🧩 Lesson 2.3: True/False/Not Given & Matching — The Tricky Types

Two Families, One Logic

You will meet two closely related question types. They use the same three-way logic, and the only difference is what the statement is about:

The Core Rule

This one rule is the whole lesson. Memorize it, and most of your errors disappear:

How to Decide (Method + Flow)

Work through each statement with the same four steps. Do not rush to a label before you've found and read the relevant text.

✅ 1. The statements follow passage order

Like most IELTS Reading tasks, True/False/Not Given statements appear in the same order as the information in the passage. So the answer to Question 4 sits after the answer to Question 3. This narrows your search dramatically — you rarely need to re-read the whole text.

✅ 2. Locate the relevant part

Scan for a keyword or name from the statement, then read the sentence around it carefully. Keep a finger (literally, or with your cursor) on where the last answer was found.

✅ 3. Compare MEANING, not words

IELTS paraphrases. The statement and the passage will use different words for the same idea. Judge whether the meanings match, clash, or don't connect — never match on surface vocabulary. A statement that repeats the passage's words is often a deliberate trap.

✅ 4. Ask the three-way question

For the located text, ask: Does it confirm this statement? Contradict it? Or say nothing about it? Then write True, False, or Not Given accordingly.

graph TD
    A["Read the statement"] --> B["Find the relevant part of the text (passage order)"]
    B --> C["Compare MEANING, not words"]
    C --> D{"Does the text..."}
    D -->|"confirm it"| T["TRUE"]
    D -->|"contradict it"| F["FALSE"]
    D -->|"say nothing"| N["NOT GIVEN"]
                

Worked Examples: T / F / NG

Read this short passage extract, then study how each answer is justified. Notice that the reasoning always points to specific words — or to their absence.

Common Traps

Matching Headings

Here you're given a list of headings and must choose the one that best fits each paragraph. It tests whether you can grasp the main idea of a paragraph — not its details.

✅ The technique

1. Read the paragraph for its main idea. This is usually captured in the topic sentence (often first or last). Ask: "What is this paragraph mainly about? What point is it making?"
2. Match to the heading that reflects that main idea, not a heading that echoes a stray detail.
3. Do the easy, obvious ones first. Confident matches lock in and shrink the list for the harder paragraphs.
4. Eliminate. Cross off headings you've used and headings that clearly don't fit, then decide the remaining paragraphs from a shorter menu.

Matching Information & Features

Two related tasks:

• Matching information: "Which paragraph contains…?" — you locate where a specific piece of information appears.
• Matching features: match statements to a list of people, theories, studies, or categories (e.g. "Who claimed X?").

✅ Tips for matching information / features

• Underline the distinctive keyword in each question (a name, a number, a specific term) and scan for it or its paraphrase.
• Remember answers can repeat: in matching-features, the same person or theory may be the answer to more than one question (the instructions will say so) — or a name may be a distractor never used.
• Match on meaning: the question rephrases what the person said; find the idea, not the identical wording.
• Leave and return: if a question resists you, mark it, answer the easy ones, and come back — the remaining options narrow the field.

🔊 Hear It & Repeat — Model Sentences

Listen to each model sentence, then say it back. Use the 🎧 Audio control (bottom-right) to choose a UK or US voice and slow the speed down. Notice the precise wording — the exact words decide whether a statement is True, False, or Not Given.

Practice & Your Task

Work through these before opening the answers. For every True/False/Not Given item, write your reasoning in one sentence — especially why it isn't the other option.

Tips & Common Mistakes

✅ Do's

• For a False, demand a specific contradiction — point to the clashing words before you write it.
• For Not Given, check the place the answer should be, then commit and move on — don't hunt endlessly.
• Match on meaning, and be suspicious of a statement that reuses the passage's exact words.
• For headings, name the paragraph's main idea first; do the obvious matches and eliminate.
• Do matching information/features last — they scan the whole passage and appear in any order.

❌ Common Mistakes

📓 Learning Journal

📝 Lesson Summary

🎉 What You've Accomplished

You've built a repeatable method for the question types that cost most candidates their marks. You can now justify a False by pointing to a contradiction, defend a Not Given by confirming the text is silent, and pick a heading by its main idea rather than a shiny detail. That reasoning discipline — not luck — is what turns these "tricky types" into reliable points. 🎉

❓ Common Questions at This Stage

🔭 Looking Ahead

You've now covered the core of IELTS Reading strategy. Next we switch skills and turn to Writing. In Lesson 3.1: Writing Task 1 — Describing Data, you'll learn to read a graph, chart, or process at a glance and describe it in clear, accurate academic English — selecting the key features examiners reward and avoiding the trap of listing every number.

✅ Before the Next Lesson

• Do one more True/False/Not Given set from any practice source, writing a one-sentence justification for each answer.
• Review any item you got wrong and label it: contradiction missed, qualifier ignored, own knowledge used, or detail trap.
• Write your Learning Journal entry, including your personal "one check" for tricky statements.