TFNG advanced traps — distinguishing False vs Not Given at band 8

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True

Statement matches text. Both AGREE with same fact.

False

Statement CONTRADICTS text. Text says opposite.

Not Given

Text DOESN'T mention this. Cannot verify true/false from text.

Decisive rule

FALSE = text says opposite. Direct contradiction. NOT GIVEN = text silent. No evidence either way.

Test:

Statement: "All students enjoy mathematics."

Text option A: "Most students dislike mathematics." → FALSE (contradicts "all enjoy")

Text option B: "Students study mathematics from age 10." → NOT GIVEN (doesn't address enjoyment)

5 advanced trap patterns

Trap 1: Partial match (looks True, actually False)

Statement: "The company increased revenue in 2020."

Text: "The company's revenue grew significantly between 2018 and 2019, but declined in 2020."

→ Statement says 2020 increase. Text says 2020 decline. FALSE, not True (don't pick True just because "increased" appears).

Trap 2: Extra detail not in text (Not Given)

Statement: "The drug works in 80% of patients with no side effects."

Text: "The drug shows 80% efficacy in clinical trials."

→ "80%" matches. But "no side effects" NOT mentioned in text. NOT GIVEN, not True.

Trap 3: Hedging shift

Statement: "Pollution causes climate change."

Text: "Pollution MAY CONTRIBUTE TO climate change."

→ Statement = certain causation. Text = hedged contribution. Difference matters. → NOT GIVEN (text doesn't confirm certain causation), or False depending on interpretation.

Trap 4: Time period change

Statement: "Sales doubled in the past decade."

Text: "Sales doubled in the past five years."

→ Different timeframe. FALSE if statement specifies decade and text says 5 years (contradicts duration).

Note: this is tricky. Could argue "if 5-year doubled, 10-year also doubled" but stay strict: statement is specific, text contradicts specificity.

Trap 5: Inferred but not stated

Statement: "The new policy will succeed."

Text: "The new policy addresses the major concerns of stakeholders."

→ Text doesn't say "will succeed". Implies positive, but doesn't state outcome. → NOT GIVEN (success not stated)

Decision framework

For each statement:

Step 1: Find relevant section in text (scan)