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A missing fact is not an opposite fact

IELTS Reading True, False or Not Given

A passage says a café opens at eight. The statement says it opens at seven: clearly False. But what if the statement says it serves breakfast at seven? The time is different, yet the passage never tells you when breakfast is served. That answer is Not Given. This small difference causes many avoidable mistakes in IELTS true false not given questions. Here you will learn to prove agreement, prove contradiction, or recognise honestly when the necessary information is absent.

Practise making evidence-based TFNG decisions

The exact difference between True, False and Not Given

The instruction normally asks whether statements agree with information in the text. Official IELTS guidance defines the three answers by their relationship to the passage. Your task is not to decide whether a statement is sensible or factually correct in the wider world.

True

The passage supports every important part of the statement. Words may be paraphrased, but the complete claim remains the same.

False

The passage provides information that contradicts the statement. You can point to a specific clash in meaning.

Not Given

The passage gives too little information to prove or disprove the complete statement. It neither agrees nor contradicts.

False and Not Given therefore require different proof. For False, finish this sentence: “The statement cannot be correct because the passage says…” For Not Given, finish: “The passage discusses this subject, but it never tells me…” If you cannot complete either explanation, read the evidence region again.

These questions test recognition of specific information and appear in both Academic Reading and General Training Reading. The method remains the same even when the text type changes.

Break each statement into claim parts

A statement is not one large keyword. It is a set of connected parts. Before searching, identify the subject, action or state, and any details controlling quantity, time, cause, comparison or certainty.

Most commutersbegan cyclingafter fares increased
Who or what?
most commuters
What happened?
began cycling
When or why?
after fares increased

The passage must support the relationship among all three. If it says “some commuters cycled before fares increased,” several words match but both quantity and time conflict. If it discusses fare increases and cycling separately without linking them, the causal claim is Not Given.

Pay close attention to small control words: all, most, some, only, first, later, more, less, mainly, always, may, because. They often carry the exact difference between the statement and the evidence.

A reliable IELTS TFNG strategy

  1. 01

    Read the instruction

    Confirm that the task asks about information, so the required labels are True, False and Not Given. A similar task about the writer’s views uses Yes, No and Not Given. Do not swap the response words.

  2. 02

    Underline meaning, not every noun

    Mark the subject, main verb and controlling details. Think of likely paraphrases. A name, date or unusual term can help you locate the passage; verbs and qualifiers often decide the verdict.

  3. 03

    Find the evidence neighbourhood

    Scan for a stable clue, then read the surrounding sentences closely. These statements generally follow passage order, so one answer helps define where the next answer should appear.

  4. 04

    Compare the complete claim

    Ask first whether the passage supports every part. If not, look for a direct contradiction. Do not choose Not Given merely because the wording is different.

  5. 05

    State the proof before recording

    Explain your verdict in a short sentence. This catches instinctive answers based on topic familiarity and makes error review much more useful.

Original evidence case

One passage, three different verdicts

When Brookdale Library extended its weekday closing time from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., managers expected university students to make most use of the extra hours. Entry records from the first four months showed that adult learners attending evening courses were the largest group. Student visits also increased, particularly during examination weeks. The library has not yet measured whether the longer hours have improved course results, although tutors report that learners value having a quiet place to work.

Statement 1

Adult evening learners were the largest group using the extended hours.

TRUE“The largest group” is stated directly. The word order changes, but the claim is fully supported.

Statement 2

University students made greater use of the extra hours than any other group.

FALSEThe expectation concerned students, but the records show adult learners were the largest group. The evidence contradicts the comparison.

Statement 3

Longer opening hours improved learners’ course results.

NOT GIVENThe library has not measured this outcome. Tutors report that learners value the space, but appreciation does not prove better results.

Notice the trap in Statement 2: the passage genuinely connects university students with the extra hours. However, that information is presented as the managers’ expectation, not the recorded result. Track whether a claim belongs to a prediction, finding, opinion or plan.

How to decide between False and Not Given

When True is impossible, do not immediately select Not Given. Ask a stricter question: can the statement and the passage both be true at the same time?

They cannot both be true

The passage says the workshop began in May; the statement says it began in June. Both dates refer to the same event. The answer is False.

They could both be true

The passage says the workshop began in May; the statement says it was fully booked in June. Nothing tells us about June bookings. The answer is Not Given.

This “could both be true?” check is especially useful when the statement adds a reason, judgement or comparison. If the text says a company moved offices, you cannot infer that it moved to reduce costs. The move and a cost reduction could both be real, but the causal link has not been supplied.

Not Given does not mean the subject never appears. Often nearly all the statement is mentioned except one decisive piece. If a passage says “children enjoyed the new playground” and the statement says “most children preferred it to the old playground,” enjoyment is given; the proportion and comparison are not.

Train the False versus Not Given distinction

Paraphrases that preserve meaning

True answers rarely repeat every word. Compare relationships and degree, not surface vocabulary.

PASSAGE

Demand declined slightly.

STATEMENT

There was a small fall in demand.

Same meaning → True
PASSAGE

The device may reduce waste.

STATEMENT

The device eliminates waste.

Different certainty and scale → False
PASSAGE

The survey included 200 residents.

STATEMENT

Most participants were homeowners.

Ownership proportion absent → Not Given

A useful habit is to restate the evidence in plain English before judging the statement. “May reduce” becomes “possibly makes less,” not “removes completely.” “Twice as many” is not merely “more.” Accurate paraphrase protects the logical strength of the original.

Facts, opinions and the Yes/No/Not Given difference

True/False/Not Given asks whether statements agree with information in the passage. Yes/No/Not Given asks whether statements agree with the writer’s views or claims. The decision logic is parallel—agreement, contradiction or absence—but the evidence target changes.

If a passage reports “Professor Lin believes the plan is too expensive,” that proves Professor Lin’s view. It does not automatically prove the writer agrees. For a views task, follow attribution carefully: who believes, doubts, recommends or criticises? For an information task, compare the factual proposition specified.

Use the labels printed in the task.

Writing “Yes” for a True/False/Not Given item may lose the mark even if your reasoning is correct. Task language is part of answer accuracy.

Review the published Reading question-types guide when you want to compare this decision with multiple choice, headings, matching and completion tasks.

Seven mistakes that turn evidence into guessing

Using what you know

Repair: ignore outside facts. The only acceptable proof is in the passage.

Matching one keyword

Repair: compare subject, action and every qualifier as one connected claim.

Calling absence False

Repair: require a contradictory sentence. No contradiction means False is unproven.

Calling any mismatch Not Given

Repair: paraphrased wording can still express the same meaning. Translate before judging.

Ignoring quantity

Repair: circle mentally words such as some, most, only and all. The passage must support the same range.

Confusing plan with result

Repair: mark whether information was expected, proposed, observed or completed.

Searching the whole passage repeatedly

Repair: use question order and neighbouring answers to narrow the evidence area.

Time management for true false not given IELTS reading tasks

Speed comes from limiting the search, not from skipping the comparison. Start with statements containing easy locating clues such as proper names, dates or technical terms. Because answers generally appear in passage order, these anchors can help you place less distinctive statements between them.

Locate

Use the subject and stable noun to find the relevant region.

Read

Include neighbouring sentences, especially after contrast words such as however and although.

Decide

Support, contradiction, or insufficient information—then move on.

If you cannot decide, write your two competing interpretations. Often you will discover that one depends on an assumption. Select the best evidence-based answer, flag it and continue. The Reading test gives no penalty for an incorrect response, so never leave an item unanswered.

Independent practice

Test the complete claim

A coastal town began replacing conventional streetlights with lamps that dim when no movement is detected. The first installation covered two residential roads, where electricity use fell by 38 per cent over six months. Some residents initially worried that dimmer streets would increase crime, but police records showed no change in reported incidents during the trial. The council has approved expansion to five more neighbourhoods next year. It has not decided whether the system will later be used in the busy shopping district.

  1. The first trial took place on two roads where people lived.
  2. Electricity consumption was reduced by more than half.
  3. Every resident believed dim lighting would cause more crime.
  4. Reported crime increased during the trial.
  5. The shopping district will receive the new lights next year.
Show answers and evidence

1 True. “Two residential roads” supports both the number and the type of area.

2 False. The measured fall was 38 per cent, which is less than half. This is a provable numerical contradiction.

3 False. The passage says only “some residents,” while the statement says every resident. Quantity creates the contradiction.

4 False. Police records showed no change, directly opposing an increase.

5 Not Given. Expansion to five neighbourhoods is approved, but the council has not decided about the shopping district. We cannot place it inside or outside next year’s expansion.

Review the reason, not only the label

For each error, identify which claim part you missed: location, number, proportion, time, action or certainty. Then write the evidence in simpler words. If you chose Not Given for item 3, for example, you noticed that not every resident was described individually, but missed the explicit contradiction between some and every.

Build accuracy with a five-day practice cycle

  1. Day 1—classification: take fifteen statements and decide what information would prove True, False or Not Given before reading the passages.
  2. Day 2—qualifiers: collect errors involving quantity, comparison, certainty and time. Rewrite each statement with the decisive word highlighted.
  3. Day 3—paraphrase: restate passage sentences in plain language without changing their strength. Check modal verbs and contrast signals.
  4. Day 4—timed sets: answer one official set using ordered evidence boundaries. Mark any question that causes repeated searching.
  5. Day 5—error replay: redo missed questions and explain aloud why the rejected alternatives fail. Then use a fresh set to test the repair.

Track mistakes by cause rather than total score alone. “I got three wrong” gives little direction. “I turned missing causes into False answers” tells you exactly what to practise. These are the most useful IELTS true false not given tips: demand passage proof, preserve the whole meaning, and treat missing information as a genuine third verdict.

Combine this focused cycle with the IELTS Reading test format guide so that accuracy practice eventually fits the complete 60-minute test.

References