was calm, but “sleepy” is not mentioned anywhere)
Your 4-Step Strategy to Follow Every Time
Don’t just read and hope for the best. Follow this systematic approach for every question.
- Read the Statement First: Read the first T/F/NG statement. Do not read the passage yet! Identify the keywords in the statement—the words that carry the main meaning.
- Scan for the Keywords: Now, scan the reading passage (quickly look, don’t read deeply) for those keywords or their synonyms. Remember, IELTS loves to use synonyms.
- Locate and Read Carefully: Once you find the part of the passage that contains the keywords, stop. Read that sentence and the sentences immediately before and after it carefully. This is your “evidence.”
- Apply the Golden Rule: Compare the statement directly with the evidence you found in the passage. Does it match perfectly (True)? Does it contradict (False)? Or is that specific piece of information simply not there (Not Given)?
Common Traps and How to Avoid Them
The examiners love to set traps. Here are the most common ones:
- The Qualifier Trap: Be careful with words like
all, some, always, often, only, never, mainly. A statement that says “All researchers agree…” is False if the passage says “Most researchers agree…”. - The “Topic is There but the Detail is Not” Trap: This is the most common reason for confusing False and Not Given. The passage might talk about the cat and the mat, but if it never mentions the cat’s mood, any statement about its mood is Not Given.
Let’s Practice Together
Here is a short academic text. Read it and then answer the three questions below using the strategy we just discussed.
Passage: The migration of the Arctic Tern is a remarkable feat of endurance. This medium-sized seabird holds the record for the longest annual migration, traveling from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again each year, a round trip of approximately 71,000 kilometers. While the journey is impressive, scientists have noted that the bird does not fly in a direct straight line. Instead, it follows a zigzagging route, likely to take advantage of prevailing wind patterns to conserve energy. The entire journey is almost always completed within an eight-month period.
Questions:
- The Arctic Tern travels a total distance of over 70,000 km each year.
- The bird’s main reason for following a zigzagging path is to avoid predators.
- The Arctic Tern is the largest species of seabird.
Answers & Explanations:
- TRUE. The passage states the round trip is “approximately 71,000 kilometers,” which matches “over 70,000 km.”
- FALSE. The passage says the bird follows a zigzagging route “likely to take advantage of prevailing wind patterns.” This contradicts the idea that the reason is to “avoid predators.”
- NOT GIVEN. The passage describes the Arctic Tern as a “medium-sized seabird.” It never compares its size to other seabirds, so we don’t know if it’s the largest, smallest, or somewhere in between. The information is not there.
Ace Your Reading Test
Mastering this question type takes practice. This strategy gives you the method, but applying it consistently is what builds your score.
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