IELTS Reading strategies: True, False, Not Given

Today I am Givin you IELTS strategy of TRUE,FALSE and NOT GIVEN,

 So this is a specific question. It may or may not be on your test, but I think, personally, this is one of the most difficult questions on the reading section of the IELTS. So I'm going to give you some tips and strategies on how to do well on this section. 

Okay, so let's get started. In this section, what you are going to find is a reading passage. So you will have a long passage on maybe cybercrime, maybe food security, on the history of the Internet -- it can be on anything. After the passage, there will be some statements, some facts, okay? What you need to do is you need to say if the fact matches -- if it's true based on the reading, if it's false based on the reading, or if the information is not given in the reading. So I will explain "true", "false", "not given" in detail in just a minute. 

Okay. What else to know about the "true, false, or not given"? Another important thing about this question is we're not talking about the question that has to do with the writer's opinion. There's a very similar question on the IELTS that asks about the writer's opinion. That's the "yes, no, not given". This is only on "true, false, not given", not "yes, no, not given". Just -- hopefully, that will clear up any confusion. 

 What do they mean by "true" in these questions? When would you write "true"? I will tell you. You can write "true" or "T". "T" is shorter. If there is a fact and it is clearly written, you write "T". If the fact is clearly written in the reading, you would write "T". You'll often see synonyms, and, again, write "T" only if you actually see this fact written. If you know the fact is true, but it's not written, don't write "true". Only write "true" if, with your eyes, you read it, and you see it in the fact. You see it in the reading; write "true". So I'll give you an example of this type of question. Here is just a part of a passage. The reading is a lot longer, but here is a short version that you might find on the IELTS. "This increase in cybercrime has alarmed many experts." So it would be a long passage. You might see something like that. And then, at the end of the reading, one of the statements you might see might say, "Cyber crime is on the rise." You need to say if this is "true", "false", or "not given". 

So how do you know if it's "true", "false", or "not given"? My advice to you is first, read the statement: "Cyber crime is on the rise"; underline any key words. "Cyber crime" -- this is a keyword. "is on the 'rise'" -- that's a keyword, okay? Then you go back to the reading passage, and you quickly scan for these words or synonyms.  "Synonyms" are words that mean the same thing but are different words. So what is a synonym of "rise"? "Increase", "go up", etc. So let's see if we can find "cyber crime" or "rise". So I would scan the passage -- oh, the word "increase", "cybercrime". So "rise", "increase", okay. So I found a synonym. Now, it's important for me to read very carefully to see if there are any contradictions. What does the sentence say? Does it really match? "This increase in cyber crime has alarmed many experts." "Cyber crime is on the rise." Both of these -- both the reading passage and the fact or the statement are saying cyber crime is increasing. It's going up. So that would mean it's true. So I could write a "T" beside this, "true". 

Okay. One thing to look out for with "true": Sometimes you will see words like "some", "all", "only", "never", "usually", "often", "sometimes". Be careful with these words, Because if it says, "Some people in Canada like to eat poutine", and you see the sentence saying, "Poutine is always eaten by Canadians", even though you see the two words -- oh, "poutine", "poutine" -- one says "always", one says "some". So this would not be a true statement. So be on the lookout for "some", "all", "only", "never", "usually". This is where they try to trick you on the IELTS...