True or false: how to write one

The same task goes by several names: true false quiz, right or wrong, fact check exercise. They all describe the exercise below, and this page uses true or false throughout.

The source

One text, picture or listening the whole set refers to. Statements about nothing in particular test general knowledge.

The statement

One fact, positively phrased. Two facts in one statement leaves the student unable to answer either.

The false ones

Each should be false for one traceable reason — a swapped name, a changed number, a reversed direction.

Works well at A1–B1. Reach for it when:

• You want a quick check that the class read the text at all before discussing it.
• The language of a full answer would get in the way of showing comprehension.
• You are working with beginners who cannot yet write an answer but can understand one.

Choose something else when:

• You need to know why they answered that way. A short answer or a multiple choice will tell you.
• The statements would restate the text word for word — that tests matching, not reading.

1. Step 1: 1

   Choose one short source

   A paragraph, a picture, a timetable. Everything in the set points at it.

2. Step 2: 2

   Write the true ones by rephrasing

   Change the words but not the meaning. A true statement copied from the text is answered by pattern-matching.

3. Step 3: 3

   Make each false one false once

   Change exactly one thing: a number, a name, a preposition, a direction. Then a wrong answer identifies the misreading.

4. Step 4: 4

   Balance and shuffle

   Roughly half true. Students who spot a run of three trues start answering the pattern instead of the text.

5. Step 5: 5

   Add the why

   Ask students to correct every false statement. That single instruction turns a coin flip into production.

• Not thisThe bakery is not never closed on Sunday.

  BetterThe bakery is closed on Sunday.

  A negative statement makes false mean true. Keep every statement positive.

• Not thisThe library is next to the bank and opens at nine.

  BetterThe library is next to the bank.

  Two facts in one statement: if one is true and one false, there is no correct answer.

• Not thisThe film was quite good.

  BetterThe reviewer recommends the film.

  Opinion words have no true value. Statements must be checkable against the source.

Real items, not screenshots. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class exactly as it is.

True, false or not given

A third option for statements the text does not cover. Much harder, and the standard shape in exam reading.

Correct the false ones

Students rewrite each false statement so it is true. The fastest way to get production out of a recognition task.

Statements about a picture

At A1, a street scene and six statements checks prepositions and there is / there are without any reading load.

• Prepositions of placeA1 · explanation and exercises
• There is / there areA1 · explanation and exercises
• Present simpleA1 · explanation and exercises

Pick Two Activity is independent and not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment. These pages describe the level you are teaching towards; always check the official site for the current format.

• A1 MoversA1 · practice ideas
• A2 FlyersA2 · practice ideas
• A2 KeyA2 · practice ideas

• Multiple choiceMCQ
• Short answeropen question
• Multiple matchingmatch the texts
• Teaching A1A1 (beginner)
• Teaching A2A2 (elementary)
• All exercise types12 tasks, and when to use each