IELTS guide
In IELTS Reading, TRUE means the passage confirms the statement, FALSE means the passage contradicts it, and NOT GIVEN means the passage does not say enough to decide either way. The skill is matching meaning precisely, not matching words.
English AIdol · Published · Updated
Prepared with AI assistance and published by English AIdol. No human expert review is claimed.
What this guide covers
| Answer | Choose it when | Quick test |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | The passage states the same information, usually in different words. | Could you underline the words that prove it? |
| FALSE | The passage states information that contradicts the statement. | Could you underline the words that make it impossible? |
| NOT GIVEN | The passage neither confirms nor contradicts the statement. | You searched the right part of the text and found no proof either way. |
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN works the same way but tests the writer's views or claims rather than factual information. Use YES when the writer's opinion agrees with the statement, NO when it contradicts it and NOT GIVEN when the writer's view cannot be determined.
Answers to these questions follow the order of the information in the passage, which helps you find the right location quickly.
In 2023, the coastal town of Marlow Bay introduced a bicycle-sharing scheme with 40 stations. Most of the stations were placed near the harbour and the railway station, although a handful were added in residential areas after residents petitioned the council for them. During the first year, the scheme recorded more journeys on weekdays than at weekends, which the council attributed to commuters using the bicycles to reach the train. The council has since announced that it will review ticket prices, but it has not said whether prices will rise or fall.
| Statement | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The scheme began with 40 stations. | TRUE | "introduced a bicycle-sharing scheme with 40 stations" states the same information. |
| 2. All of the stations were near the harbour or the railway station. | FALSE | "Most" were there, and some were added in residential areas. "All" is contradicted. |
| 3. Some stations were added in response to requests from local people. | TRUE | Stations were added "after residents petitioned the council for them". "Requests from local people" is a paraphrase, not a word match. |
| 4. The scheme was more popular with tourists than with residents. | NOT GIVEN | Tourists are never mentioned, so the passage gives no information either way. |
| 5. Weekend journeys outnumbered weekday journeys in the first year. | FALSE | The passage says there were more journeys on weekdays. |
| 6. Ticket prices will increase after the review. | NOT GIVEN | The council has not said whether prices will rise or fall. |
Statements 4 and 6 are the classic traps: both sound plausible, and 6 shares many words with the passage. Neither can be proved or disproved, so both are NOT GIVEN.
| Trap | Example | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Changed qualifier | The passage says "most"; the statement says "all". | Treat qualifiers as part of the claim. A changed qualifier usually makes the statement FALSE. |
| Word match without meaning match | The statement repeats passage words but adds a new claim. | Check whether the specific claim is supported, not whether the words appear. |
| Using outside knowledge | The statement is true in real life but not discussed in the passage. | Judge only from the passage. If it is silent, choose NOT GIVEN. |
| Comparison not made | The statement compares two things the passage only describes separately. | Look for an explicit comparison before choosing TRUE or FALSE. |
| Possibility versus fact | The passage says "may" or "plans to"; the statement says "will" or "did". | A change in certainty can make the statement FALSE or NOT GIVEN, depending on what the text says. |
Practise with full sets in IELTS Reading practice, and see IELTS Reading strategies for the other question types.
Checked against IELTS Academic test format in detail on 3 October 2026. English AIdol is not affiliated with or endorsed by the IELTS partners. The examples on this page are original practice material, not official IELTS questions, and any English AIdol feedback is an unofficial estimate.
FALSE means the passage contradicts the statement. NOT GIVEN means the passage does not provide enough information to confirm or contradict it.
Yes. The answers appear in the same order as the information in the passage, so each answer narrows where to look for the next one.
True/False/Not Given tests factual information. Yes/No/Not Given tests the writer's views or claims. The decision process is the same.
No. Judge only from the passage. If the passage does not discuss the claim, the answer is NOT GIVEN even if the statement is true in real life.