IELTS Reading: True / False / Not Given Made Simple

Why This Question Type Feels Harder Than It Is

True/False/Not Given (TFNG) questions ask you to decide whether a statement agrees with the passage, contradicts it, or simply isn't addressed. On paper, that sounds straightforward. In practice, it's the question type most candidates report losing the most marks on, and it isn't because the passages are unusually difficult.

The real problem is that TFNG tests something subtler than comprehension: it tests whether you can tell the difference between 'the passage says the opposite' and 'the passage says nothing about this at all'. Those two situations feel similar under time pressure but lead to different answers, and guessing between them is where most points disappear.

The good news is that this is a learnable skill with a repeatable process. Once you stop treating each statement as a fresh mystery and start applying the same three-step check every time, your accuracy becomes far more consistent.

A Reliable Decision Method: The Three-Question Check

Before deciding on an answer, locate the exact sentence or two in the passage that deals with the same topic as the statement. Use keywords, names, numbers, or clearly identifiable concepts to find it, then read that section slowly rather than skimming the whole passage again.

Once you've found the relevant section, compare the statement against it piece by piece, especially checking any qualifying words like 'only', 'all', 'most', 'some', 'never', or 'rarely', since these often flip the meaning even when the rest of the sentence looks identical.

Then apply this three-question check, in order:

• Does the passage state this claim, even if worded differently? If yes → TRUE.
• Does the passage state the opposite, or explicitly deny this claim? If yes → FALSE.
• Does the passage mention the topic but never actually confirm or deny this specific detail? If yes → NOT GIVEN.
• If you catch yourself thinking 'this is probably true because it makes sense' or 'I happen to know this from elsewhere', stop — that reasoning almost always points to NOT GIVEN, not TRUE or FALSE.

The Classic Traps That Catch Test-Takers Out

Most TFNG mistakes fall into a small number of repeatable patterns. Learning to recognise them in advance is often more useful than reading the passage twice.

• Synonym swap: the statement uses completely different vocabulary from the passage but means the same thing. Test-takers sometimes mark this NOT GIVEN simply because the wording doesn't match, when it should be TRUE.
• Partial match: the statement combines one detail that is confirmed by the passage with a second detail that isn't. Because part of it is accurate, candidates rush to TRUE without checking the rest of the sentence.
• The absolute qualifier trap: a statement adds a word like 'always', 'only', or 'every' that the passage never supports, quietly turning a TRUE-looking claim into FALSE.
• The outside-knowledge trap: you personally know a fact is true in the real world, but the passage never actually states it. The correct answer is NOT GIVEN regardless of what you know outside the text.
• The order assumption trap: assuming questions always follow the same order as the paragraphs. They usually do, but not always — don't waste time forcing an answer to fit a location that doesn't actually contain it.

Worked Examples: Applying the Method

Example passage: 'Community gardens have expanded rapidly in many Canadian cities over the past decade, with volunteer groups converting vacant lots into shared growing spaces. Unlike private allotments, these gardens are typically open to anyone in the neighbourhood, though most ask members to contribute a few hours of maintenance work each month.'

Statement 1: 'Community gardens usually require members to do some upkeep work.' The passage says most gardens ask members to contribute maintenance hours — this matches directly, so the answer is TRUE.

Statement 2: 'All community garden plots are privately owned.' The passage explicitly contrasts these gardens with private allotments and describes them as open to anyone — this directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.

Statement 3: 'Members must pay a monthly fee to join.' The passage mentions a labour contribution, not a fee. Because payment is never discussed at all, this is NOT GIVEN, not FALSE — a common point of confusion since the topic (member obligations) is close, but the specific detail is missing.

Second example: 'Researchers tracking teenage sleep patterns found that participants who used smartphones after 10 p.m. took, on average, twenty minutes longer to fall asleep than those who did not. The study did not examine whether this delay affected next-day academic performance.'

Statement: 'Late-night phone use was linked to a longer time needed to fall asleep.' This matches the finding precisely — TRUE.

Statement: 'The study proved that phone use lowers exam results.' The passage explicitly states the researchers did not examine academic performance, so claiming the study 'proved' this directly contradicts the text — FALSE, not NOT GIVEN, because the denial is explicit.

Statement: 'Every participant in the study owned more than one phone.' Nothing in the passage discusses how many phones participants owned — NOT GIVEN.

Not Given vs False: The Distinction That Decides Your Score

The single biggest source of lost marks in this question type is confusing FALSE with NOT GIVEN. Remember that FALSE requires the passage to actively contradict the statement — it must say the opposite, or explicitly deny it, as in the exam-results example above.

NOT GIVEN means the passage simply never addresses that specific claim, even if it discusses the general topic nearby. A helpful test: try to point to the exact sentence that contradicts the statement. If you can't find one, but you also can't find one that confirms it, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

True/False/Not Given vs Yes/No/Not Given

IELTS also uses a near-identical format called Yes/No/Not Given, typically in passages that present an argument or the writer's opinions rather than straightforward facts. The three-question check works the same way, but you're checking whether the statement matches the writer's claims or views, not objective facts from the passage.

The practical difference is small: with Yes/No/Not Given, be alert for statements that sound reasonable in general but don't reflect what this particular writer actually argues — the same discipline of locating, comparing, and checking for explicit contradiction applies either way.

Building This Skill Before Test Day

Speed comes from pattern recognition, not from reading faster. After each practice set, don't just check which answers were wrong — work out why, sorting each mistake into one of the trap categories above. Over a few sessions, you'll notice your own recurring weak spot, whether it's absolute qualifiers or the outside-knowledge trap.

It also helps to practise under real time pressure, since TFNG accuracy tends to drop sharply once you're rushing. You can practise full IELTS Reading passages with instant, free feedback on Bandleep — useful for spotting exactly which trap keeps catching you, though remember any AI-generated band estimate is a practice guide only, not an official IELTS score.