IELTS gives you a list of statements and asks: Do the following statements agree with the information in the text? For each one you choose:
- TRUE if the passage says the same thing, usually in other words;
- FALSE if the statement "contradicts the information in the text" (ielts.org);
- NOT GIVEN if it "neither agrees with nor contradicts the information in the text".
The hard part is applying this under time pressure to statements written to look like the passage. And in GoPrep mock data, the most common wrong choice is not FALSE vs NOT GIVEN: it is marking a FALSE statement TRUE.
What TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN mean
Here is one sentence from a passage and 3 statements about it. Read the sentence, then look at how each answer is decided.
| Answer | Statement | Why |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | Children under 12 don't pay to enter the museum. | Free and don't pay mean the same |
| FALSE | The museum opened in the 21st century. | 1998 is in the 20th century. The two can't both be true |
| NOT GIVEN | The museum is the most visited in the city. | The sentence says nothing about visitor numbers |
Two rules from ielts.org settle most close calls. Don't use what you already know about the topic: if the passage doesn't say it, it doesn't count. And FALSE is not a weaker TRUE: it needs a contradiction. A point the passage doesn't cover is NOT GIVEN, however unlikely it sounds.
Where test takers lose marks on True/False/Not Given
Most advice online warns about one confusion: FALSE vs NOT GIVEN. It is real, but it is not the biggest one. We took 66,268 True/False/Not Given answers from one month of GoPrep Reading mocks and single-section attempts (tests with at least one correct answer) and compared what test takers chose with the answer key.
| Correct answer | Answered correctly | Chose instead | Left blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRUE | 64% | FALSE 15%, NOT GIVEN 12% | 8% |
| FALSE | 54% | TRUE 23%, NOT GIVEN 15% | 8% |
| NOT GIVEN | 55% | TRUE 19%, FALSE 18% | 8% |
Three things stand out:
- The most common single wrong choice is marking a FALSE statement TRUE: almost 1 in 4 FALSE questions (4,967 of 21,762 answers). Swaps between TRUE and FALSE added up to 8,847 answers, more than swaps between FALSE and NOT GIVEN (6,758).
- NOT GIVEN is missed in both directions. When it was the correct answer, test takers chose TRUE or FALSE 37% of the time (7,082 of 19,069).
- Even TRUE, the answer people got right most often, is wrong or blank in 1 in 3 questions.
A FALSE statement can look TRUE when it repeats the passage and changes one small word: slightly becomes much, some becomes all.
The 3-question test for every statement
Ask these in order and stop when one gives you the answer.
- Find: where does the passage talk about this exact point? Look for the same idea, not the same words. If the passage never touches the point, it's NOT GIVEN.
- Prove: does the passage support every part of the statement? Check the small words: only, all, most, slightly, much, numbers, dates, verbs like plan or decide. All supported: TRUE.
- Clash: could the statement and the passage both be true at once? If not, that's a contradiction: FALSE. If they could, but the passage doesn't prove it: NOT GIVEN.
Question 2 catches the FALSE-marked-TRUE mistake. Question 3 splits FALSE from NOT GIVEN: FALSE rules the statement out, NOT GIVEN leaves it open.
Practice passage: The rooftop hives of Linden Harbour
Practice material written for this guide: the town and its data are invented. Give yourself 6 minutes, write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN for each statement, then check the key.
The rooftop hives of Linden Harbour
Ten years ago, the port city of Linden Harbour had no registered beehives in its centre. Today there are more than 300, most of them on the flat roofs of offices and hotels. The first hives were placed on the roof of the city library in 2016 by a group of volunteers who wanted to show that bees could survive among traffic and concrete.
The results surprised local scientists. Hives in the city centre produced, on average, slightly more honey than hives on farms outside the city. Researchers believe the reason is variety: parks, gardens and street trees flower at different times, so city bees find food from early spring until late autumn.
Not everyone welcomes the growth. Some ecologists warn that honeybees compete with wild bees for the same flowers, and in 2023 the city council discussed limiting the number of new hives. In the library shop, a small jar of the honey costs about twice as much as supermarket honey.
A study now under way is measuring whether air pollution affects the health of the colonies. Its first results are expected in 2027.
Do the following statements agree with the information in the passage?
- The first rooftop hives in Linden Harbour were set up by volunteers.
- Hives in the city centre produced much more honey than hives on farms.
- The city council decided to limit the number of new hives.
- Linden Harbour has more rooftop hives than any other city in the country.
- Honey from the rooftop hives is cheaper than supermarket honey.
- Air pollution has harmed the health of the city's bee colonies.
The 3-question test on statements 2 and 3
Statement 2: "Hives in the city centre produced much more honey than hives on farms."
- Find: paragraph 2, "slightly more honey than hives on farms".
- Prove: the passage supports more, not much more. So it isn't TRUE.
- Clash: can production be slightly higher and much higher at once? No. FALSE.
Almost every word matches, so the eye says TRUE. One degree word makes it FALSE.
Statement 3: "The city council decided to limit the number of new hives."
- Find: paragraph 3, "the city council discussed limiting the number of new hives".
- Prove: discussed is not decided. Not TRUE.
- Clash: could the council have discussed a limit and then decided on one? Yes, both can be true. NOT GIVEN.
| Statement | Answer | Proof in the passage | Why not the tempting answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRUE | "placed ... by a group of volunteers" | Set up and placed mean the same. Different words don't make it NOT GIVEN |
| FALSE | "slightly more honey" | TRUE tempts because the topic matches. Slightly rules out much |
| NOT GIVEN | "discussed limiting" | Discussing isn't deciding, and nothing says they decided against it |
| NOT GIVEN | "more than 300" | The passage never compares Linden Harbour with other cities |
| FALSE | "about twice as much as supermarket honey" | The passage never says cheap or expensive, but twice as much rules out cheaper |
| NOT GIVEN | "a study now under way is measuring whether" | What you know about pollution doesn't count. The results aren't out |
The FALSE answers (2 and 5) hide in a degree word and a number. The NOT GIVEN answers (3, 4 and 6) hide in talk dressed up as a decision, a comparison the text never makes, and outside knowledge.
On average, the same students got better at this type over time. GoPrep students who took 10 or more Reading mocks got 59% of True/False/Not Given questions right in their first 3 tests and 63% in their last 3 (978 students, all attempts up to 26 September 2026). NOT GIVEN also improved:
Yes/No/Not Given: what changes
Yes/No/Not Given works the same way, with one change: you compare the statement with the writer's views or claims, not with facts. ielts.org asks Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer? (or the claims of the writer). YES means the statement agrees with the writer's view, NO means it contradicts it, and NOT GIVEN means it neither agrees nor contradicts.
ielts.org lists both types in the Academic Reading format. Its General Training Reading page lists True/False/Not Given but not Yes/No/Not Given. IDP's guide to General Training Reading question types lists both, so expect either type in either test. The method is the same, so practise both.
| What differs | True/False/Not Given | Yes/No/Not Given |
|---|---|---|
| The question | Do the statements agree with the information in the text? | Do the statements agree with the views or claims of the writer? |
| You check | Facts: dates, numbers, events, processes | Opinions: what the writer believes, argues or recommends |
| Typical passage | Describes or reports | Argues a point |
| The extra trap | A small word changes the fact | The view belongs to someone else in the text |
Writers often report other people's opinions before giving their own: Critics argue that, Many parents assume that, Supporters claim. A statement that repeats a reported view is not automatically YES. Ask whose view is this?, then find what the writer thinks. Phrases like in my view, I disagree or regrettably usually show you.
In GoPrep mocks, 51% of Yes/No/Not Given answers were wrong or left blank, against 42% for True/False/Not Given (28,184 and 66,268 answers, 28 August to 26 September 2026).
| Correct answer | Answered correctly | Chose instead | Left blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| YES | 57% | NO 15%, NOT GIVEN 13% | 14% |
| NO | 43% | YES 25%, NOT GIVEN 17% | 15% |
| NOT GIVEN | 47% | YES 21%, NO 17% | 15% |
NO was the hardest answer: when the writer disagreed, 1 in 4 answers said YES. On answered questions, test takers wrote YES 42% of the time, though YES was correct only 36% of the time. So before you write YES, check that the view belongs to the writer, not to someone the writer quotes.
Blanks almost double: 15% of Yes/No/Not Given answers were left empty, against 8% on True/False/Not Given. A guess can score; a blank can't.
4 traps that change the meaning
- Degree and quantity words. Slightly / much, some / all, often / always. Check them in context: a different word doesn't automatically mean FALSE. Decide whether the passage supports the whole statement, rules it out, or leaves the point open.
- Numbers in words. A decade, twice as much, half the price. Convert before you compare.
- Talk vs action. Discussed, planned, considered, hoped do not mean did. If the passage stops at the plan, the answer is usually NOT GIVEN.
- Comparisons the text never makes. The largest, the first, more than any other. No comparison in the passage means NOT GIVEN.
When you can't find the answer
IDP notes that True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given answers usually appear in passage order. Use that:
- Keep moving forward. Look for statement 4 from where you found statement 3.
- Search between neighbours. Stuck? Answer the next statement first. The missing proof is usually between the two you found.
- Set a limit. After about 90 seconds, write your best answer, mark it and move on. Reading has 40 questions in 60 minutes, 1 mark each (ielts.org).
- Never leave a blank. There is no negative marking, and a blank always scores 0.
To turn your target band into a number of correct answers, see the IELTS Reading band score chart.
FAQ
What are True/False/Not Given questions in IELTS?
They are a Reading question type where you decide whether each statement agrees with the information in the passage (TRUE), contradicts it (FALSE), or neither agrees nor contradicts it (NOT GIVEN). They test whether you can recognise specific information in a text.
How do you answer True/False/Not Given questions?
Find the part of the passage about the exact point. If it supports every part of the statement, including words like only, most and numbers, write TRUE. If the passage and the statement cannot both be true, write FALSE. Otherwise, write NOT GIVEN.
What is the difference between True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given?
True/False/Not Given checks facts: does the statement agree with the information in the text? Yes/No/Not Given checks the views or claims of the writer. The method is the same, but in Yes/No/Not Given you must check that the opinion belongs to the writer, not to someone the writer quotes.
What is the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN?
FALSE means the passage contradicts the statement: they cannot both be true. NOT GIVEN means the passage neither agrees nor disagrees, so the statement could be true or false in real life but the text doesn't tell you.
Are True/False/Not Given answers in order?
Usually, yes. The answers normally appear in the same order as the information in the passage, so the proof for statement 2 comes after the proof for statement 1.
What to practise next
Once you know which swap you make most often, pick the matching drill below. The same checks work for Yes/No/Not Given: read YES for TRUE and NO for FALSE, and add one question: whose view is it?
| You wrote | Correct answer | What to check | Drill |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRUE | FALSE | Degree words, numbers and dates that change the fact | Before writing TRUE, underline every only, most, slightly, number and date in the statement and find each one in the passage |
| FALSE | TRUE | Whether the passage says the same thing in other words | Rewrite the passage sentence in your own words. If it matches the statement, write TRUE |
| NOT GIVEN | TRUE or FALSE | Whether you stopped searching too early | Look for the idea, not the words, between the answers before and after |
| TRUE or FALSE | NOT GIVEN | Whether the words you rely on are in the passage | Point to the exact words. If you can't, or the passage only discusses or plans, write NOT GIVEN |
The same meaning, not words habit helps with matching headings, and our IELTS Reading tips show how to fit every question type into 60 minutes.
For a plan built around your weak spots, tell the quiz your target score, exam date and hardest part of IELTS. GoPrep will build a personal study plan from your answers.
P.S. The full True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given lessons, with more practice, are in the GoPrep course.
GoPrep Team
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