How to Approach True/False/Not Given Questions in IELTS Reading
The single most misunderstood question type in IELTS Reading, and a clear way to think about it.
True/False/Not Given questions ask whether a statement agrees with, contradicts, or simply isn't addressed by the passage. The most common source of lost marks is confusing 'False' with 'Not Given' — they are not the same thing.
'False' means the passage makes a claim that directly contradicts the statement. 'Not Given' means the passage simply never mentions that specific piece of information at all — it isn't about whether the statement sounds false or unlikely, only about whether the passage actually addresses it.
A useful habit: for every statement, ask yourself 'can I point to the exact sentence that confirms or contradicts this?' If you can point to a sentence that confirms it, it's True. If you can point to one that contradicts it, it's False. If you can't point to anything relevant at all, it's Not Given — even if the statement seems reasonable or likely to be true in real life.
Underline keywords in the statement first, then scan the passage for synonyms rather than the exact same words — IELTS passages rarely repeat the exact wording of the question, since that would make the task trivial. Answers usually (but not always) appear in the same order as the questions, which helps you stay oriented in longer passages.
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