True, False or Not Given (and Yes, No or Not Given)

What the task asks

In identifying information questions, you read a list of statements and decide, for each one, whether it agrees with the information in the text. Both Academic and General Training use this task (IELTS.org, Academic test format: Reading; General Training test format: Reading). You choose:

Answer	Meaning
TRUE	the statement agrees with the information in the text
FALSE	the statement contradicts the information in the text
NOT GIVEN	the text neither confirms nor contradicts the statement: there is no information on this

Academic only has a sister task, identifying the writer's views or claims. The answers are YES (the statement agrees with the writer's views or claims), NO (it contradicts them) and NOT GIVEN (it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this) (IELTS.org, Academic test format: Reading). The logic is the same; the difference is that YES/NO/NOT GIVEN is about what the writer believes or argues, while TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN is about facts the text reports.

The official advice is also clear that you must answer from the text, not from your own knowledge (IELTS.org, General Training test format: Reading). A statement may be true in the real world and still be NOT GIVEN in the text.

The four-step method

1. Underline the key idea of the statement, and its "hard" words. Hard words are the ones that would make the statement false if they were changed: quantities (all, most, some, never), comparisons (more than, the first), time (in 1910, before), cause (because, led to), certainty (proved, may).
2. Locate the part of the text that deals with the same idea. Scan for a name, number or topic word, then read that part carefully, including the sentence before and after. Expect synonyms: the text rarely repeats the statement's wording.
3. Compare the hard words. Does the text say the same (TRUE), the opposite or something incompatible (FALSE), or nothing that settles it (NOT GIVEN)?
4. Test FALSE against NOT GIVEN. Ask: does the text say something that makes this statement impossible? If yes, FALSE. If the text is simply silent, or says something related but not decisive, NOT GIVEN.

Worked example

Read this original short text.

The first public lending libraries for musical instruments In 2009 the public library in the small town of Brekkvik began lending violins, guitars and keyboards in the same way that it lent books. The idea came from a librarian, Ingrid Solheim, who had noticed that many families in the town could not afford to buy an instrument for a child who might give up after a few months. Members could borrow an instrument for up to eight weeks at no charge. In the first year, 140 instruments were borrowed, most of them guitars. Several neighbouring libraries copied the scheme within five years, although at least one later abandoned it because of repair costs. Solheim has said that the scheme was never meant to replace music shops; she sees it as a way for children to find out whether they enjoy playing.

Now the statements.

1. The Brekkvik library lent instruments free of charge. Text: "Members could borrow an instrument for up to eight weeks at no charge." Free of charge = at no charge. TRUE.

2. Guitars were the least popular instruments in the first year. Text: "140 instruments were borrowed, most of them guitars." Most were guitars, so guitars were the most popular. The statement is incompatible with the text. FALSE.

3. Brekkvik was the first library in the world to lend musical instruments. The title mentions "the first public lending libraries", plural, and the text says nothing about whether Brekkvik was the first anywhere. Tempting, because the title uses "first", but the text never makes that claim. NOT GIVEN.

4. Every library that copied the scheme still runs it today. Text: "at least one later abandoned it because of repair costs." Every... still is contradicted. FALSE.

5. Solheim believes the scheme has reduced sales in local music shops. Text: the scheme "was never meant to replace music shops". That describes its purpose, not its effect on sales. Nothing says whether shop sales fell. NOT GIVEN.

6. The scheme was designed partly so that families would not waste money on an instrument a child might stop using. Text: families "could not afford to buy an instrument for a child who might give up after a few months". TRUE: the statement paraphrases the reason.

Notice statement 5: it is the kind most candidates get wrong. The text mentions the same topic (music shops), and the statement sounds plausible, but the text commits to nothing about sales.

FALSE or NOT GIVEN? The deciding test

The most useful question is: "What exactly does the text commit to?"

Statement	Text says	Answer	Why
The bridge opened in 1902.	The bridge opened in 1904.	FALSE	the text gives a different date
The bridge opened in 1902.	The bridge was built in the early 1900s.	NOT GIVEN	1902 is possible but not confirmed
Most visitors are local.	Visitors come mainly from abroad.	FALSE	if most are from abroad, most cannot be local
Most visitors are local.	Visitor numbers have doubled.	NOT GIVEN	the text says nothing about where they come from
The treatment worked for every patient.	It helped about half the patients; in the rest it had no effect.	FALSE	"no effect" in the rest rules out "every patient"
The treatment worked for every patient.	It helped many patients in the trial.	NOT GIVEN	"many" neither confirms nor rules out "every"

The last two rows deserve care. A strong statement (every, always, proved) is FALSE only when the text says something that rules it out. If the text is merely weaker or vaguer (many, often, may) and leaves the strong claim open, the answer is NOT GIVEN. Read the exact words.

The traps, one by one

Qualifiers. All, always, only, never, most, some, usually. In the Brekkvik text, "The library lent keyboards as well as guitars" is TRUE, but "The library lent only guitars" is FALSE. And "Some members borrowed keyboards"? The text says keyboards were available and that most loans were guitars; it never says whether any keyboard was actually borrowed, so that one is NOT GIVEN.

Comparisons and superlatives. More than, larger, the first, the oldest. The text must make the same comparison. If it describes two things separately without comparing them, a comparative statement is usually NOT GIVEN.

Numbers and dates. Check every figure. Within five years is not after five years; up to eight weeks is not exactly eight weeks.

Cause and effect. A text that says two things happened together does not say one caused the other. "Borrowing rose after the library extended its opening hours" does not mean the longer hours caused the rise.

Words in the wrong place. A statement may use words from the text but attach them to the wrong person, date or thing. Always check who did what, and when.

Outside knowledge. Even if you know a statement is true in real life, answer from the text.

YES, NO, NOT GIVEN: the writer's voice

In Academic texts that argue a position, YES/NO/NOT GIVEN questions test whether you can separate the writer's own claims from views the writer reports in order to disagree with them.

Some planners argue that cycle lanes slow traffic. In my view, the evidence points the other way: well-designed lanes can reduce congestion by moving short trips off the road.

• "The writer believes cycle lanes can reduce congestion." YES.
• "The writer agrees that cycle lanes slow traffic." NO: that is the planners' view, which the writer rejects.
• "The writer thinks cycle lanes are too expensive." NOT GIVEN: cost is not discussed.

Signals of the writer's own position include in my view, I would argue, clearly, it seems unlikely that, the evidence suggests. Signals of others' views include some argue, it is often claimed, critics say.

Timing

TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN statements can feel slow, because NOT GIVEN requires you to be sure the text is silent. Don't reread the whole text for each statement. Use your paragraph labels from skimming, find the relevant section, decide and move on. If you are torn between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, apply the deciding test once, choose, and keep going. In this course, the three options appear as choices; on the test, the instructions tell you how to record your answer.

Check yourself

• What is the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, in one sentence?
• Which task appears only in Academic Reading, and what does it ask you to judge?
• Name four kinds of "hard" word that often decide the answer.
• Why can a statement that is true in real life be NOT GIVEN?
• How do you tell the writer's own view from a view the writer reports?