IELTS Reading test: True, False and Not given explained. Do you find the True, false, not given question type in the IELTS Reading test challenging? Find out what skills you need to understand this question type so you can perform better on test day.

This task asks you to identify whether the given statements match with the writer’s views or claims in the text. You will be given a list of statements which are either opinions or facts and you have to decide for whether they are equal to writer’s view / given information in the text (True/ Yes), against them (False/No) or not mentioned (Not Given) in the text.

This type of questions are designed specifically to assesses 

your ability to compare the information which ultimately needs you to scan the correct information in text, locate the details, understand synonyms and paraphrasing.

This kind of questions are mainly in order of the text, means if you find the answer of question 1 from paragraph no.2, the answer of question 2 will be later in same paragraphs or next paragraphs (2nd or the later paragraphs), but NOT before that. 

Basic skill is to mark, 

True: If the statement means the same as the text.

False: If the statement means opposite of the text.

Not Given: If you can't decide whether text and statement are same or opposite. 

Now, to decide and compare the information you need to understand Paraphrasing, which means how the words in the paragraph convey the meaning and what the question wants to say. 

There are many ways examiner can paraphrase the information to assess your English language understanding and can ask you question in various ways. Herein, I am going to start a short series of some back to back blogs which will help you clear one after other skills, which will make you failproof in solving True, False, Not Given questions.

Some common ways which are frequently used in IELTS Reading paraphrasing in True, False , NG questions.

One of the commonly used patterns in IELTS Reading for True, False Not Given questions is paraphrasing by "Changing the Degree of Comparison". This usually will tempt you to mark your answer True but the answer might be actually No, or vice versa. 

1) One of the most Vs the most

Let's understand with an example:

    Text : "Virat Kohli has many unbelievable records on his name. He is one of the most successful batsmen in the world of cricket."

    Question:

   "Virat Kohli is the most successful batsman in the world of cricket."

Let's examine. 

The text says Virat is one of the most successful batsmen in the world of cricket but the question says Virat Kohli is the most successful batsman in the world of cricket. Do they mean same? or opposite? or we simply can't decide? 

   "One of the most successful" means one among the few successful or in the position of top three or five or ten, means it does not always mean the 1st. Whereas "the most" means always on 1st position. 

    If Virat is one of the most successful batsmen, he is among ten most successful batsmen, means there are few other batsmen who are equal to him or better than him, but if we say he is the most successful batsman he is better than rest all and on number 1 position. So, the question does not mean the same as the text and hence the answer is clearly "NO". 

    So, to be fail-proof in this type of questions just clear your understanding for the difference between "the most" and "one of the most".

    2) The comparative degree, more than or less  than the other thing.

 Another type of question which is again very often asked and marked incorrect by many students is a pattern of using Comparative Degree in question. Usually in text two different categories are just discussed but in question the examiner compare one with other, which is actually not at all given in the text. Let's check...

    Text…

"The main source of income for this institute is donation. The institute provides charity to the needy class of the society. The charity raises money to pay for education and the daily needs of the poor people."

Que…

"The charity spends more of the money raised on schooling for poor people than on their daily requirements."

Let's understand this. 

The text says the charity raises money for education and daily needs. it is not saying where charity spends more and where it spends less, but the question compares that it spends more on education than the daily needs, now we can not be sure whether it spends more or not. It may spend more, maybe less or maybe equally. In this case, the answer is NOT GIVEN.

Crux is you need to understand the way the information is compared and need to comprehend the meaning before deciding your answer and this is quite very easy if you know the grammar for Comparison / Degree in English. 

Few more words to be understood well, to get 100% accuracy in this skill. 

- Be careful with these words, “some", "all", "only", "never", "usually", "often", "sometimes", “most”, “one of the most”, “mainly” and so on.

Check my upcoming blogs to get practice questions and explanation of answers to polish your skills of comparison and get mastery over True, False and Not given questions in your real IELTS exam.