IELTS Academic Reading: True/False/Not Given - can we write just 'T', 'F' or 'NG'?
ScottsEnglish
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I'm not sure why, but students often ask me, "Instead of writing out the full word - True, False, Not Given - can we just write 'T', 'F', 'NG'?
We did a little test. We timed how long it takes to write 'T' or 'True'.
Here's what we found:
It takes about half a second to write 'T', 'F', NG'.
It takes 1.70-2.70 seconds to write 'True', 'False', 'Not Given'.
Now, is that extra second going to make much difference? Here's the good news: Let's say you get 15 True/False/Not Given questions and you write only 'T', 'F' or 'NG' for your answers. Then you have saved around 15-25 seconds of time on your test.
Now for the (possible) bad news: If your writing is not clear and your 'T' looks a bit like an 'F', you're in trouble. If the 'T' looks like an 'F', then you'll be marked wrong.
Our recommendation: Write out the full words: True, False, Not Given so there is NO CHANCE that any of your answers will be misinterpreted
.
We did a little test. We timed how long it takes to write 'T' or 'True'.
Here's what we found:
It takes about half a second to write 'T', 'F', NG'.
It takes 1.70-2.70 seconds to write 'True', 'False', 'Not Given'.
Now, is that extra second going to make much difference? Here's the good news: Let's say you get 15 True/False/Not Given questions and you write only 'T', 'F' or 'NG' for your answers. Then you have saved around 15-25 seconds of time on your test.
Now for the (possible) bad news: If your writing is not clear and your 'T' looks a bit like an 'F', you're in trouble. If the 'T' looks like an 'F', then you'll be marked wrong.
Our recommendation: Write out the full words: True, False, Not Given so there is NO CHANCE that any of your answers will be misinterpreted
.