True False Not Given IELTS Trick — The Complete Strategy Guide
Most students find True easy, False manageable, and Not Given a lottery. This guide gives you the true false not given IELTS trick that ends the guessing — a clear, repeatable decision system for all three.
True, False, Not Given is consistently rated as the hardest question type in IELTS Reading. Students who understand English perfectly still get these wrong — not because their English is weak, but because they are not applying the right decision rules.
The true false not given IELTS trick is simpler than most students expect: True, False, and Not Given each have a specific, logical definition. Once you understand all three precisely — and follow one golden rule — the question type becomes completely predictable. This guide gives you all five strategies with real examples for each, consistent with the approach recommended by the official IELTS preparation guidance.
Work through all five strategies in order. Each one builds on the last — and together they give you a complete decision system for every True, False, Not Given question you will ever face.
A TRUE answer means the passage explicitly confirms what the statement says. The evidence is direct — not implied, not suggested, not assumed. However, the passage will almost never use the exact same words as the question. This is the key trap for TRUE answers — students look for the exact wording and don't find it, so they mark Not Given when the answer is actually True.
The technique is paraphrase matching: find the relevant part of the passage, then check whether the meaning of the statement matches the meaning of what the passage says — even if the words are different.
- Find the section of the passage that deals with the same topic as the statement.
- Check every part of the statement — all of it must be confirmed, not just one part.
- Look for synonyms and paraphrases — "increased" might become "grew", "difficult" might become "challenging".
- If the passage confirms the meaning but uses different vocabulary, the answer is still TRUE.
A FALSE answer means the passage provides evidence that directly contradicts the statement. This contradiction can be total — the passage says the exact opposite — or it can be partial, where part of the statement is true but another part is wrong. Either way, the answer is FALSE.
The most dangerous FALSE trap is the half-true statement. It starts with something the passage confirms, which relaxes your attention, then sneaks in a detail that the passage actually contradicts. Students mark TRUE because they spotted the first correct part and stopped reading carefully.
- Read the full statement carefully — all parts, not just the beginning.
- Find the relevant passage section and check every detail against every part of the statement.
- If even one part of the statement contradicts the passage, the answer is FALSE — even if other parts are correct.
- Look for quantity words — "all", "some", "most", "only" — these are often the part that is wrong in a half-true statement.
Not Given is the answer students most often get wrong — and the reason is almost always the same: they see a keyword from the statement appear in the passage and assume the topic is covered. But the examiner deliberately puts keywords in the passage without providing evidence about the specific claim in the statement.
Not Given means: the passage mentions the topic, but does not give you enough information to say whether the statement is true or false. You cannot confirm it AND you cannot contradict it. The information simply is not there.
- Find the relevant passage section. If you cannot find one — Not Given immediately.
- If you find the section, ask: does it give specific evidence about the claim? If not — Not Given.
- The keyword appearing in the passage does not mean the claim is covered. It is a trap. Verify the specific claim, not just the topic.
- If you are spending more than 90 seconds looking and still cannot find evidence — it is almost certainly Not Given. Move on.
This is the rule that is most often stated and most often broken under exam pressure. When you are reading quickly and you see a statement that you know to be true from your general knowledge or education — your brain wants to mark it TRUE immediately.
Do not do this. If the passage does not confirm it, the answer is Not Given. Every time. No exceptions.
- Before answering, ask yourself: "Can I point to the exact sentence in the passage that proves this?" If not — Not Given.
- Treat every passage as if you are reading it in a language you do not know. The words mean exactly what they say — nothing more.
- If you find yourself thinking "well, everyone knows that..." — stop. That thought is the trap.
- You must be able to physically underline the evidence in the passage. If you cannot underline it, it is not there.
Paraphrasing goes both ways. In Strategy 1 we learned that different words can mean the same thing — which makes an answer TRUE. But the reverse is also true: similar-looking words can mean different things — which can make an answer FALSE or NOT GIVEN depending on what the passage says.
This is called conceptual matching, and it is what separates Band 6 and Band 7 readers. At Band 6, students match surface words. At Band 7, students match the underlying meaning — the concept being expressed — not just the vocabulary.
| Word in statement | Word in passage | Are they the same? | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| increased | improved | ❌ Not always | Something can increase in quantity without improving in quality — e.g. "costs increased" ≠ "costs improved" |
| majority | many | ❌ Not the same | "Majority" means more than 50%. "Many" could be 30%. Conceptually different even though they sound similar. |
| replaced | supplemented | ❌ Opposite | "Replaced" means old thing gone. "Supplemented" means added alongside. These are conceptually opposite. |
| rare | uncommon | ✓ Same concept | Both mean "not frequent" — this is genuine paraphrasing. Same concept, different words. |
| mandatory | encouraged | ❌ Not the same | "Mandatory" = required. "Encouraged" = optional but recommended. A statement saying mandatory when the passage says encouraged is FALSE. |
| halved | reduced | ❌ Not necessarily | "Halved" means reduced by exactly 50%. "Reduced" means any decrease. If the statement says halved but the passage just says reduced — Not Given. |
- When you find a matching section in the passage, do not stop at word-level matching. Ask: does the passage mean exactly what the statement claims?
- Pay particular attention to quantity words — "all", "most", "some", "half", "doubled", "tripled" — these carry precise meanings that are easy to swap in a trap.
- Watch for degree words — "slightly", "significantly", "completely", "gradually" — a small change is not the same as a large one.
- Watch for obligation words — "must", "should", "may", "can", "encouraged to" — these have entirely different meanings and are frequently used to create FALSE traps.
True False Not Given IELTS — Complete Decision Guide
Use this every time you answer a True, False, Not Given question.
| Answer | Signal in passage | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | Passage confirms the statement — same meaning, often paraphrased words | Assuming it's Not Given because exact words don't match — check meaning, not just vocabulary |
| FALSE | Passage contradicts the statement — directly or in one specific detail (half-true) | Half-true statements — the first part matches so you stop reading. Always check every part. |
| NOT GIVEN | Passage mentions the topic but gives no specific evidence about the claim | Keyword trap — seeing a topic word and assuming the claim is covered. Verify the specific claim. |
| Golden Rule | Use ONLY the passage — never your own knowledge or assumptions | Science, history, geography topics where you have strong background knowledge — ignore it all |
| Concept Match | Similar words can mean different things — always match meaning, not surface words | increased ≠ improved · majority ≠ many · mandatory ≠ encouraged · replaced ≠ supplemented |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about True, False, Not Given in IELTS Reading.
Master every question type. Not just True, False, Not Given.
This article covers the five core strategies. Take our free IELTS mock test — all 4 modules, questions curated by IELTS tutors — and see exactly where your Reading score stands right now. Then explore the full Masterclass for every question type from Band 5 to Band 8.