True, False or Not Given
The only distinction that matters
Nearly every lost mark on this question type comes from confusing False with Not Given.
TRUE
The passage says the same thing as the statement. The wording will be different - it is a test of meaning, not of matching words.
FALSE
The passage says the OPPOSITE of the statement. There is a direct contradiction you can point to in the text.
NOT GIVEN
The passage does not say. It may discuss the topic, but it never confirms or contradicts this specific claim. Your own knowledge is irrelevant.
The test that settles it
When you are stuck between False and Not Given, ask this one question.
Can you put your finger on the sentence that contradicts the statement? If yes, it is False. If you are reasoning from what the passage implies, or from what seems likely, or from what you happen to know about the world, it is Not Given.
Not Given is not a failure to find the answer. It is the answer. Candidates lose marks because they keep searching, run down the clock, and eventually guess False out of discomfort.
Worked example
Passage extract: “The Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for over 2,300 kilometres, was designated a World Heritage Site in 1981. Tourism to the reef generates an estimated six billion dollars annually, although scientists have warned that visitor numbers may be contributing to coral damage in the most heavily visited areas.”
The Great Barrier Reef is more than 2,000 km long.
TRUE. The passage says over 2,300 kilometres, which is more than 2,000. Different words, same meaning.
The reef became a World Heritage Site in 1975.
FALSE. The passage says 1981. You can point to the contradiction.
Tourism is the largest industry in the region.
NOT GIVEN. The passage gives a figure for tourism revenue but never compares it to any other industry. It may well be true in reality - that is not the question.
Scientists are certain that tourism has damaged the coral.
FALSE. The passage says scientists have warned that visitors MAY be contributing. Certain contradicts may. Watch these hedging words - they are where the answer usually lives.
A method that keeps you moving
The questions follow the order of the passage. Use that.
- Read the statement and underline the part that can be checked - a number, a name, a comparison, an absolute word.
- Find the matching section of the passage. Because the questions run in order, the answer to question 5 sits between the answers to 4 and 6.
- Read that section slowly and completely. The answer is almost never in the sentence you first land on - it is in the one after it.
- Decide: contradiction on the page, or nothing on the page? Write the answer and move on.
- If you have spent more than 90 seconds, write Not Given and move on. You can return if time allows, and you usually will not need to.
Words that signal the trap
Absolute words in the statement, hedging words in the passage - or the reverse. This mismatch is the single most common source of False answers.
- Absolutes: all, every, never, always, only, the first, the largest, certain, proves
- Hedges: may, might, could, some, often, tends to, suggests, is thought to
- If the statement is absolute and the passage hedges, the answer is usually FALSE.
- If the statement hedges and the passage is silent, the answer is usually NOT GIVEN.
Useful language for this lesson
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