True / False / Not Given (and Yes/No/Not Given)
True/False/Not Given is the question type where clever candidates lose the most marks, because the smarter you are, the more tempting it is to reason beyond the text. The whole skill is disciplining yourself to answer only from what the passage actually says.
What you'll be able to do
- Define TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN precisely and apply each correctly
- Stop using outside knowledge or logic to decide NOT GIVEN questions
- Spot qualifiers that flip a TRUE statement into FALSE
- Distinguish Yes/No/Not Given (opinion) from True/False/Not Given (fact)
Ask a room of IELTS candidates which question type scares them and True/False/Not Given wins every time. It's not because the English is hard. It's because the task punishes a habit that served you well your whole life: using what you already know. In everyday reading you fill gaps with common sense. Here, common sense is a trap.
The three labels have exact meanings, and the exam holds you to them:
- TRUE — the statement agrees with the information in the passage.
- FALSE — the statement contradicts the information in the passage.
- NOT GIVEN — the passage neither confirms nor contradicts the statement; there simply isn't the information.
The mistake that sinks strong candidates
The classic error is: "This sounds reasonable and I know it's true in real life, so I'll put TRUE." Or the reverse — "the passage implies it, so it must be there." NOT GIVEN means the text does not say it, full stop. Your knowledge of the world, your logic, and what the writer "probably" thinks are all irrelevant. If the passage doesn't state or contradict the claim, the answer is NOT GIVEN — even when the claim is obviously true in reality.
The one rule that fixes most errors
Decide each answer using only the passage, as if you knew nothing else about the topic. That single discipline resolves the majority of wrong answers. When you feel the pull of "but everyone knows that…", stop — that feeling is usually the signal for NOT GIVEN.
It helps to reframe the three options as three questions you ask in order:
- Does the passage say this (or clearly mean it)? → TRUE.
- Does the passage say the opposite? → FALSE.
- Does the passage not address it either way? → NOT GIVEN.
FALSE requires an actual contradiction in the text. If you can't point to the words that clash with the statement, you don't have FALSE — you likely have NOT GIVEN.
These questions follow passage order
Unlike Matching Headings, True/False/Not Given questions run in the same order as the passage. The answer to question 3 sits after the answer to question 2 in the text. So once you've located question 2, question 3 is downstream — you never have to search the whole passage from the top again. Use this to move quickly and to know when you've drifted too far.
Watch the qualifiers
A single small word can flip an answer. Words like all, every, only, always, never, most, some, often change the scope of a claim, and the examiners love to build questions on them. If the passage says "some coastal cities have introduced the ban" and the statement says "all coastal cities have introduced the ban," that's a contradiction — FALSE, not TRUE. The idea overlaps, but the scope doesn't. Underline qualifiers in both the statement and the matching line of the passage, and compare them directly.
| Passage says | Statement says | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Some researchers argue…" | "All researchers argue…" | FALSE | The scope is contradicted — some is not all |
| "The drug reduced symptoms in trials" | "The drug cured the disease" | FALSE | Reduced ≠ cured; the claim overstates it |
| "The museum opened in 1997" | "The museum is popular with tourists" | NOT GIVEN | Popularity is never mentioned, only the opening date |
| "Sales rose sharply after the launch" | "Sales increased following the launch" | TRUE | Same meaning in different words |
A step-by-step method
- Read the statement and underline the key claim — especially any qualifier (all, some, only, never).
- Scan the passage for the same idea, not the same words. The passage will usually paraphrase; match meaning, using the fact that answers run in order.
- Compare the statement to that line only. Ask: does it agree, contradict, or say nothing about my claim?
- If you can't find the information after a focused look, it's NOT GIVEN. Don't keep hunting — a claim the writer never addresses won't appear no matter how long you search.
- Resist "it makes sense" reasoning. If your answer depends on outside knowledge or an inference the text doesn't make, switch it to NOT GIVEN.
- Fill every answer. There's no penalty; a guessed answer still has a one-in-three chance.
💡 Worked example: one of each
Passage. "The Antarctic tern is a small seabird found across the Southern Ocean. Unlike many migratory birds, it breeds during the Antarctic summer, nesting on rocky, ice-free coasts. Its diet consists almost entirely of small fish and krill, which it catches by plunge-diving from a few metres above the surface. Populations are considered stable, though researchers note that shifts in krill abundance could affect breeding success in future."
Decide TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN for each:
- The Antarctic tern breeds in winter.
- The Antarctic tern feeds mainly on fish and krill.
- The Antarctic tern is the smallest seabird in the Southern Ocean.
Answer:
1 = FALSE. 2 = TRUE. 3 = NOT GIVEN.
1 — FALSE. The passage says it "breeds during the Antarctic summer." The statement says winter, which directly contradicts the text. You can point to the clashing words, so it's a genuine FALSE, not NOT GIVEN.
2 — TRUE. "Its diet consists almost entirely of small fish and krill" agrees with "feeds mainly on fish and krill." Different words, same meaning — note that "almost entirely" and "mainly" line up rather than conflict.
3 — NOT GIVEN. The passage calls it "a small seabird" but never claims it is the smallest. That comparison is nowhere in the text. It might feel plausible, but plausible isn't stated — so the answer is NOT GIVEN, not TRUE. This is exactly where the "it's probably true" trap catches people.
Yes / No / Not Given — the opinion version
Yes/No/Not Given works the same way, with one crucial shift: it targets the writer's opinions, views or claims rather than factual information. YES means the statement agrees with the writer's view; NO means it contradicts the writer's view; NOT GIVEN means the writer doesn't express that view. You'll usually meet it on passages that argue a position rather than describe facts.
The skill it adds is telling fact from opinion. Look for signal language — "the author argues," "in her view," "critics claim," "this suggests" — and be careful to attribute views correctly. A passage might report a view the writer then disagrees with; matching your statement to the wrong voice is a common way to turn a NO into a wrong YES.
Same discipline, different target
Everything from True/False/Not Given carries over to Yes/No/Not Given: answer only from the text, watch qualifiers, and default to NOT GIVEN when the view isn't expressed. The only mental switch is asking "what does the writer think?" instead of "what is factually stated?" Both question types appear in Academic and General Training alike.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly does NOT GIVEN mean in IELTS Reading?
It means the passage neither confirms nor contradicts the statement — the information simply isn't there. Even if the claim is obviously true in real life, if the text doesn't state or contradict it, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
What is the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN?
FALSE means the passage directly contradicts the statement, so you can point to the clashing words. NOT GIVEN means the passage says nothing about the claim at all, so there is nothing to contradict.
What is the difference between True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given?
True/False/Not Given tests factual information in the passage, while Yes/No/Not Given tests the writer's opinions, views or claims. The method is the same, but you must judge the statement against what the author thinks rather than against the facts.
Can I use my own knowledge to answer these questions?
No. You must decide every answer using only the passage, as if you knew nothing else about the topic. Bringing in outside knowledge or logical inference is the single biggest cause of wrong answers on this question type.