True / False / Not Given and Yes / No / Not Given

A clear method for the most feared IELTS Reading question type, with the difference between False and Not Given explained through worked examples.

No question type causes more arguments than this one. Candidates say it is a matter of opinion, or that Not Given is a trick. It is neither. Once you understand what each of the three answers means, the task becomes one of the most logical in the test.

What the task looks like

You are given a list of statements and asked:

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

The second version is used with texts that contain argument and opinion:

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer?

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

The method is identical for both. The only difference is that True/False/Not Given is about facts in the text, while Yes/No/Not Given is about what the writer believes. Make sure you type the right set of words: writing TRUE when the task asks for YES may lose the mark.

The three answers, precisely

Think of each statement as a claim that you are checking against the passage.

• TRUE / YES – the passage says the same thing in different words. Every part of the statement is supported.
• FALSE / NO – the passage says something that cannot be true at the same time as the statement. If the passage is right, the statement must be wrong.
• NOT GIVEN – the passage talks about the topic, but it does not give the particular piece of information you would need to decide. The statement might be true or false in real life; the text simply does not tell you.

A test you can apply: imagine the opposite of the statement. If the passage would allow both the statement and its opposite, the answer is NOT GIVEN. If the passage rules the statement out, it is FALSE.

The method

1. Read the statement and find what is being claimed. Most statements make one claim, built from two or three parts: a subject, what is said about it, and often a comparison, time, quantity or reason.
2. Locate the relevant sentence(s) using anchor words (Lesson 2). The statements follow the order of the passage, so the answer to statement 4 lies between the answers to 3 and 5.
3. Read that part closely and compare it with the statement, piece by piece.
4. Decide: same meaning → TRUE; opposite or incompatible → FALSE; the key piece is missing → NOT GIVEN.
5. Do not use your own knowledge. Only the passage counts.

Worked example

The Great Stink

In the summer of 1858, an unusually hot spell reduced the level of the River Thames, which for decades had received the untreated waste of more than two million Londoners. The smell became so overpowering that sittings of Parliament, whose windows overlooked the water, were almost abandoned; sheets soaked in chemicals were hung across the windows in an attempt to keep it out. At the time, most doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, and the stench therefore caused real alarm. Within eighteen days, a law had been passed providing the money for a new system of sewers. The engineer chosen to design it, Joseph Bazalgette, calculated the diameter of pipe that the city’s population required and then doubled it, reasoning that such work would be done only once. His sewers, completed in the 1870s, are still in use.

1. The level of the Thames fell in 1858 because of high temperatures.

Passage: an unusually hot spell reduced the level of the River Thames. Same meaning, different words. → TRUE

2. Parliament stopped meeting during the summer of 1858.

Passage: sittings were almost abandoned. ‘Almost abandoned’ means they were not actually abandoned. The statement says they stopped, and the passage is incompatible with that. → FALSE

Notice how one small word decides it. Without almost, the answer would be TRUE.

3. The chemicals used on the sheets were successful in removing the smell.

Passage: sheets soaked in chemicals were hung in an attempt to keep it out. We know what was tried. Were they successful? The passage does not say that they worked, and it does not say that they failed. → NOT GIVEN

Many candidates choose FALSE here because ‘attempt’ sounds like failure. But an attempt can succeed. Apply the opposite test: ‘The chemicals were not successful’ – does the passage say that? No. Both the statement and its opposite are possible, so it is NOT GIVEN.

4. In 1858, the majority of doctors thought that cholera was carried in dirty water.

Passage: most doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air. Air, not water. The statement contradicts the text. → FALSE

This item also shows why you must not use outside knowledge. We now know that cholera is carried in water, so the statement sounds sensible, but the question is what doctors believed according to the passage.

5. Bazalgette had previously designed sewers for other cities.

Passage: he was ‘the engineer chosen to design it’. Nothing is said about his earlier career. → NOT GIVEN

6. Bazalgette made the pipes larger than his calculations suggested was necessary.

Passage: he calculated the diameter … required and then doubled it. → TRUE

The five classic traps

Trap 1: The comparison that is not made

Passage: Both the bus and the tram are popular with commuters. Statement: The tram is more popular than the bus.

The passage mentions both but does not compare them. → NOT GIVEN. Whenever a statement contains more, less, better, the most, the first, check that the passage actually makes that comparison.

Trap 2: The stronger statement

Passage: Some researchers believe the drug may be harmful. Statement: The drug is harmful.

The passage gives a possibility held by some people; the statement gives a fact. Normally this is NOT GIVEN, since we are not told whether the drug really is harmful. Words such as all, always, never, only, every in a statement are a signal to check carefully.

Trap 3: The reason that is not given

Passage: The factory closed in 1990. Many workers left the town. Statement: The factory closed because workers left the town.

Both facts are there, but the passage does not say that one caused the other (and if anything suggests the reverse). When a statement contains because, so, in order to, as a result of, the passage must give that reason.

Trap 4: True in the world, absent from the text

Statement: Paris is the capital of France.

If the passage never says so, the answer is NOT GIVEN, however true it is.

Trap 5: The same words, a different meaning

A statement that repeats several words from the passage is often FALSE or NOT GIVEN. The question writers know that anxious candidates match words rather than meaning. A TRUE statement is usually a heavy paraphrase.

Yes / No / Not Given: finding the writer’s view

In opinion texts you must separate what the writer thinks from what the writer reports.

Many parents assume that homework improves results. In fact, for children under eleven, the evidence points the other way.

• Statement: Homework is beneficial for young children. → NO. ‘Many parents assume’ is a view that the writer reports and then rejects with ‘In fact’.

Signals that the writer is giving a personal view: I believe, in my view, it seems to me, clearly, unfortunately, it would be a mistake to, we should. Signals that someone else’s view is being reported: it is often claimed, supporters argue, critics say, according to. A writer may report a view and then agree or disagree; read on until you know which.

Practical advice

• Do not spend more than about a minute on one statement. If you have read the relevant lines twice and still cannot find the information, that is a strong sign that it is not there: choose NOT GIVEN and move on.
• Do not look for patterns such as ‘there are always two Not Givens’. Usually all three answers are used at least once, but the distribution varies.
• If you cannot find the place for a statement, answer the next one first. Because the statements are in order, the answer to the missing one lies between its neighbours.
• Be honest about FALSE. If you choose FALSE, you should be able to point to the words in the passage that make the statement impossible.

Try it

When the first escalator in Britain was installed in a London department store in 1898, the management took no chances. Customers who reached the top were met by an attendant offering a restorative drink, on the assumption that the experience would have left them faint. Thirteen years later, when escalators were introduced on the Underground, a man with a wooden leg was reportedly employed to ride up and down all day to demonstrate that the machines were safe.

1. Britain’s first escalator was in a railway station.
2. The department store expected customers to find the escalator alarming.
3. The drink offered to customers was free of charge.
4. Escalators appeared on the Underground in 1911.
5. The man with the wooden leg had been injured in an escalator accident.

Answers

1. FALSE – it was ‘in a London department store’.
2. TRUE – drinks were offered ‘on the assumption that the experience would have left them faint’.
3. NOT GIVEN – the drink was ‘offered’, but nothing is said about payment.
4. TRUE – ‘Thirteen years later’ than 1898 is 1911.
5. NOT GIVEN – no cause of his injury is mentioned.

Key points

• TRUE = same meaning; FALSE = the passage makes the statement impossible; NOT GIVEN = the passage does not provide the deciding information.
• Use the opposite test to separate FALSE from NOT GIVEN.
• Check comparisons, strong words and reasons especially carefully.
• Answer from the text only, never from what you know.
• For Yes/No/Not Given, identify whether a view belongs to the writer or to someone the writer is quoting.

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