Cracking the IELTS True, False and Not Given

Cracking the IELTS True, False and Not Given Questions

  IELTS reading passage questions can be a bit challenging. One of the more intimidating question types are the True, False and Not Given (Yes, No, and No Information are often used as well). These question types are challenging because candidates often get confused between False and Not Given. Before you attempt to answer these question types, you need to ensure that you know what each question is asking. Let’s have a look at what you need to know about this question type.

True (Yes)

When you see a True (Yes) question, you are looking for something that is directly stated in the passage. Often enough, the language that is used is sometimes quite different and synonyms are needed. Candidates may scan the question and find specific keys words. However, they will try to find these key words in the passage and usually end up empty handed. You need to understand that IELTS is not testing simple reading skills. The purpose of the reading passage is to ensure that a candidate is demonstrating comprehension of the English language and that includes understanding synonyms and related vocabulary.

False (No)

A False (No) question refers to information that is not correct. In most cases, the details for the answer are opposite and can eliminated quickly, however, candidates usually struggle with this question type. The most obvious way to answer this question is to look for details from the question and compare that to the information in the passage. It could be as simple as identifying a year or name of a person. What you need to focus on will relate to the details of the question and passage. Later, there will be an excellent example on how to identify a False (No) answer quickly and effectively.

Not Given (No Information)

A Not Given (No Information) question often confuses candidates as they may think it is a False (No) answer. A Not Given (No Information) answer basically reports that there are no details or information about the question in the passage. Often enough, inference (implied) references are used to answer this question type. In saying that, the candidate needs to read around the details in the passage to find the answer. A good example would be information about the subject of the passage that has not been mentioned. If you cannot find any details about the question in the passage, it will most likely be a Not Given (No Information) answer.

How to Answer

 

Cracking the ielts academic reading-labeling from Raymond Ebertt

There are some steps that you need to do first before answering True, False, and Not Given questions. Obviously, reading the question carefully would be a good idea but don’t stop there. As you read the question, you are looking for key words and making synonyms for them. Look at the series of questions below.

False Questions

Step One – Identify Key Words

Starting with the first question, you want to analyze what the question is asking. Have a look below and study the syntax of it while looking for key words.

8. The surface of the Great Pyramid is covered in polished limestone slabs.

After identifying some key words, we need to find synonyms for them. Looking at surface, we could use words like outside, external or exterior. Covered we can use words like enclosed or protected. Polished can be replaced with smooth or refined and slabs refers to sheets or pieces. As you are identifying these keys words, write 1 or 2 synonyms above them and refer back to them as you are searching for the answer. Always try to keep more than 1 word on hand when skimming and scanning as it will help you to narrow down where the answer is found in the passage.

Step 2 – Study the Syntax

Syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language) often provides valuable clues that will assist in identifying an answer. In this question, we can notice a very important piece of information that provides us with the answer to this question.

8. The surface of the Great Pyramid is covered in polished limestone slabs.

This question is stating the Present Tense (today). Therefore, in order for this question to be correct, the pyramid needs to have these polished slabs on the surface now.

Step 3 – Scan the Passage

Now we need to scan the passage and identify where we need to look for the answer. By doing so, we are using the details from the question and relating it to the passage. The question is describing what the pyramid looks like so we need to find which paragraph refers to the appearance or description of the pyramid. In doing so, we can safely say that Paragraph 6 provides details of the pyramid. Have a

look at the paragraph now. For this question, we can quickly determine that the answer is False for these following reasons:

1. The sentence refers to the past tense which contradicts the question “is covered”.
2. “all of which have been stolen” confirms that there are no original slabs left on the surface.

Notice that the word “surface” has been replaced with a synonym “exterior” in the passage. After determining the details and information provided to us, we can answer this question as False.  

Not Given Questions

As mentioned before, Not Given questions are probably the most difficult to answer because it is often confused as a False answer. Let’s look at the following question and go through the steps to answer it correctly. 9) King Khafra died before King Cheops. This question is asking us to determine if one king died before the other. Though it might seem like a simple answer, it is a bit tricky and is often answered as False, which is wrong. To find the answer to this question, we need to scan the passage for any instances of King Khafra and King Cheops. As well, we need to determine when they died and if one died before the other.  After scanning the passage, we find inferences of both kings in Paragraph 5 for King Cheops and Paragraph 7 for King Khafra.

 

 To answer this question, we need to determine who died first. After looking at the details, we learn that there is no information on who died, when they died, and who died before the other. Look at the details below.

• King Cheops built as his tomb 5000 years ago
• King Khafra, the son of Cheops, who was buried in the second largest pyramid

There are no details about King Khafra dying before Cheops, therefore, the best answer to this question is Not Given. For this question to have a False answer, there must be inference to either Cheops or Khafra dying at a specific time before the other. There are no inferences so Not Given is correct.

True Questions

Just as we did with False and Not Given questions, we need to examine the question before answering. Look at the question below. 10) Egyptian carvings were often based on things found in nature. Things found in nature refers to living things. After scanning the passage, we can focus on

Paragraph 8.

 After reading the details from this paragraph, we can clearly see that the carvings the Egyptians made were based on living things. Therefore, the best answer for this question is True.

Conclusion

When confronted with True, False, and Not Given (Yes, No, and No Information) questions, make sure you first scan the question, identify key words, make synonyms, check the syntax, and then go to the passage.  Be confident with your choice between False and Not Given and ensure that there are no details or referents that could make the question False.

Note: If you can’t find the details, it’s probably Not Given

Don’t spend too much time on the False and Not Given questions if you are having issues. Identifying the True answers will help you in understanding the details of the passage. Following these techniques will greatly enhance and improve your chances in getting a better reading score. For more information on reading, reading lessons or consultation, be sure to ask your questions. I am more than happy to help. Come over and visit www.myieltssolutions.com