IELTS Reading tips: True, False, Not Given

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Every IELTS Reading test, no matter Academic or General has tasks of this kind. Lots of students tell me (and I agree) that this is a very confusing task.

For those who have no idea what I am talking about, I’ll explain – this task has a statement, and your job is to say whether or not it is True, False or Not Given according to the reading passage.

How do you “attack” this question type? First learn the rule:

If the statement clearly appears in the text – it is True

If the text clearly says the opposite of the statement – it is False

If you didn’t find the statement to be either True or False – it is Not Given

For example:
“Smoking is dangerous and can lead to cancer” – T, F, NG

1) If the text clearly says that “smoking is dangerous and leads to cancer” then the answer is T.

2) If the text says that “No research showed evidence that smoking is dangerous and leads to cancer” then the answer is F.

3) If the text says “The research included smokers of both genders of ages 30 to 45″ and nothing else about smoking – your answer is NG.

Don’t make these mistakes:

Don’t assume anything based on your knowledge and experience, read the text! It is the oldest trick in the book and they use it a lot in IELTS exams.

Don’t “overthink” your answer – you could start building long logical sequences that will lead you to the wrong answer.