In TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN questions you decide whether each statement agrees with the information in the passage (TRUE), contradicts it (FALSE), or is not covered by it (NOT GIVEN). The marks are lost between FALSE and NOT GIVEN. FALSE needs words in the passage that prove the statement wrong. If the passage simply never says it, the answer is NOT GIVEN, however likely the statement sounds.
What do TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN mean?
Each statement is judged only against the passage: does it agree with what the text says, contradict it, or go beyond it? IELTS asks "Do the following statements agree with the information in the text?", and on computer you choose one of the three answers from the screen.
| Answer | What the passage does | How you know |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | Gives the same information as the statement | You can point to words that mean the same thing, usually phrased differently |
| FALSE | Says something that contradicts the statement | You can point to words that make the statement impossible |
| NOT GIVEN | Does not say whether the statement is right or wrong | You can find the topic, or not even that, but nothing that confirms or contradicts the claim |
Two rules follow from the table, and most wrong answers break one of them.
- Your own knowledge does not count. A statement can be perfectly true in the world and still be NOT GIVEN, because this passage does not say it.
- The whole statement must be covered. IDP's own advice puts it plainly: all of the information in the statement needs to be in the text, not just one or two of its words.
How do you tell FALSE from NOT GIVEN?
Ask one question: can both the passage and the statement be true at the same time? If they cannot, the statement is FALSE. If they can, because the passage is silent on the point the statement makes, it is NOT GIVEN.
FALSE
The passage says the café opens at nine. The statement says it opens at eight. Both cannot be true, so you can prove the statement wrong. FALSE answers always have evidence you can underline.
NOT GIVEN
The passage says the café opens at nine. The statement says it is the busiest café in the street. Nothing contradicts that and nothing supports it. With no evidence either way, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
A useful habit is to try to prove FALSE before you settle on NOT GIVEN. If you can underline the words that make the statement impossible, it is FALSE. If you find yourself arguing that the statement is "probably not" true, or "seems unlikely", you have no proof, and the answer is NOT GIVEN.
TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN?
Every answer at a glance
TRUE
The passage gives the same information. The words are usually different, so you are matching meaning, not vocabulary.
Passage: amber lamps use about a third less electricity. Statement: the amber lamps cost less to run.
FALSE
The passage contradicts the statement: if the passage is right, the statement must be wrong.
Passage: the town centre kept white light. Statement: every street lamp in the town was changed to amber.
NOT GIVEN
The passage talks about the same thing but never says what the statement adds: a cause, a reason, a comparison, a plan or a number.
Passage: moths returned near the amber roads, and nobody compared them with other streets. Statement: the amber lighting caused the moths to return.
NOT GIVEN
The passage does not deal with the point at all. Before you choose it, check that you have scanned the right paragraph, because TRUE and FALSE answers are often paraphrased out of sight.
Statement: the naturalists' group was paid by the council. Nothing in the passage mentions payment.
A method that works, statement by statement
The method is the same for every statement and takes under a minute once it is a habit:
Read the statement and mark what limits it
Underline the words that could change the answer: names, numbers and dates, and the small words that set limits, such as all, some, only, most, never, usually, more, first, because and will.
Find the place in the passage
Scan for a word from the statement that is hard to paraphrase, such as a name, a date or a number. Then read the whole sentence around it, and the next one.
Compare meaning, not words
Put the statement beside the passage and check each part you underlined. Matching meaning in different words points to TRUE; the same words with a changed limit often point to FALSE.
Try to prove it wrong
Before choosing NOT GIVEN, look for words that contradict the statement. If you can underline them, the answer is FALSE.
Answer and move on
Choose, flag it if you are unsure, and go to the next statement. A set rarely rewards going back over one question for minutes.
In practice the statements in a set usually follow the order of the passage, so once you have found statement 3, statement 4 is likely to be a little further on. Use that to save time, but do not rely on it as a rule.
Worked examples on one passage
This short passage was written for this guide. Read it once, then the five statements below it.
The amber streetlights
When the small town of Ashworth replaced its white street lamps in 2019, the council chose amber bulbs for every residential road, though the town centre kept white light for its shops and bus station. The decision followed complaints from residents about glare, but the council's stated reason was cost: amber lamps of the type chosen use about a third less electricity.
Two years later, a local naturalists' group reported that moths had returned to gardens near the amber roads in larger numbers than at any time in the previous decade. The group counted moths on one night each month and did not compare its figures with streets that still had white lamps. The council described the results as encouraging but said it had not set out to help wildlife.
Not everyone was pleased. Some drivers said that amber light made it harder to judge the colour of cars at junctions, and a petition asking for white lamps on two main roads gathered several hundred signatures. The council has agreed to review the lighting on those roads before the lamps are next replaced.
1. Ashworth changed every street lamp in the town to amber. The passage says every residential road, and that the town centre kept white light. Both cannot be true. FALSE.
2. Saving money was the council's official reason for the change. "The council's stated reason was cost." Official and stated, money and cost: different words, same meaning. TRUE.
3. The amber lighting caused the moths to return. The passage reports more moths near the amber roads, then adds that the group did not compare its figures with white-lit streets. A cause is exactly what the passage does not claim. NOT GIVEN.
4. Residents had complained about glare before the lamps were changed. "The decision followed complaints from residents about glare." If the decision followed the complaints, the complaints came first. TRUE.
5. The council has decided to put white lamps back on the two main roads. It has agreed to review the lighting, which is not a decision about the colour. The passage neither confirms nor rules out white lamps. NOT GIVEN.
Notice that statement 2 shares almost no words with the passage and is TRUE, while statement 1 shares most of its words and is FALSE. That is typical of the question type, and it is why matching words instead of meaning is such an easy way to lose these marks.
Which traps turn a right answer wrong?
Difficult statements tend to rely on a small set of tricks. Knowing them turns a guess into a check.
| Trap | What it looks like | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Paraphrase | The passage and statement say the same thing in different words | Match meaning: stated reason and official reason are the same claim |
| Repeated words | The statement copies the passage's words but changes one detail | Read the whole sentence; one changed word makes it FALSE |
| Qualifiers | all, every, some, most, only, always, usually, never | Check the passage uses the same strength: some is not all, usually is not always |
| Comparisons | more than, the first, the largest, faster | Confirm the passage actually compares the two things, and in that direction |
| Numbers and dates | figures, years, the order of events | Read them exactly: "followed", "two years later" and "before" fix the order |
| Cause and reason | because, led to, caused, in order to | A passage that reports two facts side by side has not said one caused the other |
| Possibility and certainty | may, hopes, plans, will, has decided | A hope or a review is not a decision; may is not will |
| Narrower or wider | the statement says less, or more, than the passage | Saying less can still be TRUE; saying more than the passage is usually NOT GIVEN |
The last row catches strong readers. The Ashworth passage says amber bulbs went on every residential road, so "some roads in Ashworth now have amber lamps" is TRUE: it says less, but nothing in it goes beyond the text. Add one detail the passage does not give, such as "because residents voted for them", and the statement becomes NOT GIVEN.
How is YES / NO / NOT GIVEN different?
YES, NO and NOT GIVEN ask about the writer's views or claims instead of facts: would the writer agree with the statement? IELTS calls this type "identifying writer's views/claims" and lists it for Academic Reading, where passages argue as well as inform. The method is the same, but you read for opinion words: argues, suggests, it is a mistake to, rightly, surprisingly, should.
Take this short opinion paragraph, again written for this guide:
It would be a mistake to judge a seed library by how many packets come back. The real value of such schemes lies in getting people to grow food at all, and on that measure most of them deserve far more support from local councils than they currently receive.
- The writer thinks the number of returned packets is the best way to measure success. The writer calls that a mistake. NO.
- The writer believes councils should do more to support seed libraries. "Deserve far more support from local councils." YES.
- The writer has started a seed library. The paragraph gives views, not the writer's own history. NOT GIVEN.
NO, like FALSE, needs evidence: words where the writer says the opposite. If the writer simply does not discuss the point, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Check yourself
Eight statements about a passage written for this guide. Read the passage first, then answer each statement before you look at the explanation. Aim to explain every FALSE answer by pointing at words.
Check yourselfEight statements about one short passage
8 questionsThe seed library
In the spring of 2021, the public library in Kestrel Valley began lending seeds as well as books. Members can borrow up to five packets of vegetable or flower seeds each season, free of charge, and are asked to bring back seeds saved from their own plants at the end of the summer. The scheme was suggested by a retired teacher, Ruth Ellery, who had seen a similar project while travelling.
In its first year the library lent just over six hundred packets. Fewer than a third of borrowers returned any seeds, and many of those that did come back were from tomatoes and beans, which are easy to save. Seeds from carrots and onions, which take two years to produce seed of their own, were hardly ever returned, so the library now buys fresh stock of these each spring.
Staff believe the scheme has brought new members to the library, particularly families with young children, although they have kept no figures on this. A gardening club now meets in the reading room every second Saturday. The library hopes to add fruit trees to the scheme, but has not yet found anywhere to grow them.
1Members pay a small charge for each packet of seeds they borrow.
The answer is FALSE. The passage says the seeds are lent free of charge, which contradicts a charge of any size.
2The idea for the seed library came from someone who had seen one elsewhere.
The answer is TRUE. Ruth Ellery suggested it after seeing a similar project while travelling. Elsewhere and while travelling say the same thing in different words.
3Ruth Ellery now manages the scheme.
The answer is NOT GIVEN. We are told she suggested the scheme, nothing about who runs it now. The topic is there; the claim is not.
4Most borrowers returned some seeds at the end of the first summer.
The answer is FALSE. Fewer than a third returned any seeds, so most did not. Most and fewer than a third cannot both be true.
5Carrot seeds were returned less often than tomato seeds.
The answer is TRUE. Many returned seeds were tomatoes, and carrot seeds were hardly ever returned. The passage never uses the word less, but the comparison follows directly from what it says.
6The library keeps a record of how many people joined because of the scheme.
The answer is FALSE. Staff have kept no figures on new members, which contradicts the statement. This is FALSE, not NOT GIVEN, because the passage addresses exactly this point.
7The gardening club was set up by the library's staff.
The answer is NOT GIVEN. We know where and when the club meets, but not who started it. Do not fill the gap with what seems likely.
8Fruit trees will be added to the scheme next year.
The answer is NOT GIVEN. The library hopes to add fruit trees, with no date and no site yet. A hope is not a plan for next year, and nothing says it will not happen either.
How do you get faster at TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN?
Speed comes from making the method automatic, not from reading faster. Three ways to practise it:
- Explain every answer in one line. For each statement, write the words that prove it (TRUE), the words that contradict it (FALSE), or "the passage does not say whether…" (NOT GIVEN). If you cannot write the line, you guessed.
- Keep a list of the traps that caught you. Most candidates have one or two favourites, often qualifiers or cause and effect. Once you know yours, check for them first.
- Practise on full passages. In the real paper a set of TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN statements sits inside a 60-minute paper with other question types. How to finish IELTS Reading in 60 minutes covers where to spend the time.
And never leave one blank. Each correct answer earns one mark and nothing is taken away for a wrong one, so a guess can only help.
Try it on a full paper
Reading · 60 minutes
Three passages and 40 questions on the real clock, with every answer marked and the evidence shown in the passage.
The rules for both judgement types are on the IELTS Reading tests page, beside every test in the library. Each one can be sat on the clock and is marked at once, with the TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN answers laid out as a grid so you can see which way your mistakes lean.
Where to check this
Every rule in this guide comes from these official pages. Test centres can differ on dates and arrangements, so check yours too.
- IELTS Academic format: Reading · IELTS
- IELTS General Training format: Reading · IELTS
- N is for Not Given · IDP IELTS Australia
Questions people ask next
What is the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN in IELTS Reading?
FALSE means the passage says something that contradicts the statement, so you can point to the words that prove it wrong. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say whether the statement is right or wrong. If you cannot point to a contradiction, the answer is not FALSE.
Is there a NOT GIVEN answer in every set?
IELTS publishes no rule that a set must contain all three answers, so never choose an answer to balance the set. Judge every statement on its own against the passage, even if you end up with several of the same answer in a row.
Can I use my own knowledge to answer TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN?
No. The question asks whether the statement agrees with the information in the text, not whether it is true in the world. A statement can be a well-known fact and still be NOT GIVEN, because the passage never says it.
What is the difference between TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN and YES/NO/NOT GIVEN?
TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN ask about facts the passage states. YES, NO and NOT GIVEN ask about the writer's views or claims: whether the writer would agree with the statement. The method is the same, but you look for opinion words instead of facts.
Should I leave a TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN question blank if I am not sure?
Never. Each correct answer earns one mark and nothing is taken away for a wrong one, so a blank always scores zero while a guess has a one in three chance. Flag the question, choose your best answer, and come back if time allows.
Written by SpeakMetry Team
The team that builds SpeakMetry's mock tests writes these guides. Every rule is checked against the official IELTS, British Council and IDP pages listed in the guide, and every example question, passage and sample answer was written for the guide it appears in.
