IELTS Reading.

True/False/Not given

Structure. Types of tasks. Reading strategies

by IELTS Pro team

 TYPE 2. ‘TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN’

•  ‘True, False, Not Given’ questions require you to identify if information in a text is true, not true
or not given.
•  You will be given a number of factual statements and you have to check in the text if it they are
true or not.

WHAT DO THEY MEAN

TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

If the text confirms every element If an element of the statement

If there is missing information or it is
of the statement, though the contradicts to the information in
impossible to know
synonyms may be used the text

 ‘TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN’ STRATEGY

• Always read the instructions carefully, and make sure you know if it is a TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN or
YES/NO/NOT GIVEN question.
• Read all the statements carefully, trying to understand what the whole sentence means and
highlighting keywords. 
• Watch out for qualifying words such as some, always, just, minor, major, the majority, all, etc. 
• Try to think of the synonyms that might be in the text. This will help you identify the matching part of
the text.
• Scan through the text for the key words and match the statement with the correct part of the text. 
• Focus on the statement again, and then carefully read the matching part of the text to establish if it
is true or false. Remember the meaning should match that of the statement exactly if it is true. 
• If you can’t find the answer, mark it as ‘not given’ and move on to the next question. 

 TIPS FOR ‘TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN’

• Ignore anything you already know about the topic and don’t make assumptions. Base your answers on
the text only. 
• Identify any words that qualify the statement, for example - some, all, mainly, just, often, always,
never and occasionally. These words can change the whole meaning. 
• There will be at least one of all three answers. If you don’t have at least one ‘true’, one ‘false’ or one
‘not given’, you have at least one answer wrong. 
• Don’t skim and scan the text to find the final answer. You will have to read the appropriate part of the
text very carefully in order to understand what the author means. 
• Don’t look for words that match those in the statements exactly. You should also look for synonyms.
Remember that you are matching meaning, not words. 
• If you can’t find the information you are looking for, then it is probably ‘not given’.
• Answers are normally in the same order they appear in the text, this could not be the case in text 3.

SIMPLE EXAMPLE

• ‘I DRIVE A CAR QUICKLY’

- ‘I drive a car rapidly’ - TRUE

‘rapidly’=synonym to ‘quickly’

- ‘I drive a car slowly’ - FALSE

‘slowly’=antonym to ‘quickly’

- ‘I drive a bicycle rapidly’ - FALSE

There is information on the vehicle, but it contradicts to the text (car)

- ‘I drive a car quickly every day’ - NOT GIVEN

There is no information on frequency in the text

‘NOT GIVEN’ SIGNS

• If there is extra information in the statement, which cannot be found in the text and it’s
impossible to say if it’s true or false.

• If the statement is very similar to the text, but it contains an additional qualifying word
(e.g. all, main, most, just, etc.)

• If there is a comparison, while there is no comparison in the text.





SIMPLE EXAMPLE

- ‘Many International students work in teams.’

 ‘All international students work in teams’ – NOT GIVEN
• Qualifying word - ALL
• We cannot confirm this information
• Synonyms to “many”: a lot of, a large number of
• Antonyms to “many”: a few, not many

- ‘The UAE and Turkey are popular touristic destinations.’

 ‘The UAE is more popular than Turkey’ – NOT GIVEN (no comparison)

 Practice Task

Question 1
‘Michael Farraday  was the first person to recognize Perkin's ability as a student of chemistry.’
 
Matching Sentence from Passage: (you would find this by scanning the passage) 
‘Perkin's talent and devotion to the study of the elements was rst noticed by his teacher Tom Watson.’

fi

 Practice Task

Question 1
‘Michael Farraday  was the first person to recognize Perkin's ability as a student of chemistry.‘
FALSE
 
Matching Sentence from Passage: (you would find this by scanning the passage) 
‘Perkin's talent and devotion to the study of the elements was rst noticed by his teacher Tom Watson.’

fi

 Practice Task

Question 2
‘Perkins was still young when he made the discovery that made him rich and famous.’
 
Matching Passage Sentence:
‘Not long after he became the youngest assistant, he made the nding that would bring him fame and
fortune.’

fi

 Practice Task

Question 2
‘Perkins was still young when he made the discovery that made him rich and famous.’
TRUE

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘Not long after he became the youngest assistant, he made the nding that would bring him fame and
fortune.’

fi

 Practice Task

Question 3
‘The trees from which quinine is derived only grows in South America.’ 

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘The drug quinine is taken from the bark of the Choncoa tree which is found in South America.’

 Practice Task

Question 3
‘The trees from which quinine is derived only grows in South America.’ 
NOT GIVEN

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘The drug quinine is taken from the bark of the Choncoa tree which is found in South America.’

 Practice Task

Question 4
‘Perkins was inspired by the famous discoveries of the scientist Louis Pasteur. ‘

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘Because of Louis Pasteur's words, Perkins really decided what he wanted to be in life.’

 Practice Task

Question 4
‘Perkins was inspired by the famous discoveries of the scientist Louis Pasteur. ‘
FALSE

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘Because of Louis Pasteur's words, Perkins really decided what he wanted to be in life.’

 Practice Task

Question 5
‘Marie became interested in science when she was a child.’

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘From childhood Marie was a remarkable student and as a result she won many prizes during her
secondary education.’

 Practice Task

Question 5
‘Marie became interested in science when she was a child.’
NOT GIVEN

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘From childhood Marie was a remarkable student and as a result she won many prizes during her
secondary education.’

 Practice Task

Question 6
‘Marie stopped doing research for several years after her children were born.’

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘The birth of Glenda and Dora did not interrupt the ndings that Marie made.’

fi

 Practice Task

Question 6
‘Marie stopped doing research for several years after her children were born.’
FALSE

Matching Passage Sentence:

‘The birth of Glenda and Dora did not interrupt the ndings that Marie made.’

fi

 Practice with the text

DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION 

• A. The Sahel zone lies between the Sahara desert and the fertile savannas of northern Nigeria and southern Sudan. The word Sahel comes from Arabic and
means marginal or transitional, and this is a good description of these semi-arid lands, which occupy much of the West African countries of Mali, Mauritania,
Niger and Chad. 

• B. Unfortunately, over the last century the Sahara desert has steadily crept southwards, eating into once productive Sahel lands. United Nations surveys show
that over 70 per cent of the dry land agricultural use in Africa has deteriorated over the last 30 years. Droughts have become more prolonged and more
severe, the most recent lasting over 20 years in parts of the Sahel region. The same process of desertification is taking place across southern Africa as the
Kalahari desert advances into Botswana and parts of South Africa. 

• C. One of the major causes of this desert advance is poor agricultural land use, driven by the pressures of increasing population. Overgrazing - keeping too
many farm animals on the land - means that grasses and other plants cannot recover, and scarce water supplies and exhausted. Over cultivation - trying to
grow too many crops on poor land - results in the soil becoming even less fertile and drier, and beginning to break up. Soil erosion follows, and the land
turns into desert 

• D. Another cause of desertification is loss of tree cover. Trees are cut down for use as fuel and to clear land for agriculture use. Tree roots help to bind the soil
together, to conserve moisture and to provide a habitat for other plants and animals. When trees are cut down, the soil begins to dry and loosen, wind and
rain erosion increase, other plant species die and eventually the fertile topsoil may be almost entirely lost, leaving only bare rock and dust 

• E. The effects of loss of topsoil and increased drought are irreversible. They are, however, preventable. Careful conservation of tree cover and sustainable
agricultural land use have been shown to halt deterioration of soils and lessen the effects of shortage of rainfall. One project in Kita in south-west Mali
funded by the UNDP has involves local communities in sustainable management of forest, while at the same time providing a viable agricultural economy
based on the production of soaps, beekeeping and marketing sea nuts. This may be a model for similar projects in other West African countries.

 Practice with the text

• 1. The Sahara has spread slowly northwards into the Sahel region. 
• 2. Just over 70 per cent of the dry land in agricultural use in Africa has deteriorated over the last 30
years. 
• 3. Desertification is taking place faster in southern Africa than in the Sahel. 
• 4. The advance of the desert is not the result of poor agricultural land use. 
• 5. The loss of tree cover is a minor cause of desertification. 
• 6. If there is a loss of tree cover, the deterioration in the soil is halted. 
• 7. Tree conservation is more effective than sustainable agricultural land use in reducing the
consequences of lack of rain.