Here's what I see happen every single week in my IELTS classes: a bright student gets to the True/False/Not Given section and suddenly freezes. They read the passage three times. They're confident. Then they check the answer key and find they've gotten 40% of them wrong.
The problem isn't that they can't read. It's that they don't understand what "Not Given" actually means, and they're making assumptions the test writers are specifically designed to catch.
True/False/Not Given is one of the easiest question types to master once you know the trick. Most students don't know the trick. By the time you finish reading this, you will.
True/False/Not Given (TFNG) is a question format in the IELTS Reading section. You get a passage and a series of statements. Your job is to decide if each statement is True, False, or Not Given based on what the passage actually says.
Simple in theory. In practice, students try to answer based on what they think is probably true, or what makes logical sense, rather than what the passage explicitly states.
On the actual test, you'll typically see 5 to 10 TFNG questions per reading section. That's between 5% and 15% of your total Reading score. Miss half of them, and you're looking at a band score drop of 0.5 to 1 point. I've seen students go from Band 7 to Band 6.5 because they misunderstood this section.
This is where most students mess up. They think "Not Given" means "I didn't read it carefully enough." It doesn't.
Here's what matters: for "Not Given", the passage doesn't need to say the opposite. It just needs to say nothing.
Let me show you with a real example:
Passage extract: "Coffee consumption has increased by 15% in urban areas over the last five years. The price of coffee beans has also risen sharply."
Statement 1: Coffee consumption has increased in cities.
Answer: TRUE. The passage literally says this.
Statement 2: Coffee consumption has decreased in rural areas.
Answer: FALSE. The passage says urban consumption increased, which contradicts a claim about rural decrease.
Statement 3: Coffee consumption has increased because of social media marketing.
Answer: NOT GIVEN. The passage tells us consumption increased, but gives zero information about why. You might think social media caused it, but the passage doesn't say this, so it's Not Given.
See the difference? This is critical.
Weak thinking: "The passage talks about coffee, and social media is probably why people buy more coffee, so that could be TRUE."
No. Just because something is logical doesn't make it true in IELTS terms.
Strong thinking: "The passage doesn't mention why consumption increased. The cause isn't stated anywhere. Answer: NOT GIVEN."
Mistake 1: Assuming logical connections are stated.
A passage might say "School hours were extended" and later mention "Student test scores improved". Your brain thinks: well, obviously the extended hours caused the improvement. But if the passage never explicitly connects them, the statement "Extended school hours improve test scores" is NOT GIVEN, not TRUE.
Mistake 2: Using outside knowledge.
You know from real life that Paris is in France. But if a passage talks about Paris without mentioning France, and you get a statement like "Paris is in France", the answer is NOT GIVEN, not TRUE. I've seen this happen more times than I can count. Students throw away points because they can't separate what they know from what the passage actually says.
Mistake 3: Accepting partial matches as TRUE.
Passage: "The temperature in July was higher than in June." Statement: "The summer temperature was higher than in June." That's not the same thing. The passage says July specifically. "Summer" is broader and vague. At best, this is NOT GIVEN. Many students mark it TRUE because it sounds close enough.
Tip: As you read the passage, write down the exact claims it makes. Not what they imply. What they actually state. Literal quotes help here.
This is the system I teach every student I work with, and it works.
Step 1: Read the statement first, before scanning the passage.
You need to know what you're looking for. Read each TFNG statement carefully and underline the key claims. If a statement has two parts connected by "and", both parts need to be true for your answer to be TRUE.
Step 2: Search the passage for relevant information.
Don't read the whole passage again. Skim for keywords from the statement. You've got time pressure on the real test, so be efficient. A 10-question TFNG section should take you 8 to 10 minutes, which means less than one minute per question once you're practiced.
Step 3: Find the exact sentence that addresses the statement.
When you find relevant information, read that section carefully. Precision matters here. Is the passage saying exactly what the statement says, or something close but different?
Step 4: Make your decision based only on what's written.
Ask yourself: does the passage explicitly support this, explicitly contradict this, or say nothing about it? If you can't find it written in the passage, it's NOT GIVEN, not TRUE.
Step 5: If you're torn between options, lean toward NOT GIVEN.
This is honest advice from years of marking exams. If you're torn between TRUE and NOT GIVEN, it's probably NOT GIVEN. If you're torn between FALSE and NOT GIVEN, also probably NOT GIVEN. The test wants to know what's explicitly stated or directly contradicted, not what you can infer.
Example 1: The percentage trap.
Passage: "Renewable energy sources like wind and solar have grown significantly in Europe. Germany leads the continent with over 50% of its electricity from renewables by 2023."
Statement: "Germany produces more renewable energy than any other European country."
Weak answer: TRUE. Because Germany leads and produces over 50%, that sounds like a lot.
(You've confused percentage with absolute production.)
Strong answer: NOT GIVEN. The passage says Germany leads in percentage of renewable electricity (over 50%), but it never says Germany produces more renewable energy in absolute terms than other countries. France might produce more total renewable energy but from a smaller percentage of its grid.
Example 2: The causation trap.
Passage: "The Arctic ice sheet is melting. Scientists predict it will continue to shrink over the coming decades. Some coastal cities are beginning to prepare for rising sea levels."
Statement: "Arctic ice melting is causing coastal cities to prepare for rising sea levels."
Weak answer: TRUE. Because obviously the ice melting causes sea levels to rise.
(You've added causation that the passage never explicitly states.)
Strong answer: NOT GIVEN. The passage mentions Arctic ice melting and cities preparing for rising sea levels, but it never explicitly connects these two facts. The passage doesn't say the cities are preparing because of the ice melt.
Example 3: The scope trap.
Passage: "Electric vehicles are becoming more popular in developed nations. In 2023, Norway saw electric vehicles make up 90% of new car sales."
Statement: "Norway has the highest percentage of electric vehicle sales in the world."
Weak answer: TRUE. Because 90% is really high and Norway is mentioned.
(You've generalized from limited information.)
Strong answer: NOT GIVEN. The passage tells us Norway had 90% electric vehicle sales among new cars, but it doesn't say this is the highest in the world. Other countries might have similar or higher percentages. The passage only discusses developed nations, not the entire world.
Trap 1: Reversing the direction.
Passage says: "Students who exercise regularly score higher on tests." Statement says: "Higher test scores cause students to exercise." That's FALSE, not TRUE. The passage gives a direction of causation that's being reversed.
Trap 2: Assuming synonyms are proof.
Passage: "The project was completed ahead of schedule." Statement: "The project finished early." This looks TRUE at first glance. But what if the passage explained earlier that the schedule changed? Read context carefully. A synonym swap isn't always safe.
Trap 3: Absolute vs. qualified statements.
Passage: "Most participants preferred the new design." Statement: "All participants preferred the new design." That's FALSE. "Most" and "all" are not the same. Words like "always", "all", "never", "none" are red flags. If the passage qualifies a claim with "many", "some", "most", or "few", an absolute statement about it is likely FALSE.
Tip: Whenever you see absolute language in a statement (all, never, always, no one, everyone), flag it mentally. These are often FALSE or NOT GIVEN, rarely TRUE.
You have roughly 60 minutes for the entire Reading test, which includes 40 questions across three passages. That's about 1.5 minutes per question on average, but TFNG questions should take you less.
Spend 8 to 10 minutes on a 10-question TFNG section. That's less than one minute per question. Why? Once you know the system, finding the answer is fast. You skim for keywords, locate the relevant sentence, check if it matches, and move on.
Don't fall into the trap of re-reading the entire passage for each question. That'll eat your time and make you second-guess yourself. Stay focused on just the relevant section.
For more on managing your time effectively across all three reading passages, check out our IELTS time management guide, which breaks down how to split your hour across different question types.
Reading about this won't make you better. You need to practice with actual IELTS materials. Cambridge practice tests 1 through 18 all have TFNG sections. Do at least five full practice sets, marking your answers and reviewing every single wrong one.
When you get one wrong, ask yourself three questions: Did I not read the passage carefully enough? Did I make an assumption? Or did I confuse a similar concept? Different mistakes need different fixes.
If you're getting more than 2 out of 10 wrong on TFNG sections, slow down and apply the five-step system I outlined above. Once you're consistently hitting 8 out of 10 or better, you can speed up a bit.
For a broader practice roadmap, our complete 3-month preparation guide shows you how to structure your reading practice alongside the other sections. You can also use our free essay grading tool to get feedback on your written responses while you focus on perfecting your reading strategy.