Reading
The question type that costs candidates the most marks, explained by a former IELTS examiner. With a practice exercise and answers.
IELTS True False Not Given questions are the hardest question type in the reading test, and almost all of the difficulty is in one decision: is the statement FALSE, or is it NOT GIVEN? Candidates who understand that difference pick up marks quickly. Candidates who do not can lose five or six marks in a single passage.
The rule itself is short. FALSE means the passage says the opposite. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say. The problem is that a statement can feel wrong without the passage actually contradicting it, and that feeling is what examiners see costing marks.
The rule
Every statement gets one of three answers, and each has a precise meaning.
The passage says the same thing. The wording will be different, but the meaning matches completely.
The passage says the opposite. There is something in the text that directly contradicts the statement.
The passage does not say. The information may be true in real life, or it may seem likely, but the text does not tell you either way.
Worked example
Here is a single sentence and three statements about it.
Training to become a doctor involves long hours and little pay, and many trainees do not complete the course.
FALSE. The text says training involves little pay. That is the opposite of well paid, so the text contradicts the statement.
NOT GIVEN. The text says trainees work long hours, which is about the working day, not about how many years the qualification takes. It probably does take a long time, but the text does not say so.
TRUE. The text says many trainees do not complete the course. Different words, same meaning.
The second one is where marks are lost. Long hours feels connected to a long training period, so candidates answer TRUE. It is not the same information, and the examiner is testing exactly that.
Method
Four habits separate candidates who score well on this question type from those who guess.
The statements follow the order of the passage. Locate the part of the text the statement refers to before you decide anything.
If you cannot point to words in the passage that say the opposite, the answer is not FALSE. It is NOT GIVEN.
All, most, some, never, always, only. A statement can match the text perfectly except for one of these, and that one word makes it FALSE.
You answer from the passage alone. A statement can be completely true in the real world and still be NOT GIVEN.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer. If you are stuck between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, choose NOT GIVEN, which is the more common of the two.
On paper, write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN, or abbreviate to T, F and NG. On the computer test you choose the answer from a menu. In both formats, never answer YES or NO. Those belong to a different question type and are marked wrong here.
Practice
Read the passage, then choose an answer for each statement. The explanation appears as soon as you answer.
Community gardens have become a familiar sight in New Zealand's larger cities. Auckland alone now has more than sixty registered plots, most of them on land leased from the council at a nominal rent. Volunteers grow vegetables and herbs, and in many gardens a share of the produce is donated to local food banks. Councils generally welcome the schemes, since they make use of land that would otherwise be mown at public expense. Not all applications are approved, however. Sites close to busy roads are usually rejected because of concerns about soil contamination, and a garden that cannot show it has at least twenty active members is unlikely to be granted a lease.
1Auckland has more than sixty registered community garden plots.
TRUE. The passage states it directly: Auckland has more than sixty registered plots.
2Community gardeners pay nothing for the land they use.
FALSE. The land is leased at a nominal rent. Nominal means very small, not nothing, so the text contradicts the statement.
3Most community gardens give all of their produce to food banks.
FALSE. The passage says a share of the produce is donated. The qualifying word all makes the statement wrong.
4Community gardens are more popular in Auckland than in Wellington.
NOT GIVEN. Wellington is never mentioned. The passage gives a number for Auckland but nothing to compare it with.
5Applications for sites near busy roads are usually refused.
TRUE. The passage says sites close to busy roads are usually rejected. Refused and rejected carry the same meaning here, and usually appears in both.
6A garden with twenty-five active members will be granted a lease.
NOT GIVEN. Twenty members is a minimum, and the passage only says a garden below it is unlikely to get a lease. It never says what happens to a garden above it. This is the commonest trap in this question type.
The difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN is the hardest part of the reading test, and most candidates need more than one exercise before it clicks.
The complete IELTS course on IELTStestONLINE has video lessons on every question type, many more exercises like this one, and your own support tutor you can ask when an answer does not make sense. Take a look at the complete course
One exercise tells you whether you understood these six statements. It cannot tell you whether your reading is at Band 6 or Band 7, and that is the number you actually need.
IELTStestONLINE keeps every score you get in one place, gives you an estimated band as you work, and assesses your writing and speaking against the four criteria so you can see where you stand before test day. See what full membership includes
Also worth knowing
These two question types look identical and are not, and writing the wrong words costs you the mark even when your thinking was right.
Used for statements about facts and information in the passage. You are checking whether the text states the same thing.
Answer with TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
Used for statements about the writer's opinions, views or claims. You are checking whether the writer would agree.
Answer with YES, NO or NOT GIVEN.
Read the instructions before you start. If they ask for YES / NO / NOT GIVEN and you write TRUE, the answer is marked wrong.
FALSE means the passage contradicts the statement. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not mention the information at all. If you cannot point to words in the text that say the opposite, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Yes. The statements follow the order of the text, so if you find the answer to statement 4 before you have found statement 3, you have gone too far and should go back.
Always answer. There is no penalty for a wrong answer in IELTS reading or listening. If you are stuck between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, NOT GIVEN is the more common of the two.
On the paper test, yes. TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN can be abbreviated to T, F and NG. On the computer-delivered test the question is answered from a menu, so there is nothing to abbreviate. In both formats, never answer YES or NO, which belong to a different question type.
Usually because you are using knowledge from outside the passage, or because the statement sounds like a reasonable conclusion from what the text says. IELTS tests only what is on the page. A statement can be obviously true in real life and still be NOT GIVEN.
It varies. There is no fixed number, and a test can contain none at all, but the type appears often enough that it is worth preparing for in both the Academic and General Training modules.
Full membership
Practice tells you which questions you got wrong. It does not tell you what band you are working at, and that is the number that decides whether you book the test or keep studying.
IELTStestONLINE assesses your writing and speaking against the four IELTS criteria, instantly and as often as you like, using a system built by a former IELTS examiner and examiner trainer. It keeps every score in one place with an estimated band, and it carries no advertising.
See what membership includes