IELTSReadingidentifyinginformation

In this lesson, we will cover the Identifying Information question type, which will test your ability to identify information and recognize particular points of information in the text. It is extremely important that test takers do not call upon “outside knowledge” of various subjects when answering these questions. In other words, even if you are aware of information that may pertain to the topic at hand, you must only answer these questions based on information presented in the text.

Now, you will see the following type of layout for this question:


As you can see, the three options are “TRUE”, “FALSE”, and “NOT GIVEN”. It is imperative that test takers understand the difference between “FALSE” and “NOT GIVEN” answers.

If an answer is “FALSE”, it means that there is information in the passage which proves the statement at hand to be incorrect.

If the answer is “NOT GIVEN”, it means that the passage does not contain the information presented in the statement, nor does the passage confirm or contradict that information. The confusion between these two options is one of the most common problems for test takers during this question type.

Common problem 1

One common problem is that many students confuse "NOT GIVEN" with "FALSE". Here’s an example.



Passage
The smaller chilies tend to be the hottest. This may reflect the fact that they tend to grow closer to the ground and are therefore more vulnerable to animals. The heat of a chili is measured on the Scoville scale. The hottest types such as the Habanero and Scotch Bonnet rate between 100,000 and 300,000, the world famous Tabasco sauce rates at 15,000 to 30,000, about the same as the Thai prik khee nu, while the popular Jalapeno is between 5,000 and 15,000. Powdered chili is 500 to 1,000 and the mild capsicins and paprika can range between 100 and 0.


Note that the question statement is: “All large chilies grow high off the ground.” The word “all” will make a big difference in the answer. Now, look at the highlighted sentences “The small chilies tend to be the hottest. This may reflect the fact that they tend to grow closer to the ground and are therefore more vulnerable to animals.”

We we can infer that large chilies are higher off the ground. However, these highlighted sentences do not tell us anything about the fact that “all large chilies grow high off the ground.”, nor does it dispute this statement. Therefore, the correct answer would be “NOT GIVEN”. Why isn’t it “FALSE”?
Simply put: if the passage does not dispute or contradict the question statement, or prove the question statement as correct, it is “NOT GIVEN”. Do not assume too much in these cases and mark something as “FALSE” when the information is not included in the passage.

Common problem 2

The second scenario where people often go wrong is when the statement does not look like the information in the text at all, but the answer is still “TRUE”.

Test takers face are not “finding” the information they are searching for from the statement in the passage itself, and selecting “NOT GIVEN” instead of “TRUE”. This is because the test will include synonyms instead of providing the exact wording in both the statement and passage. Additionally, the information may be paraphrased and force test takers to infer a deeper meaning from the text. The best remedy to this problem is to use logic and remember to look out for synonyms while reading.

let's look at an example.

Common problem 3

Another common mistake students make is if the statement is similar to the information in the text, they think the answer is "TRUE". This is wrong. “True” means that the meaning is the same. If it is just similar, then it is “FALSE”. Remember we are dealing with factual information, so there is no room for saying similar is true.

Let's look at one more example.

Passage
Discovered in the early 1800s and named nicotianine, the oily essence now called nicotine is the main active ingredient of tobacco. Nicotine, however, is only a small component of cigarette smoke, which contains more than 4,700 chemical compounds, including 43 cancer-causing substances. In recent times, scientific research has been providing evidence that years of cigarette smoking vastly increases the risk of developing fatal medical conditions. In addition to being responsible for more than 85 percent of lung cancers, smoking is associated with cancers of, amongst others, the mouth, stomach and kidneys, and is thought to cause about 14 percent of leukemia and cervical cancers. In 1990, smoking caused more than 84,000 deaths, mainly resulting from such problems as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 percent of all deaths from cancer and clearly represents the most important preventable cause of cancer in countries like the United States today.


The statement is “Thirty percent of deaths in the United States are caused by smoking-related diseases”. The correlating reading passage is: “Smoking, it is believed, is responsible for 30 percent of all deaths from cancer.”

A lot of students might have quickly answered this question as a TRUE because the ignore the words “deaths from cancer”. However, the correct answer is FALSE as only 30 percent of deaths from cancer in the United States are caused by smoking-related diseases. Some students might have answered this question as “NOT GIVEN”. However, logically,  if smoking accounts for 30% of deaths from cancer, then it is responsible for less than 30% of total deaths from all diseases. So the answer is FALSE.

Since we will be identifying information, this question type calls upon both skimming and scanning techniques, because you’ll have to understand the general idea of the statements as well as look for specific information in the passage. Our strategy will provide you with the best tips in order to make the most of your time and excel in this question type.

The amount of questions for this specific task can vary, but the answers will usually appear in order in the passage.

That means the first question will appear first in the passage, the second will appear second, and so on. If you find that later questions are appearing before you answered an earlier question, it's most likely because you missed the spot in the passage where the earlier answers were located.

Please note that we will provide the reasoning and tips on confronting the logic of the exam in our example, but the following is a simplified strategy to take when approaching this question type.

What To Do:

1. Read the First Statement and Scan – As the answers are most likely to appear in the text in the same order as the statements are written, test takers should pay close attention to the first statement above all. If you start looking for information in the text starting with the first statement, you’re more likely to provide yourself with a more solid path towards finding the correct answers in less time. As you read the first statement, underline any key words that you think will help you identify in the information in the text. Then start scanning the passage. Once you have a good idea of where the answer to the first statement is, answer it according to the directions, using “TRUE”, “FALSE”, OR “NOT GIVEN”. It is also a good practice to make marks in the passage(such as a line or dot to signify where the answer can be found). This way you know what to reference when you want to double check if your answer is correct.

Quick Tip: Pay close attention to “absolute” words in these statements. These words include many adverbs of frequency and words that generalize ideas. The most common include: mainly, all, some, sometimes, often, usually, occasionally, hardly ever, never, only, and always. When these words are included in a statement, it is usually harder to disprove or prove.

For example: If the statement is: “All research was completed in 1871.” but the passage includes “The majority of the research was finished in 1871”. These two statements are not the same, since “all” is an absolute term. An optional part of this step (and something that we will do for practice in this exercise) is to familiarize yourself with potential synonyms and different ways to say what is listed in the questions. Why? Remember: the information presented in the questions will most likely be re-stated in a different way in the passage. Pay close attention to finding synonyms for the verbs in this case. Since the information is factual in nature, there will rarely be synonyms for names, subjects, or specific things.

2. Continue Reading the Statements, Scanning, and Answering the Statements - If you have successfully found the information necessary to answer the first statement, you have found the section of the passage in which the remaining information can be found. Now you just need to keep reading the remaining statements, scanning the remaining parts of the passage, and answering the remaining statements. Again, as you answer each statement, make marks in the passage(such as a line or dot to signify where the answer can be found). This way you know what to reference when you want to double check if your answer is correct.

Quick Tip: If you are “stumped” by any given question, it is possible that the information is “NOT GIVEN”. Skip the difficult question and move on. If, for example, you cannot find the answer to Question #3, but have found the answer for Question #4, it is possible that Question #3 is NOT GIVEN. Remember, the answers will most likely come in order for this section.

As you may have noticed, this section calls for more of a logical approach to answering the questions, rather than relying heavily on strategy and preparation work. As such, it is always a good idea to brush up on synonyms and vocabulary in order to recognize common tips and tricks, which we will explore in our example.

What Not To Do:

1. Do not read the entire passage. As a general rule for the Reading section, it is not necessary and actually time-restrictive to read the entire passage, word for word. Be sure to use the scanning technique, first and foremost, and then the skimming technique as necessary.

2. Do not get confused if the text includes synonyms of the information that is originally presented in the questions. This section is known for using synonyms and presenting information in different ways, which is why it’s important to brush up on your vocabulary for this exam.

3. Do not write anything other than “TRUE”, “FALSE”, or “NOT GIVEN” in your answer sheet.

4. Do not be confused by the tricky words that can completely change the meaning of sentences. These include mostly adverbs of frequency: mainly, all, some, sometimes, often, usually, occasionally, hardly ever, never, only, and always. Ordinal numbers are also part of this group (first, second, third, etc.)

Identifying Information Recap

In this section, we examined the Identifying Information section of the IELTS Academic Reading section. Here are some brief tips to remember when approaching this question type:

Do:

• Read the first statement, underline key words, and scan. Do the following for the rest of the questions.
• Remember that answers will most likely come in order.
• Remember the difference between FALSE and NOT GIVEN.
• Make marks in your passage as to where you’ve found various answers.
• Skip a question if it is difficult and move on. Then, you should be able to better locate the answer to a difficult question in the text, since it will most likely be between some of your marked information.
• Write only TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN on your answer sheets.

Don’t:

• Read the entire passage first.
• Forget to scan for the key words from the statements.
• Confuse FALSE and NOT GIVEN.