IELTS Reading problem .. need help

[knight19]

hy

I sometime getting problem with question type YES, NO , NG .
Most of the time i mix-up with NO and NG

Do you have any better techniques or suggestions on this type of ques. ?

Thanks

[Pete J]

Hi

You're not alone; a lot of IELTS candidates have problems understanding the difference between 'No' or 'False' and 'Not given'.

One thing that I've found helps is to change the statements into questions; if you can answer the question 'Yes' according to the text, then it's true or yes; if you can answer the question 'No', then the answer is false or no. If you can't answer the question, then the answer is not given (unless you're looking in the wrong place).

Here are a couple of examples of T, F, NG questions from a text about hypnotism in the Official IELTS Practice Materials 2009.

37. Spiegel is more interested in scientific research than medical practice. (Is Spiegel more interested in scientific research than medical practice?)

"Speigel, however, is a clinician first and a scientist second. He believes the most important thing is that doctors recognise the power of hypnosis and start to use it."

Here, the text says that Speigal is more interested in medical practice - he's a clinician first - than scientific research, and so the answer is false.

38. Patients in the third group in Spiegel and Lang's experiment were easily hypnotised. (Were patients in the third group in Spiegal and Lang's experiment easily hypnotised?

"On average, Spiegel and Lang found the [third group] used less medication, experienced less pain and felt less anxiety than the other two groups."

Here, we cannot say whether patients in the third group were easily hypnotised or not; the text doesn't say that they were, and it doesn't say that they weren't, and so the answer is not given.

Hope that helps,

Pete

personal statement What I've said above applies to both Y, N, NG questions and T, F, NG questions.

[Pete J]

Just following on from my post above, a common mistake in TRUE, FALSE, NOT GIVEN questions in the IELTS Reading test is to choose answers by matching words in the questions with words in the text without reading the relevant parts of the text carefully.

To see an example of what I mean, check out our blog post 'Is it true, false or not given'.

Pete

[ieltsbuddy]

This short exercise may help you as well. Read this paragraph:

Chilies

Chiles originate in South America and have been eaten for at least 9,500 years. Organised cultivation began around 5,400BC. Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter chilies, when he landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492. He thought it was a type of pepper and called it the “red pepper”, a name still used today. After their introduction to Europe they were an immediate sensation and were quickly incorporated into the diet. From there they spread to Africa, India and East Asia.


Look at this statment, taken from the first sentence in the reading below:

Chiles originate in South America and have been eaten for at least 9,500 years.

Here are some example IELTS True False Not Given statements with answers:

1. Chiles come from South America - T
2. People began eating Chiles in the last few centuries - F
3. South Americans were the first people to start eating Chiles - NG

Number one is clearly true. Notice the use of the synonym 'come from' used instead of 'originates'. It is common to use different words.

Two is clearly false as it was 9,500 years ago, not a few 100 years ago.

Three is not in the text. Be careful about making assumptions then thinking it is true. It is quite probable the South Americans began eating Chiles first as they originated there; however, you can't be sure of that and the text does not tell you that.


You can have further practice with the full reading plus explanations for the answers here:

IELTS True False Not Given Reading Lesson


Good luck

[Pete J]

If you’re really stuck with a question in the IELTS Reading test, it’s important that you don’t spend too long thinking about your answer and that you take a guess instead. For two quick tips about guessing the answer to a TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN question if you have to, check out our blog post 'IELTS Reading tips: true, false or not given'.

Pete