True False Not given – reading tutorial and practice

Perhaps the question type that gives most pain to most IELTS candidates is the
True/False/Not given question type. Here are some pointers to help you improve your
IELTS band score with a link to some specific practice on this type of question.

The question types

In fact there are two question types here:

1. True/False/Not given: fact based

2. Yes/No/Not given: opinion based
In each case you need to decide if the information in the text agrees with the information
in the question. You should note that in the “Yes/No/Not given” questions, you are
normally asked to look for the writer’s opinions rather than facts.

Note the key skill

The key skill here is to understand that you are interpreting the text and the question. This
means that you need to read very closely and pay attention to what the writer means. Don’t
think of it as a skimming question, rather a question where you need to read the text and
the question closely and decide what the writer means.
How to get the answers right
True/Yes
There is information in the text that agrees exactly with the statement in the question.
Note that you will almost certainly need to look for synonyms here and match meaning and
not words.

False/No
There is information in the text that is directly opposite to or contradicts the statement in
the question. Again note that you will also need to think about meaning here. You should
pay careful attention to “little” words that qualify or change meaning such as: some , all,
often, occasionally
Not Given
This is the one that normally causes the most problems. Something is not given if there is
no information about it in the text. Do not spend ages looking for Not Given answers
because you will waste time.
 Guessing intelligently
This is probably the hardest question type. Don’t despair though you have a good chance
of guessing correctly. In fact the questions are hard because you have a one in three
chance of guessing! Here is my suggestion

1. if you find information in the text about the statement in the question:
guess True or False  but remember to read the whole question and not just match words in
it
2. if you find no information in the text about the statement guess Not Given - don’t
waste time. Typically, answer are Not Given when they match just one or two words in the
question
3. if you have no idea, then guess Not Given. You have a one in three chance of being
right and you may have no idea because it isn’t there!
Some examples of how the questions work
Macallan is one of the four top selling brands of malt whisky in the world. It is made in
barrels made of Spanish oak that have previously been used for sherry because this adds
sweetness to its flavour.
True
Macallan is globally successful.

This is true because top selling brands of malt whisky in the world matches globally

successful.
False 
Macallan is made in metal containers.

This is false because the text says it us made in  barrels of Spanish oak.  Because oak is a
wood this contradicts the words int he question metal containers. Note that you need to
think about meaning
Not Given
Macallan is made in Spain.

There is no information about where it is made. Be careful of the trap of seeing the

words Spanish and made  in the text. Usually with Not Given answers you will find some
words in the text that match words int he question without matching the meaning of
the whole question.
A difficulty – Not Given
 The “Not Given” variation is probably what makes this type of question so difficult. How can
you deal with this problem? You need to understand that:

 “Not given” does not mean no words in the question are used in the text. Typically,
you will find some of words from the question in the text – they simply don’t answer the
whole question
 You cannot add information that is probably true: you can only use the information
given in the text
Some practical tips
1. Read the whole question. Do NOT focus on key words. Think about the meaning of
the question.
2. Be especially careful with words such as “often” and “some”. They can change the
meaning of the question dramatically.
3. Be careful with questions beginning “The writer says”: here you need to think about
the writer’s opinions and not about facts.
4. The questions will follow the order of the text: if you can’t find answer 12, you
know it must be somewhere between 11 and 13.
5. Do not spend too long on any one question. If the answer is “Not Given”, there may
be nothing for you to find.
6. One possibility is to mark all the “True” answers and all the “False” answers and then
guess “Not Given” for the others.
A suggested procedure
Here is my suggested procedure:

1. Read the instructions carefully and note whether you are being asked to look for
facts or opinions.
2. Look at all the questions and see what topics they ask about. You may note key
words here, but only to identify the correct part of the text to read.
3. Skim the text to identify which paragraphs you need to read more closely. Note that
the questions will follow the order of the text and so the answer to question 10 will follow
the answer to question 11
4. Mark on the question paper which paragraphs relate to which question: eg, write 11
against paragraph E
5. Refocus on the question and read the whole question: be careful with tricky words
like “usually”
6. Underline the words in the text that give you the answer. This helps you concentrate
and also allows you to change your mind, if you find a better answer later.
A variation is to mark the “True” answers first as they tend to be the easiest and then go
back to the “False” and “Not given” later.

More True False Not Given Practice

This is one type of question that does need practice. Here are some more exercises:

Tennis reading - advice and short reading

True False Not Given – some tips and an exercise

This lesson reminds you of some tips on the True False Not Given question type in IELTS
reading. There are two main points to focus on when you are answering the question:
firstly, to think about meaning and not just words, and secondly to focus on the question
as much as the text itself. There is also an interactive quiz at the bottom for you to test
your skills.

Tip one – Underline the part of the text that shows the
answer
A forgotten reading skill is to learning how to read intensively when you are looking for the
answer itself. Forget “key words” – they only show where to find the answer. Once you have
found the right part of the text, read very carefully – you want to find something that says:

1. This agrees with the information in the question – True

2.  This contradicts the informnation in the question – False
Do NOT read generally at this point.  You want to find something you can underline. If you
cannot find anything specific that you can underline, then the answer is likely to be Not
Given.

Tip two – refer back to the whole question and think about
its meaning
IELTS reading is designed how well you understand reading passages. This means you
always want to focus on meaning when you are looking for the answer. Once you have
found the right part of the text, forget key words. It’s quite possible to find words in the
text that match words in the question, but the overall meaning is quite different.
1. Go back to the question and re-read it carefully – focus on the little words
too (some,  never, generally etc), these can change the meanings of questions dramatically.
Ask yourself if you are looking for something absolutely true or something that is qualified
in some ay.
2. Re-read the text. Does it mean the same as the question? Make sure you check the
text and question against each other – that they mean the same thing.
 

Some practice questions

The majority of professional players on the ATP and the WTA tours now use polyester
strings made by Luxilon, a company that specialised in the past in manufacturing fibres for
female undergarments. The trend was started by the then little-known Brazilian player
Gustavo Kuerten who more or less by chance discovered that this string was almost
completely “dead” – meaning that the players are able to swing much harder at the ball and
impart much more spin on it without it flying off uncontrollably as it would do with a
traditional gut string. Kuerten of course went on to achieve much success and, in the clay
court game at least, is regarded as one of the modern greats. His most lasting legacy
though may not be his titles, rather it may be that his use of a material primarily made for
women’s bras allowed him and successive champions to change how the tennis ball flew.
Players were able to find completely new angles on the court because, in the hands of a
master, a shot hit with a luxilon string that might look as if it were heading way out of
court would suddenly drop like a stone, describing an almost perfect parabola. This
technological innovation has revolutionised the way in which the game is now played. For
example, Roger Federer, a man who many regard as the greatest player of all time, may
have begun his career as an attacking all-court player, but in latter years he has been
forced become a much more defensively orientated player who chooses his time to attack
more carefully. Indeed, he is on record as saying that new string technology has changed
the face of the game and that he has had to adapt his game to counter players who stand
behind the baseline and produce winning shots from almost nowhere.

True/False/Not Given - Luxilon

Decide if the answers to these questions are: TRUE - there is information in the text that
shows that this is the author's opinion FALSE - there is information in the text that shows
that this is NOT the author's opinion NOT GIVEN - there is not enough information in the
text to determine whether this true or false
Roger Federer uses luxilon to string his tennis racket.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 2
The use of luxilon allowed players to hit new types of shots.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 3
Roger Federer has always played an attacking game of tennis.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 1 Not Given

Explanation: 
We know that “The majority of professional players on the ATP and the WTA tours now use
polyester strings made by Luxilon” and that Federer believes”new string technology has
changed the face of the game”. You might assume therefore that he uses the string. There
is, however, no information in the text about what type of string Federer uses – he may be
part of the majority, he may be part of the minority, we simply don’t know.

Question 2 True

Explanation: 
We find the answer in “ the players are able to swing much harder at the ball and impart
much more spin on it without it flying off uncontrollably” and “Players were able to find
completely new angles on the court because, in the hands of a master, a shot hit with a
luxilon string that might look as if it were heading way out of court would suddenly drop
like a stone, describing an almost perfect parabola.”
Question 3 False

Explanation: 
We have enough information in the text from “Roger Federer, a man who many regard as
the greatest player of all time, may have begun his career as an attacking all-court player,
but in latter years he has been forced become a more defensively orientated player who
chooses his time to attack more carefully.” This is a “trick question” if you look only at the
words “Federer” and “attacking”, you may want to say True. If, however, you read the whole
question including the word “always”, then the answer must be False. The idea is that
Federer has changed the way he plays into a more defensive style

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Orwell reading - advice and short reading

True False Not Given reading practice – visions of the future

This lesson has two purposes. In it you will find a short exercise to test your
True/False/Not Given skills and an explanation of how to deal with more difficult words in
IELTS reading texts.

The skill of reading closely

The text is designed to be slightly harder than the average IELTS text as it contains quite a
high proportion of unexpected words and long sentences. The idea is to focus you on the
skill of reading closely. The idea is that you need to try and read the text closely before you
decide on your answer.

This is especially important in T/F/NG questions which require you to understand the
writer’s meaning and not just to see whether you can find a particular word in the text. If
you simply match the words in the question with the words in the text, you will very likely
go wrong with this text.

Dealing with harder words

The first point to note is that you should not panic if you find a word you cannot
understand:
 it may not be important to understanding of the passage and /or finding the answer
you may be able to guess its general meaning from context (the words around it)
This text contains three words that may well be new to you:

utopia

dystopia

manifesto

You should be able to guess their general meaning by simply reading on. You don’t need a
dictionary definition – just a good idea about what the words mean. The tip is to pay close
attention to relative clauses (and disguised relative clauses with -ing forms):

utopias which paint a picture of an ideal society

dystopias in which the world is a much less desirable and often frightening place
a political manifesto proposing a form of government

From this you should see that a utopia is something good (“ideal”), dystopia something bad
(“less desirable and frightening”) while manifesto is to do with politics and proposes.

Visions of the future – True False Not Given reading

Humans have always speculated about what society may or should look like in the future
and there is a long and honourable tradition of writers who have described their vision of
the world in a future age. One possible division of these books is into utopias which paint
a picture of an ideal society and dystopias in which the world is a much less desirable and
often frightening place. Perhaps the most famous utopia remains Plato’s Republic, written
around two and half thousand years ago, which is also partly a political manifesto
proposing a form of government where philosophers kings rule in the interests of the
many. In its day, this most undemocratic proposal was less controversial than it would be
today, as there was a strong body of opinion in Athens that democracy was not a model
form of government. While many today may find Plato’s vision unpleasant, his intention
was otherwise and the book has the optimistic goal of showing how the ills of society
could be cured. This optimism stands in stark contrast to George Orwell’s dystopian
nightmare 1984. That book too presents a version of what society may look like in the
future, but it has a quite different purpose: the aim of the book is to serve as a warning.
The reader is meant to be shocked and horrified by the world of deception and tyranny it
portrays, a world where the state authorities, in the form of Big Brother, have absolute
control of every aspect of individuals’ lives and where truth is lost.

Question 1
The society proposed by Plato in The Republic is democratic.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 2
George Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning against communism.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 3
1984 presents a pessimistic view of the future.

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 1 False
Explanation: 
Don't be caught out by the word "proposed" in the question and match it to "proposal" in
the text. The idea is "undemocratic"

Question 2 Not Given

Explanation: 
In life this is in fact true, but there is nothing in the text about communism. We have no
information on the topic, so the answer is Not Given

Question 3 True

Explanation: 
"This optimism stands in stark contrast to George Orwell’s dystopian nightmare 1984." The
opposite of optimism is pessimism and you need to see that 1984 contrasts to the
optimism of The Republic. You can also understand this from the word "nightmare", even if
you do not understand "dystopian"

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Clock-watches - advice and short reading

True false not given reading practice

This is a little quick practice on the most hated type of reading question. Before you tackle
it remember:

True means that there is something in the text that agrees with the question
False means that there is something in the text that contradicts the question
Not given means that there is nothing in the text that answers the question one way or
another,
You need to look for meanings and not just words. In most cases you get the answer right
by interpreting the meanings of phrases/sentences. You should also be careful with your
key word strategy. This is one type of question where you need to pay attention to all the
words in the question before you answer it – the key words only tell where to look not what
the answer is.
The reading practice
The first timepieces that were worn are the so-called clock-watches of the mid 16th
century. They were quite different from the modern day wristwatch in several respects.
They were made almost completely from brass and were not round but cylindrical in shape
with a hinged metal cover instead of a glass face. This was in the form of a grill so that the
hour hand – there was no minute hand or second hand – could be seen without opening it.
Another difference was that these clock-watches were almost entirely decorative in
purpose and were worn in the same way as a necklace or a brooch, typically being attached
to the clothing or hung around the neck. Part of the reason for this is that the many of the
first watch makers were jewellers by trade, men who had to find a new form of work after
Calvin banned the wearing of jewellery in 1547. So they brought the skills of
ornamentation to their new craft. So while the most famous clock-watches were the plain
Nuremburg Eggs made by Peter Henlein, who is sometimes credited with the invention of
the watch, the designs rapidly became increasingly ornate and included shapes such as
flowers, stars and animals. Indeed, the nobility, who were the only people able to afford
these timepieces, bought them almost exclusively for their appearance and not for
timekeeping purposes for the simple reason that they would often gain or lose several
hours in the course of a day.

Question 1
Clock watches only had one hand  

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 2
Peter Henlein first worked as a jeweller

A True
B False
C Not Given
Question 3
All the first clock-watches were ornate.

A True
B False
C Not Given

Question 1 True

Explanation: 
Fairly simple I hope. You look for the word "hand" to see where to get the answer and then
you read this: "the hour hand - there was no minute hand or second hand - could be seen
without opening it". That should tell you there was only one hand,

Question 2 Not Given

Explanation: 
This may be the trick question. You do have information about Peter Henlein but there is
nothing about his FIRST job. Don't be fooled by seeing this "many of the first watch makers
were jewellers by trade". This does not mean that he was one. We just don't know.

Question 3 Explanation: 
Another question where you need to read for meaning and pay close attention to the
question. In some ways the key word is ALL. Read this "So while the most famous clock-
watches were the plain Nuremburg Eggs made by Peter Henlein, who is sometimes credited
with the invention of the watch, the designs rapidly became increasingly ornate". That
means that some clock-watches were plain and not ornate.