If you want Band 7 in IELTS Reading, you can't avoid True/False/Not Given questions. Their trap: FALSE and NOT GIVEN look almost identical, so candidates guess — and accuracy hovers around 60%. One question type alone can cost half a band.

Nail down the three definitions first

• TRUE: the statement matches the passage (paraphrase allowed).
• FALSE: the statement contradicts the passage — the text explicitly says the opposite.
• NOT GIVEN: the passage doesn't address it — neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

One sentence to remember: FALSE means "the passage says the opposite," NOT GIVEN means "the passage says nothing about it." When unsure, ask: can I find one sentence in the passage that directly fights this statement? If yes → FALSE. If no → NOT GIVEN.

The 3-step method (apply it to every question)

Step 1: mark the "judgment core" of the statement — usually a comparative (more than, the same as), an absolute (all, only, never), or a causal word (because, due to). The tested point almost always hides in these words.

Step 2: locate in the passage and read the full sentence — not half of it. Many FALSE statements match the first half of the passage sentence exactly; the trap is in the second half.

Step 3: make only one of three calls — matches → TRUE; explicitly opposite → FALSE; the passage never covers that judgment core → NOT GIVEN. Never use outside knowledge: if the passage is factually wrong, judge by the passage. This is a reading test, not a debate.

The 7 most common trap patterns

1. The statement contains only / all / never / always — the passage usually says "most" or "usually." These are very often FALSE or NOT GIVEN; verify the degree.
2. The statement makes a comparison (A is faster than B) but the passage introduces A and B separately without comparing → NOT GIVEN. The single most frequent trap.
3. The passage gives advice (should / recommend); the statement converts it to fact (is / are) → usually FALSE. The modality changed.
4. The passage says may / can; the statement says will / must → FALSE. Possibility upgraded to certainty.
5. Numbers: the figure matching isn't enough — wrong units or ranges ("since 1990" vs "1990–2000") still make it FALSE.
6. The statement reuses the passage's exact words but swaps the subject — the government fined factories, but the statement says factories fined their staff → FALSE. Don't be fooled by matching vocabulary.
7. You can't locate anything → probably NOT GIVEN, but it may be an unrecognized paraphrase. Search once more with different keywords before committing to NOT GIVEN.

How to drill it: one test a day, errors sorted into two buckets

You don't need massive question banks. One timed computer-based reading test daily (60 minutes), and file every wrong TFNG question into one of two buckets:

• "FALSE vs NOT GIVEN confusion" — copy the relevant passage sentence and write one line: did the passage actually say this or not?
• "Location failure" — your paraphrase vocabulary is thin. Log the statement-word ↔ passage-word pairs into your vocabulary notebook.

After two weeks you'll notice most questions resolve at Step 2, without agonizing.

One note on the computer-based format

The biggest difference from paper: there's no physical page. Highlighting keywords is mouse-dragging, and you need to be fluent with the highlight and note tools. So practice TFNG in the real interface, not on paper — don't discover the mismatch on test day. Our site aiieltsmentor.com has 159 practice tests replicating the computer-based interface, with dedicated TFNG sets and full mocks — the free tier is enough to start. TFNG is the fastest win in Reading: two weeks of focused drilling shows real results.