True, False, Not Given in IELTS Reading — Finally Explained
True / False / Not Given is the IELTS Reading question type that frustrates strong readers the most — because the trap isn’t your English, it’s the difference between False and Not Given. Get that distinction wrong and you can lose four or five marks on a single passage. This guide gives you a reliable decision method and the traps Pakistani candidates fall into most.
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What True, False and Not Given really mean
You are judging a statement against the information in the passage — nothing else. Your own knowledge does not count. The three answers have precise meanings:
| Answer | Choose it when… |
|---|---|
| True | The passage clearly states or directly implies the same information |
| False | The passage clearly states the opposite or something that contradicts it |
| Not Given | The passage neither confirms nor contradicts it — the information simply isn’t there |
The False vs Not Given problem
Here is the single idea that fixes most errors: False means the passage disagrees; Not Given means the passage doesn’t say. If you have to reason, guess, or bring in outside knowledge to decide something is false, the answer is almost always Not Given. False requires a genuine contradiction that you can point to in the text. If the text is silent, no matter how “obviously true or false” the statement feels from real life, it is Not Given.
A step-by-step method
1. Read the statement first and find its keywords — especially qualifiers like all, always, some, never, only, more than. These often decide the answer.
2. Scan the passage for the same idea, not the same words. Answers are usually paraphrased, so match meaning, not vocabulary.
3. Compare precisely. Does the passage say the same thing (True), the opposite (False), or nothing about it (Not Given)? Ask which of the three the text actually supports.
4. Move on. The questions follow the order of the passage, so the next answer is usually below the last one you found. Don’t re-read the whole text each time.
Traps that catch good readers
The qualifier swap. The passage says “some experts believe,” the statement says “all experts believe.” That is a contradiction — False, not True. Watch every all/some/most/only.
The real-world trap. A statement that is obviously true in life but not stated in the passage is Not Given. Many Pakistani candidates answer True from general knowledge and lose the mark — discipline yourself to judge only the text.
The half-match. The statement combines two facts; the passage confirms one and says nothing about the other. If any part is unconfirmed, it cannot be True.
Over-thinking Not Given. Candidates distrust “Not Given” and rarely pick it, so they force False. Not Given is a normal, frequent answer — trust it when the text is genuinely silent.
How this differs from Yes / No / Not Given
Some Reading passages use Yes / No / Not Given instead. The method is identical, but the target changes: True/False/Not Given tests facts in the passage, while Yes/No/Not Given tests the writer’s claims, opinions or views. “Yes” means the writer would agree, “No” means the writer would disagree, and “Not Given” means the writer never expresses that view. Read the instruction line carefully so you use the correct labels — writing True on a Yes/No task loses the mark.
The surest way to build this instinct is timed practice with worked explanations for every wrong answer. An ELP instructor can walk you through the exact reasoning on the questions you miss, so the False-vs-Not-Given line stops being a guess.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I keep choosing False when the answer is Not Given?
Usually because you are using outside knowledge or inference. If the passage does not actually contradict the statement, it is Not Given.
Are the answers in order in the passage?
Yes. True/False/Not Given answers generally follow the order of the text, so search forward from your last answer.
Should I write “T” or the full word “True”?
Follow the instructions; writing the full word (True/False/Not Given) is safest and always accepted.
Is Not Given a common answer?
Yes — it appears regularly. Don’t avoid it just because it feels uncertain.
How much time should each question take?
Around a minute. If you are stuck between False and Not Given, choose Not Given unless you can point to a clear contradiction, and move on.
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