The Trap Words That Cost You Marks in IELTS Reading
Quick answer: Underline the trap word in the question before you look at the passage. Almost all of them fall into five families: absolutes such as all and never, hedges such as may and tends to, comparatives such as more than, quantity words such as most and double, and cause words such as causes and leads to. Then ask whether the passage makes that exact claim, the opposite claim, or no claim at all.↗ Share on X
You avoid trap words by underlining them in the question before you go hunting in the passage. The traps are almost always the same small set of words: absolutes like *all*, *always*, *never* and *only*; hedges like *may*, *might* and *tend to*; comparatives like *more*, *the most* and *better than*; and quantity words like *few*, *most* and *double*. When one of those words appears in a statement, the exam is usually testing whether you noticed the difference between what the statement claims and what the passage actually said.
The passage is rarely wrong about the topic. It is wrong about the strength. The text says a factor *may contribute to* something, and the statement says it *causes* it. Same subject, different claim, and the correct answer is False.
Here is the full list of trap families, how each one shows up, and a routine that catches them under time pressure.
Why do these words work as traps at all?
Pick the Right English Tense for Daily Life Easily →How to Use Synonyms to Boost Your IELTS Writing Score →
How to Avoid Common Trap Words in IELTS Listening Choice Questions: Improve Accuracy →Because reading fast makes you match topics, not claims. Your eye finds the paragraph about solar panels, sees the same nouns, and your brain says "found it." The question was never about the nouns. It was about whether the passage said solar panels are cheaper than wind, or only that both have become cheaper.
The Reading test gives you sixty minutes for forty questions across three passages, and on the paper test there is no extra time at the end to copy answers onto the answer sheet. That pressure is exactly what the traps are built for. So the defence has to be a habit, not a decision you make question by question.
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What are the five families of trap words?
| Family | Words to underline | What the passage typically says | Why the statement is wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolutes | all, every, always, never, only, none, the first, the sole | most, many, usually, often, one of the first | The statement is stronger than the text |
| Hedges | may, might, could, tends to, is likely to, suggests | states a firm fact | The statement softens or hardens the claim |
| Comparatives | more than, less than, the most, the best, faster than | describes two things separately | The passage never compares them |
| Quantity and number | few, several, most, the majority, double, half, twice | gives a different figure or none at all | The number does not match |
| Cause and link | causes, leads to, results in, because of | is linked to, is associated with, occurs alongside | A link is not a cause |
Print that table. Four of the five families cause more lost marks than vocabulary gaps do.
How do you use this in True, False, Not Given?
myths and facts about IELTS speaking: what you must know before test day →
How to Paraphrase Questions Effectively for IELTS Writing Score: Raise Your Band →
How to Use Synonyms to Improve IELTS Writing Scores: A Practical Guide →The single most useful rule: False means the passage contradicts the statement. Not Given means the passage does not say. People lose marks by choosing False when the passage is simply silent, because silence feels wrong.
Work through it like this, every time:
1. Underline the trap word in the statement first. Before reading the passage at all. If there is no trap word, underline the main verb instead.
2. Underline the one thing the statement is claiming. Not the topic. The claim. "Solar panels are cheaper than wind turbines" claims a comparison.
3. Find the place in the passage. Use the names, dates and numbers in the statement, because those do not get paraphrased.
4. Read the whole sentence, plus the one before and the one after. Traps live in the sentence next door, especially with words like *however*, *although* and *despite*.
5. Ask one question: does the passage make this exact claim, the opposite claim, or no claim? Same claim is True. Opposite claim is False. No claim is Not Given.
6. Do not use what you know about the world. If you are a nurse and the passage says something you know is outdated, the passage still wins.
Two quick examples of the difference:
- Passage: "Wind and solar have both fallen in price over the last decade." Statement: "Solar is cheaper than wind." → Not Given. Both fell. No comparison was made.
- Passage: "Most of the participants completed the trial." Statement: "All of the participants completed the trial." → False. *Most* contradicts *all*.
Which trap catches people in Yes, No, Not Given?
This question type is about the writer's opinion, not the facts, and the trap is different. Look for phrases that signal whose view it is: *the researchers argue*, *critics claim*, *it has been suggested*, *the author believes*.
If the passage reports what critics say, and the statement presents it as the writer's own view, the answer is not Yes. The passage is describing a position, not holding it. Underline the reporting phrase and ask whose opinion the sentence contains.
Is the word limit a trap? Yes, and it is the cheapest mark to lose
Sentence completion, note completion, table completion and short-answer questions all carry an instruction such as NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. Going over the limit makes a correct answer wrong. So does copying a word incorrectly.
The rules that catch people out:
- Count the words in the instruction, not in your head. Write the number at the top of the page and check every answer against it.
- A hyphenated word normally counts as one word, but the safest habit is to prefer the shortest wording the passage allows.
- Copy from the passage exactly. Answers to completion questions are taken from the text. Do not paraphrase them into your own words.
- Check singular and plural. "Two *sample*" is wrong when the text says "two *samples*".
- Spelling counts. A word spelled wrong is marked wrong, even if the examiner can tell what you meant.
- Do not add articles you do not need. If the gap already reads "the ___", writing "the pollution" gives you "the the pollution".
What is the trap in Matching Headings?
Choosing a heading that matches one sentence of the paragraph instead of the whole paragraph.
Headings describe the paragraph's main point. Test writers deliberately include a heading built from a vivid detail in the middle of a paragraph, because that detail is what your eye lands on. Two habits fix it:
1. Read the first and last sentence of the paragraph carefully, and skim the middle. Main ideas usually live at the edges.
2. Say the paragraph's job in five words before you look at the list of headings. "Explains why the method failed." Then find the heading that says that.
Also watch for two headings that are nearly identical apart from one qualifier, such as "The causes of coastal erosion" and "One cause of coastal erosion". That single word is the entire question.
What routine should you run on every question?
Four steps, in this order, for every single question in the paper:
1. Underline the trap word and the claim in the question.
2. Predict what the answer will look like before searching. A date? A person? A yes or no?
3. Scan for unchangeable words in the passage: names, numbers, dates, capitalised terms. These are your anchors, because they cannot be paraphrased away.
4. Read around the anchor, then decide, then write the answer straight onto the answer sheet.
Answering in question order is not required, but answering all of one question type together is efficient, because you stay in one mode of thinking. Just never leave a blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a guess is strictly better than an empty box.
A fifteen-minute drill you can do today
Take any practice Reading passage with True, False and Not Given questions and do this instead of the whole test:
1. Cover the passage entirely.
2. Go through all thirteen or fourteen statements and underline the trap word in each. Two minutes.
3. Next to each, write what claim would make it False and what would make it Not Given. Five minutes.
4. Now uncover the passage and answer. Six minutes.
5. Check the answer key, and for every miss write one line: which trap family caught you.
Do that drill five times over two weeks and keep the one-line notes together. Almost everyone finds their misses cluster into one or two families, not all five. Once you know yours, you are checking for two specific words instead of worrying about everything.
Your next step
Write the five family names on a card and keep it beside you during every practice test for the next two weeks: absolutes, hedges, comparatives, quantities, causes. Underline before you search, every time, until you stop having to remind yourself.
Then time yourself on one full passage. If you finish thirteen questions in under twenty minutes with the underlining habit in place, you have the pace you need for the real thing.
FAQ
What is the difference between False and Not Given?
False means the passage says something that contradicts the statement. Not Given means the passage does not address that claim at all, even if it discusses the same topic. The most common mistake is choosing False when the passage is simply silent, because a claim that feels wrong is not the same as a claim the text denies.
Do I lose marks for a wrong answer in IELTS Reading?
No. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer, so never leave a box empty. If you run out of time, put down your best guess for every remaining question. On the paper test remember that answers must be written on the answer sheet within the sixty minutes, because no extra transfer time is given for Reading.
Does a hyphenated word count as one word or two?
A hyphenated word is normally treated as a single word, but the safest approach is to choose the shortest wording the passage allows so you stay clearly inside the limit. Also copy the answer exactly as it appears in the text, keep the singular or plural form the passage uses, and check the spelling, because a misspelt answer is marked wrong.