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True / False / Not Given — the decision tree
مُقدَّميبقى موقعك المحفوظ في هذا المتصفح. لا يكتمل استئناف الموقع الدرس أو الإجابة على أسئلته.
A Thursday meeting does not itself exclude Monday
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Your goal: decide whether information supports, contradicts or leaves a complete claim unsettled. Start with Reading orientation if the task labels are new.
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Original text A: “The club opened in 2018. Members meet on Thursdays.” The statement “Members also meet on Mondays” is NOT GIVEN: a Thursday meeting does not rule out another meeting. Original text B adds “Members meet only on Thursdays”; the Monday statement is now FALSE.
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Both texts support “The club opened in 2018”. Neither describes who most members are, so “Most members are students” remains NOT GIVEN. One small qualifier changes the evidence; a club timetable cannot produce a membership census by magic.
The passage says nothing at all about a statement, but the statement is obviously true in the real world. What is the answer?
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The task tests the passage, not the world. If the passage neither states nor contradicts it, the answer is NOT GIVEN however true it is.
Text A says members meet on Thursdays, without saying only. “Members also meet on Mondays”: choose the evidence label.
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A Thursday meeting neither establishes nor excludes a Monday meeting.
Compare the whole claim with the relevant context
- Find the passage material about the claim, then compare who, action, time, quantity and qualification. Support → TRUE; contradiction → FALSE; neither → NOT GIVEN. Evidence can span connected sentences; it need not appear in one exact wording match.
- You may inspect support and contradiction in either order. The ordered practice below is one usable routine, not an official requirement to check FALSE first. “I did not find it quickly” is a search outcome, not proof that the passage gives no answer.
Put the decision steps in order.
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This is one usable reading routine, not an official requirement to inspect contradiction before support. Inspect the full relevant context before deciding information is absent.
Some does not establish most or all
- “Overfishing was one cause of the decline” does not establish that it was the main cause: NOT GIVEN. If the text instead says “Habitat loss was the main cause; overfishing was a smaller contributor”, calling overfishing the main cause contradicts that comparison.
- Original mini-text: “Eight volunteers attended. Two did not submit a safety form.” “Every volunteer submitted a form” is FALSE because there are explicit counterexamples. “Six submitted forms” is NOT GIVEN: the text does not say what the other six did.
Passage: 'One cause of the decline was overfishing.' Statement: 'The main cause of the decline was overfishing.'
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NOT GIVEN. One cause could be the main cause, but the passage does not say whether it is. FALSE would require a contradiction, such as naming another main cause.
“Eight volunteers attended. Two did not submit a form.” “Every volunteer submitted a form”: choose the label.
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The two explicit non-submitters contradict every.
From the same volunteer text, “Six volunteers submitted forms”: choose the label.
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The text gives no submission status for the other six; subtracting two does not establish what they did.
Paraphrase must preserve time and strength
- “Numbers fell steeply after 1990” supports “There was a sharp decline in numbers after 1990”. A related claim beginning “from 1990 onwards” can introduce a different time boundary or duration; do not declare it equivalent without checking the text.
- Repeated words are not automatically traps, and unfamiliar synonyms are not automatically correct. Compare the complete meaning, including only, most, all and never. A passage can support a claim without repeating its exact phrase.
A shared phrase alone establishes that a statement is TRUE.
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Check the complete meaning and qualifiers. Shared wording alone does not establish support, contradiction or missing information.
Match the requested evidence labels
- TRUE/FALSE/NOT GIVEN identifies agreement with information; YES/NO/NOT GIVEN identifies agreement with the writer’s views or claims. Follow the requested labels or on-screen choices. Outside knowledge cannot fill a missing statement of the writer’s position.
- If time remains and you still cannot establish the evidence, respond rather than leaving a blank. A uniform random guess among three labels has a one-third probability of a mark, not a partial mark guaranteed for each question. Repeated neighbouring labels do not justify changing an evidence-supported answer.
For a writer's views/claims question, the labels are YES, NO and ___.
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Use the requested YES / NO / NOT GIVEN labels for agreement with views or claims. TRUE / FALSE / NOT GIVEN labels concern agreement with information. The label task does not ask whether your own opinion agrees.
Change the text and check whether the label changes
- For the original club text with only, “Opened in 2018” → TRUE; “Meet on Mondays” → FALSE; “Most are students” → NOT GIVEN. Remove only, and the Monday claim loses its contradiction. The diagram below uses the explicitly restricted version.
- Recap: distinguish absent evidence from opposing evidence, and preserve every qualifier. Rules checked on 2 October 2026: official IELTS Academic Reading guide. These original examples teach evidence decisions, not an official score conversion.
View the case diagram at full size
- The text may support, contradict or leave a claim unsettled. A plausible guess about the world is not passage evidence.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
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The original text says the club opened in 2018 and members meet only on Thursdays. Only excludes Monday meetings; no membership profile establishes most are students.
From text B, “Members meet only on Thursdays”, with no membership profile: how should “Most members are students” be labelled?
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Only restricts meeting days but gives no membership profile. The student-majority claim is neither supported nor contradicted.
Three worked evidence checks
- Support: Original passage: “The studio moved from Hill Street to Dock Road in 2022.” “The studio changed address in 2022” is TRUE: the move supplies that information. The paraphrase need not repeat the road names. It does not establish why the studio moved.
- Contradiction: Original passage: “All evening classes require booking, except the free drop-in class.” “Every evening class requires booking” is FALSE: the named exception is a counterexample. Removing every changes the claim; do not quietly repair it before answering.
- Missing evidence: Original passage: “The garden added two benches in May.” “Visitors requested the benches” is NOT GIVEN. The addition does not identify who asked for it. FALSE would need evidence against the request, not merely an absent name.
Original passage: The repair desk opens only on Saturdays.
Statement: The desk opens on Sundays.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Only restricts the opening day and excludes Sunday, so FALSE. TRUE would conflict with that restriction; NOT GIVEN would ignore it. Compare the days with the word only.
Original passage: The reading room added six lamps in April.
Statement: Six additional lamps were installed in April.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Added six supports six additional lamps, so TRUE. There is no contradiction or missing installation count. Match the paraphrase while preserving the month and number.
Original passage: Several volunteers travelled by bicycle.
Statement: Most volunteers travelled by bicycle.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Several does not establish a majority, so NOT GIVEN. It also does not prove that fewer than half cycled, which would be needed for FALSE. Keep the quantity within the evidence.
Original passage: The test began at 9, not at the originally planned time of 8.
Statement: The test began at 8.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The passage explicitly replaces the planned 8 o’clock start with an actual 9 o’clock start. That contradicts the statement, so FALSE. Separate a plan from the event.
Original passage: The museum extended its opening hours.
Statement: The museum reduced its ticket prices.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Opening hours do not establish a price change. Neither a reduction nor its opposite is supplied, so NOT GIVEN. Search for price evidence rather than infer it from another change.
Original passage: Five candidates applied. Every applicant submitted a portfolio.
Statement: At least one applicant submitted a portfolio.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Every applicant in this stated application group supports at least one submission, so TRUE. A counterexample or absent submission evidence is not given. Do not strengthen at least one into only one.
Original passage: The old bridge is closed to vehicles, but pedestrians may use it.
Statement: Pedestrians are permitted on the old bridge.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The exception explicitly permits pedestrians, so TRUE. Treating the vehicle ban as a ban on everyone would change the scope. Read both halves of the sentence.
Original passage: All ten cups were checked. Two had cracks; the report gives no result for the others.
Statement: Eight cups were undamaged.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The report leaves the other eight results unspecified. Subtraction counts the remaining cups but does not establish their condition, so NOT GIVEN. FALSE would also require a stated contrary condition.
Original passage: The workshop supplied paper but no pens.
Statement: The workshop supplied pens.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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No pens directly contradicts the statement, so FALSE. The supply of paper does not cancel that negative detail. Locate evidence for the same item before choosing.
Original passage: After the website changed, orders increased. The report does not investigate the reason.
Statement: The website change caused the increase in orders.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The order of events does not establish cause, so NOT GIVEN. A different cause is not proved either. Look for an explanation of the increase, not just the word after.
Use fresh mini-passages
- Try the next twenty decisions before reopening the worked examples. Each prompt contains its own original passage and statement. Read the complete mini-passage, including exceptions, before choosing TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN; neighbouring labels do not decide an answer.
- After feedback, underline the decisive words and explain the difference between the two rejected labels. These short texts isolate evidence decisions. They are not a full timed IELTS Reading section and their accuracy is not an official band estimate.
Original passage: The public first entered the new gallery in 2016. Its café opened in 2017.
Statement: The gallery began admitting the public in 2016.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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First entered in 2016 supports admission in that year, so TRUE. The café’s later opening concerns a different facility. Do not transfer its date to the gallery.
Original passage: Bicycles are prohibited on the riverside path. Walkers may use it.
Statement: Cyclists are allowed to ride on the riverside path.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Prohibited contradicts allowed to ride, so FALSE. Permission for walkers does not apply to cyclists. Compare the same group and action.
Original passage: Of the twelve chairs inspected, nine were usable and three were broken.
Statement: Nine inspected chairs were usable.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Nine usable chairs is stated explicitly, so TRUE. No calculation about unspecified conditions is needed. Keep the answer attached to the inspected group.
Original passage: The timetable now lists an extra evening bus.
Statement: Tickets for the extra bus cost less than daytime tickets.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The passage gives a service addition but no ticket prices. The comparison is neither supported nor contradicted, so NOT GIVEN. Do not infer cost from a timetable change.
Original passage: Exactly eight of the ten invited residents returned the questionnaire.
Statement: All ten invited residents returned the questionnaire.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Exactly eight contradicts all ten, so FALSE. The invitation count is not the response count. Check which number belongs to which action.
Original passage: The exhibition is open every Saturday in July.
Statement: The exhibition is also open every Sunday in July.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Saturday opening neither establishes nor excludes Sunday opening, so NOT GIVEN. There is no only restriction. Do not silently add one.
Original passage: For a two-week trial, the bus stop moved to Market Street.
Statement: The stop will remain on Market Street permanently.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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A two-week trial does not establish the permanent arrangement. No final decision is supplied, so NOT GIVEN. A temporary trial and a confirmed long-term plan are different claims.
Original passage: At the end of 2020 the reservoir held 20 units, the minimum recorded between 2010 and 2020.
Statement: The reservoir held more than 20 units in 2018.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The minimum does not supply the individual 2018 value; that year could have tied the minimum or been higher. Neither alternative is established, so NOT GIVEN. Do not turn a minimum into an unstated strict comparison.
Original passage: A total of 61 people visited the archive on Tuesday.
Statement: More than 50 people visited the archive on Tuesday.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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61 is greater than 50, so TRUE. This is a supported comparison of the same visitors and day. Do not replace more than with exactly.
Original passage: Visitors normally book in advance. Visiting members may enter without booking.
Statement: Every visitor must book in advance.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Visiting members are an explicit exception, so FALSE. Normally is not every. Preserve the exception when comparing the complete claim.
Original passage: The trial recorded the seedlings’ heights each week.
Statement: The trial showed an increase in fruit production.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Height records do not establish a fruit-production result, so NOT GIVEN. No fruit measurements or opposing result are supplied. Keep the outcome measure unchanged.
Original passage: The shop sold 120 notebooks in April and 180 in May.
Statement: May notebook sales were 50 percent higher than April sales.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The increase is 60, which is half of April’s 120, so TRUE. The comparison concerns notebook counts, not prices or profit. Check the baseline before interpreting the percentage.
Original passage: The collection began in 2009, one year after the building opened.
Statement: The collection began in 2008.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The passage dates the collection to 2009, so FALSE. 2008 describes the building’s opening by the stated one-year relation. Keep the two events distinct.
Original passage: Receipts are emailed automatically, and printed copies are available on request.
Statement: Customers cannot obtain printed receipts.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Printed copies on request contradicts cannot obtain, so FALSE. Automatic email delivery is not an exclusive rule. Read the additional option.
Original passage: The service was due to begin on 5 June, but its confirmed start is now 12 June.
Statement: The confirmed start date is 12 June.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The revised confirmed date is stated, so TRUE. 5 June belongs to the earlier plan. Use the current status rather than an outdated proposal.
Original passage: Participants read in a silent room, and their average completion time was recorded.
Statement: The silent room caused participants to finish faster.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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No comparison or causal result is given, so NOT GIVEN. Recording a time in a silent room does not establish that the room shortened it. Look for the missing comparison and explanation.
Original passage: All pottery in this display came from Brook Town; the wooden carvings came from Hill Town.
Statement: The displayed pottery came from Brook Town.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The source of the pottery is explicit, so TRUE. Hill Town applies to the carvings. Match the object category as well as the town name.
Original passage: The timetable schedules 30 minutes for the journey.
Statement: Every actual journey arrives on time.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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A scheduled duration does not report actual punctuality, so NOT GIVEN. It proves neither perfect punctuality nor a delay. Distinguish a timetable from performance data.
Original passage: The east gate is permanently closed. The west entrance remains open.
Statement: The east gate is closed only temporarily.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Permanently contradicts only temporarily, so FALSE. The west entrance’s status does not change the east gate’s stated closure. Preserve the time qualification.
Original passage: The grant covers materials but excludes staff wages.
Statement: Staff wages are not covered by the grant.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Excludes staff wages supports the negative statement, so TRUE. The coverage of materials does not extend to wages. Compare what is included and excluded.
Transfer from labels to reasons
- In the explanation task, write a label and a short reason before opening the model. For TRUE or FALSE, identify support or contradiction; for NOT GIVEN, say precisely what is unsettled. A model is one possible explanation, not the only acceptable wording.
- The two transfer decisions use new practical passages. Keep a stated change separate from its possible cause, and compare the whole quantity claim rather than a shared number.
Original passage: The school added a cycle rack in September. The same report records more pupils cycling in October but gives no explanation for the change.
Statement: The rack caused the increase in cycling.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The passage records a sequence without establishing cause, so NOT GIVEN. It does not prove a different cause either. A reason requires evidence beyond the two dates.
Original passage: The office ordered 24 folders. Four were returned unopened; all remaining twenty were distributed to staff.
Statement: Twenty folders were distributed to staff.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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The distribution of the remaining twenty is explicitly stated, so TRUE. Here the condition of the remainder is known, unlike a passage that merely names four returns. Use the complete sentence rather than subtraction alone.
Original passage: A reading room added desk lamps in April. Visitor numbers rose in May. Statement: Every visitor preferred the new lamps. Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN and explain which evidence is decisive and why one tempting alternative fails.
Compare your label, decisive evidence and rejected alternative with the model. Revise an unclear link, then try a fresh passage. Several explanations can meet the checklist; this is self-review, not an automatic mark or official score.
Retrieve the evidence distinction later
- Tomorrow, try the review items before rereading. Explain why missing evidence is different from opposing evidence. Later recall requires a prior successful answer on the same objective and content version at least a day earlier; opening a review link alone is not recall.
- Next: writers' views and supported conclusions. If a label remains difficult, return to the relevant worked contrast in step 7, then try a fresh passage. Rules checked 2026-10-19 against the official IELTS Reading guide. All extension passages, claims and feedback are originally authored.
Original passage: The workshop accepts bookings only by email.
Statement: Bookings can be made by telephone.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Only by email excludes telephone booking, so FALSE. NOT GIVEN would ignore the explicit restriction. Retrieve the difference between missing and opposing evidence.
Original passage: The new reading room has larger windows than the old one.
Statement: Readers prefer the new room.
Does the statement agree with the information in the passage?
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Window size does not establish readers’ preferences, so NOT GIVEN. The text gives no preference result or contrary opinion. Identify the missing measurement rather than guess.