Blog · 16 October 2026 · 2 min read

TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN: a method that works

The question type that costs most Reading marks, and a four-step method for deciding - with a worked example.

TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN questions appear in almost every IELTS Reading test, and they cost candidates more marks than any other type. The problem is rarely English. It’s the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN.

What the answers mean

• TRUE - the statement agrees with the information in the text.
• FALSE - the text says the opposite. The statement contradicts it.
• NOT GIVEN - the text doesn’t say either way. There’s no information to confirm or contradict it.

The “writer’s views” version, YES / NO / NOT GIVEN, works the same way, but about what the writer believes rather than facts.

The four-step method

1. Find the topic words in the statement - names, numbers, and nouns that are hard to paraphrase. Use them to find the right sentence in the text. The questions follow the order of the text.
2. Find the qualifiers - words like all, only, most, always, first, more than. They’re where most answers turn.
3. Compare the two sentences - not the general idea, the exact claim. Does the text say the same thing, the opposite, or nothing about this precise point?
4. Don’t use what you know. If the text doesn’t say it, it’s NOT GIVEN, even if it’s true in the real world.

A worked example

Here’s a short text, written for this post:

When the town of Elmstead opened its bicycle-hire scheme in 2019, it offered 200 bicycles at twelve stations. Use grew steadily, and by 2022 the council had doubled the number of stations. Most journeys were under three kilometres, and the busiest station was the one beside the railway.

Statement 1: The scheme started with twelve stations. The text says it opened with “twelve stations”. TRUE.

Statement 2: The number of bicycles doubled by 2022. The text says the number of stations doubled. It says nothing about the number of bicycles in 2022. It’s tempting to say FALSE, but the text doesn’t contradict it - it just doesn’t say. NOT GIVEN.

Statement 3: Most journeys were longer than three kilometres. The text says most were under three kilometres - the opposite. FALSE.

Statement 4: The station beside the railway was the first to open. The text tells us it was the busiest, not the first. NOT GIVEN.

Statements 2 and 4 are the classic trap: a word from the text (doubled, railway) attached to a claim the text never makes.

Practice habits that help

• Write a one-word reason next to each answer as you practise - “same”, “opposite”, “no info”. It forces you to prove each one.
• When you review, look hardest at the questions you got wrong as NOT GIVEN or FALSE. They’re nearly always the same mistake repeated.
• Time yourself. In the exam you have about twenty minutes per passage, questions included.

Every Reading test on our platform shows the right answer after you submit, so you can check your reasoning question by question.