7 Tips to Solve True, False, Not Given Questions: A Guide for IELTS Reading Test

IELTS reading tests have True/ False/ Not Given (T/ F/ NG) type questions, which may have 5 to 6 statements and the student is required to mark whether the statements are True; False or Not Given.

All the statements are related to the topic of the given passage. However, the statements in the question may not be direct. All statements need to be analysed only concerning the passage and answered only based on the given passage.

Below is an example question.

1. Example Question on True/ False/ Not Given Topic

Question 1:

Are the following statements true, false or not given according to the information given in the passage?

In boxes 1 to 5 in your answer sheet, write:

True – If the statement matches the information in the passage.

False – If the statement contradicts the information in the passage.

Not Given – If the information is not found in the passage.

The question can alternatively take this form.

Question 2:

Do the following statements agree with the information given in reading passage 2?

Answer True, False or Not given to questions 6 to 10.

2. Why Do Students Struggle with True/ False/ Not Given or Yes/ No/ Maybe Questions?

Firstly people are often confused about the true meaning of these three terms.
Secondly, these types of questions cannot be answered by directly spotting or matching keywords.

Let us understand this better.

True Meaning of True/ False/ Not Given

How to understand which of the following statements is true/ false or not given?

Whenever you have a sentence, you first ask “does the passage or author state this statement as a fact or opinion or reason?”

If the answer is “yes” the statement is True.
If your answer is “not a yes”, you must then ask another question for the same statement – “is this statement, against a fact or opinion or reason mentioned in the passage”. If your answer is “yes” then this statement is False.
If your answer to question two is “no” then you must be very careful to ask the third question “no matter how true the statement seems, is this mentioned in the passage”? If the answer is “no”, then this is a Not Given case.

3. Example Essay With Questions

Let us take an example:

The first Britons (people who live in the United Kingdom) were the Picts, who arrived about 10,000 years ago. In the eighth century B.C., the Celts arrived from Europe and pushed the Picts north into Scotland. In A.D. 43, the Romans invaded and ruled for nearly 400 years. They built roads, bathhouses, sewers, and large villas.

By the sixth century A.D., German people known as Angles, Jutes, and Saxons were moving into Britain. The Angels gave their name to England, and English people became known as Anglo-Saxons. From the 900s to the 1400s, England was ruled by Viking, Danish, and Norman invaders. In 1485 the Welsh noble Henry Tudor claimed the English crown and became Henry VII, the first of five Tudor monarchs. Several important lines of kings and queens followed.

By the 1800s, Britain was one of the most powerful nations in the world. Trade generated immense wealth, and the country built a huge overseas empire. But the early 20th century was a time of setbacks for Britain. Drained by World War I and II, Britain could no longer afford its empire, and most of its colonies became independent.

Now, try and answer these questions.

Questions 1 to 5:

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage above?

Answer True, False or Not Given to questions 1 to 5.

The Celts were preceded by the Picts in the United Kingdom.
The Romans ruled for nearly half a millennium.
The first of the Tudor monarchs came to power in the 15th century.
Trade made Britain one of the most powerful nations in the world.
Most of Britain’s colonies fought their war of independence during World Wars I & II.

View Answer

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