The judgement framework — and why “Can't tell” is an answer, not a failure.
True means the passage states the claim or directly forces it. False means the passage contradicts it. Can't tell means the passage simply does not give you enough to decide either way. The discipline is in the word passage: the verdict is about what this text supports, never about what is true in the world.
Direct reference — the claim is stated outright; your job is just to find the line. Inference — the claim is not stated, but what is stated logically forces it; this needs a deliberate reasoning step, and the real exam uses it far more than practice banks do. Assumption — the claim hinges on information the passage never gives; that missing link is exactly what makes the verdict Can't tell.
Naming which of the three you are dealing with stops the most common drift: treating an assumption question as if it were an inference, and talking yourself into a verdict the text never earned.
Most wrong answers in this format come from filling the passage's gaps with outside knowledge. If the claim is plausible, even obviously true in real life, but the passage neither confirms nor denies it — the answer is Can't tell. It is the most under-used correct option in the section, and the one strong scorers pick without flinching.
Equally, Can't tell is not a dumping ground for hard questions. If the passage forces the claim, it is True, however deep the forcing sentence is buried.
Absolute claims — always, never, all, only — are easy to break: one counter-example in the passage makes them False, and a hedged passage (often, may, some) can never force them True. Match the strength of the claim to the strength of the text before you commit.