IELTS Reading: True / False / Not Given

The most misunderstood task in the paper, and the one where general knowledge does more harm than good.

1. What This Task Is

You are given a series of statements and asked whether each agrees with the passage (True), contradicts it (False), or is not addressed at all (Not Given).

A parallel task, Yes / No / Not Given, asks the same thing about the writer’s opinions rather than about facts.

2. Format

Answer	Means
TRUE / YES	The passage states this, in these words or in paraphrase.
FALSE / NO	The passage states the opposite.
NOT GIVEN	The passage does not address the point either way.

Use the labels the instructions give you. Writing YES on a True/False/Not Given task is marked wrong even when the reasoning is right.

3. What Is Actually Tested

Whether you can restrict yourself to the text in front of you. Not Given is not a judgement about whether a statement is plausible — it is an observation that the passage is silent.

4. Strategies That Work

Answer only from the passage. Everything you already know about the topic is a liability here.
Find the relevant lines first, then compare the statement word by word.
Watch qualifiers: all, some, never, often. Changing one turns True into False.
If you cannot find the point after a careful look, it is Not Given. Absence is the answer, not a failure to search.
Answers follow the passage order, so use the one before and after to narrow the search.

5. Worked Example

Air Rage — True / False / Not Given

Passage: Air Rage

In the first case of air rage, one of the reasons the man was not punished was because the plane was not registered. → FALSE

The statistics on air rage were collected by private monitoring groups. → NOT GIVEN

The second most common catalyst for incidents is problems with seating. → TRUE

The difference between False and Not Given is the whole task. False means the passage says the opposite. Not Given means the passage simply never addresses the point — however likely or unlikely it sounds to you.

6. Common Mistakes

Marking False when the passage simply never mentions the point.
Marking True because the statement is obviously correct in real life.
Missing a qualifier that reverses the meaning.
Using YES/NO labels on a TRUE/FALSE task.

7. Questions People Ask

What is the difference between False and Not Given?

False means the passage contradicts the statement. Not Given means the passage does not comment on it at all.

Is there usually a balance of the three?

Roughly, but do not force one. If your answers are all True, re-check rather than change one at random.

Practise this task with real material on the IELTS Reading samples page, or review how it is marked on the Reading scoring page.

Written by Kirill O'Nayd

IELTS expert and educator at TestSucceed, with over a decade of experience preparing candidates for the Academic and General Training modules. Author of the Complete IELTS Preparation Course on Udemy ★★★★★★4.7