IELTS Reading tips: True, False, Not Given

14 Jun, 2011Archive

IELTS Reading tips: True, False, Not Given

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

How do you “attack” it? First learn the rule:

  • If the statement clearly appears in text – it is True
  • If the text clearly says the opposite of statement – it is False
  • If you didn’t find the statement to be 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” than the answer is T.

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

3) If the text says “The research included smoking people 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.
  • Don’t “over think” your answer – you could start building long logical sequences that will take you to the wrong answer.

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