Stick to What is Explicitly Stated

• Importance: One of the most common pitfalls in True/False/Not Given questions is overinterpreting the text, i.e., making assumptions or drawing conclusions that go beyond what the text explicitly states.
• How to Apply: Fact vs. Assumption: Ensure that your answer is based solely on the information that is present in the text. Avoid assuming something that is not clearly stated.
• Example: If the text says, “The manager expressed concern about the team’s performance,” and the statement says, “The manager was angry about the team’s performance,” you should be cautious. Even though concern might lead to anger, the text does not explicitly state that the manager was angry. Therefore, the answer would likely be Not Given because the emotion “anger” is not mentioned.

Avoid Personal Knowledge or Opinions

• Importance: The test is assessing your ability to analyze the text, not your personal knowledge of the subject. Even if you know something to be true or false based on outside information, only the content of the passage matters for these questions.
• How to Apply: Focus entirely on the text, and disregard any knowledge you have about the topic outside of the passage.
• Example: If a passage is about global warming and you are aware of some external statistics, you should not use that information unless it is explicitly presented in the text.