IELTS Reading True False Not Given Questions

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According to students, IELTS Reading True False Not Given is regarded as a difficult question type. In this question type, you will be given a list of factual statements or sentences along with the reading passages. You are required to decide whether the given statements are true, false or not given by matching it with the passages. This process of answering will become less complicated with the help of our tips and strategies. 

True false not given is one of the significant IELTS reading question types as you can frequently find it in IELTS reading test. In this blog, we will provide all the necessary information to understand and crack the IELTS reading true false not given questions. As a result, your overall IELTS reading score will be increased. 

Explanation about IELTS Reading True False Not Given 

True false not given question type contains reading passages and list of factual statements in the question set. You need to recognize whether the given statement is true, false or not given according to the passage. The questions will be in the same order as information presented in the reading text. You need to understand what is true, false, and not given exactly means.

• True means the given information agrees with the passages. 
• False means the given information does not agree with the passages. 
• Not Given means you do not find the information in the passages. 

IELTS Reading True False Not Given – Strategies and Tips to Solve 

You can upgrade your answering ability by implementing the following 12 IELTS reading true false not given tips and strategies. These tips are all recommended by IELTS trainers and experts. 

• Read each statement in the question set to understand it precisely. Underline the keywords in the question statement which helps you to find relevant information in the passage. 
• When searching the information in the passages with the help of keywords, you will not find the same keywords. Possibly, you will find the synonyms and paraphrased version of the keywords. 
• The entire meaning of the sentence could be changed by a single word. Hence, if you find words such as some, occasionally, never, all, then it will be a signal for you to do an attentive reading. 
• Read the section of the text carefully to comprehend it perfectly. If the question statement agrees with the information in the text, then it should be marked as true. If the question statement disagrees or contradicts the information in the passage, then it should be marked as false. The question statement is needed to be marked as not given, if you can’t find the information in the passage.
• Statements in the question set would be paraphrased to increase the difficulty level of the task. 
• The information in the text follows the order of the question statements. It informs that required information for the second question statement will come after the information required for the first question statement. 
• Avoid adding your knowledge while answering the questions. You only need to rely on the information provided in the passage to answer the question.
• Your answer will be marked wrong if you write ‘Yes’ in the place of ‘True’ and ‘No’ in the place of ‘False’.
• Paraphrase the question statement to understand the meaning of the sentence. It will help you to complete the task with a minimum time. 
• If the question statement takes time to answer, move onto the next question statement. Come back to the unanswered questions after you have answered all the questions. It will be a good time saving strategy. i
•  Skimming the passages will be helpful for you to comprehend the main ideas.
• Scan the passage to identify the individual specific words or sentences within the passage with the help of keywords in the question statements. 
• It is necessary to understand the difference between False and Not Given. Not given means, the required information will not be found in the passage. False means, the information will contradict the information in the passage. 

Hope these IELTS true false not given tips and strategies could help you to perfect your answering skills. Use these tips with the true false not given practice questions to know its effectiveness. 

Skills required to solve the IELTS Reading True False Not Given Questions

• Ability to comprehend the passages and statements in the question set
• Paraphrasing skills to grasp the precise meaning of the statements
• Good repertoire of vocabulary

Challenges faced while answering the IELTS Reading True False Not Given Questions 

• Sometimes, your time will be wasted for searching for information that is not actually there in the passages for Not Given Ones. 
• Most of the time, you can’t find the exact keywords which you have underlined  in the question statement. It will be paraphrased to increase the difficulty level of the task. 
• You may try to match the keywords while answering the questions rather than matching the meaning. Words might be there, but meaning will be different. 

How will I answer the IELTS Reading True False Not Given 

1. Read the instructions with utmost attention. Check properly what actually mentioned whether True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given. 
2. Before reading the text, read the list of statements in the question set. Read each statement and understand it in a precise manner. 
3. Underline the keywords in the statements and generate possible synonyms of those words that are likely to appear in the reading text. This step is important, for the fact that mostly the words in the passages will be the synonyms or paraphrased versions of the question statements. 
4. Now, reread the first statement and skim the text to look for the related information, keywords and its synonyms. If you find it, then it will be true. If you find it, but in a contradictory version, then it will be false. If you can’t find the information in the text, then it will be marked as not given.

Difference between academic True False Not Given and general True False Not Given 

The difference between academic true false not given questions and general true false not given questions is as follows. The motive behind asking true, false and not given questions in the academic reading test is to make sure that you can grasp the particular points in the reading assignments which will improve your academic performance. The purpose of asking true, false not given questions in a general training test is to ensure that you have the ability to pick up the factual information in the newspapers or other kinds of reading material, which is important to function in the social context. 

You can find more details on IELTS academic reading True False Not Given questions

Check here for more details on IELTS general reading True False Not Given questions

True False Not Given Skill Building Exercise 1 (academic)

Answer questions 1-4 which are based on the reading passage below.

Life Of Frederick Douglass

Douglass lived in the family of Hugh Auld at Baltimore for seven years. During this time the achievement that had the greatest influence upon his future was his learning to read and write. His mistress had given him a start. His own efforts gained the rest. He carried in his pocket a blue-backed Webster’s Spelling Book, and, as occasion offered, induced his young white playmates, by the bribes of childhood, to give him lessons in spelling. When he was about thirteen, he began to feel deeply the moral yoke of slavery and to seek for knowledge of the means to escape it. One book seems to have had a marked influence upon his life at this epoch. He obtained, somehow, a copy of The Columbian Orator, containing some of the choicest masterpieces of English oratory, in which he saw liberty praised and oppression condemned; and the glowing periods of Pitt and Fox and Sheridan and our own Patrick Henry stirred to life in the heart of this slave boy the genius for oratory which did not burst forth until years afterward. 

The worldly wisdom of denying to slaves the key to knowledge is apparent when it is said that Douglass first learned from a newspaper that there were such people as abolitionists, who were opposed to human bondage and sought to make all men free. At about this same period Douglass’s mind fell under religious influences. He was converted, professed faith in Jesus Christ, and began to read the Bible. He had dreamed of liberty before; he now prayed for it, and trusted in God. But, with the shrewd common sense which marked his whole life and saved it from shipwreck in more than one instance, he never forgot that God helps them that help themselves, and so never missed an opportunity to acquire the knowledge that would prepare him for freedom and give him the means of escape from slavery.

Douglass had learned to read, partly from childish curiosity and the desire to be able to do what others around him did; but it was with a definite end in view that he learned to write. By the slave code it was unlawful for a slave to go beyond the limits of his own neighborhood without the written permission of his master. Douglass’s desire to write grew mainly out of the fact that in order to escape from bondage, which he had early determined to do, he would probably need such a “pass,” as this written permission was termed, and could write it himself if he knew how. His master for the time being kept a ship-yard, and in this and neighboring establishments of the same kind the boy spent much of his time. He noticed that the carpenters, after dressing pieces of timber, marked them with certain letters to indicate their positions in the vessel.

Questions 1-4 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

Write

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

1. For Douglass, learning to read and write is a life-changing thing.
2. Douglass knows about abolitionists by watching T.V.
3. Douglass learned to read entirely out of childish curiosity
4. Douglass’ desire to write increased because to escape from the bondage.

Answer for the skill building exercise

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1. True

Explanation: Paragraph 1 – Douglass lived in the family of Hugh Auld at Baltimore for seven years. During this time the achievement that had the greatest influence upon his future was his learning to read and write. 

2. False 

Explanation: Paragraph 2 – The worldly wisdom of denying to slaves the key to knowledge is apparent when it is said that Douglass first learned from a newspaper that there were such people as abolitionists, who were opposed to human bondage and sought to make all men free.

3. False

Explanation: Paragraph 3 – Douglass had learned to read, partly from childish curiosity and the desire to be able to do what others around him did.

4. True

Explanation: Paragraph 3 – Douglass’s desire to write grew mainly out of the fact that in order to escape from bondage.

Check more for IELTS academic reading True False Not Given exercise with answer

True False Not Given Skill Building Exercise 2 (general) 

Answer questions 1-4 which are based on the reading passage below.

The conquest of malaria in Italy

Malaria is an illness which is caused by Plasmodium parasites. It transmits to humans by the biting of mosquitoes. This horrible disease affected the life of those who have existed on the peninsula for thousands of years. In 1861, Giuseppe Garibaldi’s wife died of malaria. Italy was officially declared malaria-free by 1962. Frank Snowden considered this story as a peculiar historical event. Snowden reveals the areas which historians have not uncovered. 

Usually everyone is aware that malaria is caused by mosquitoes. Medical practitioners studied malaria for a long time. Ancient texts laid out various aspects of malaria. Early man considered that malaria is caused by supernatural powers such as evil spirits, black magic of sorcerers and deities who are angered. Most experts in medicine believe that malaria is not caused by unclean air (miasma) . In 1850, Josiah Clark Nott published an essay called “Yellow Fever Contrasted with Bilious Fever”. In that essay, he dismissed the miasma theory and claimed that malaria is infected by microscopic insects

Some experts connect swamps, water and malaria but they don’t extend their mind to the insects. These theories only helped a little to tackle the disease. It became so worse when 11 million Italians were “permanently at risk”. Land workers life expectancy is found to be 22.5 years in malarial zones. Though some of them escaped death, they have weakened bodies and suffered from painful enlargement of the spleen. This disease affects the economy immensely. Southern Italians were blamed on epidemics as it was believed that malaria was hereditary. These loose theories were diminished after it was found that mosquitoes are the real cause of malaria. 

Questions 1-4 

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage?

Write

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

1. Plasmodium parasites are the cause of malaria.
2. Malaria is not a life threatening disease.
3. Josiah Clark Nott published an essay called “Malaria and its causal factors”
4. The life expectancy of land workers is about 25.2 in malarial zones.

Answer for the skill building exercise 

(Note: The text in italics is from the reading passage and shows the location from where the answer is taken or inferred. The text in the regular font explains the answer in detail.)

1. True 

Explanation: Malaria is an illness which is caused by Plasmodium parasites.

2.Not Given 

3.False 

Explanation:  In 1850, Josiah Clark Nott published an essay called “Yellow Fever Contrasted with Bilious Fever”.

4. False 

Explanation: Land workers life expectancy is found to be 22.5 years in malarial zones.

Check more for IELTS general reading True False Not Given exercise with answer

Click the following link to practice true false not given with other question types to improve your answering skills and check the answers for feedback:

Summary

IELTS reading true false not given questions is the most commonly asked question type in the both academic and general training test. The major task is to identify whether the given information is true or false or not given by checking the reading text. Skimming, Scanning and comprehension is important to crack these questions.