What spelling to use in IELTS, British or American? This is a very common question that my students keep asking, and here is the answer. But first…
What is the difference between US and UK spelling?
There are words with differences in spelling – ‘color’ (American) vs ‘colour’ (UK), ‘labor’ vs ‘labour’ and so on (see the non-exhaustive list at the end of this article). Depending on where you learnt English, you will be accustomed to one of the variations, and the other one will seem foreign to you. As a general rule words like ‘generalize, prioritize, socialize’ that are spelled with a ‘z’ in the US, are spelled with an ‘s’ in the UK – ‘generalise, prioritise, socialise’, etc.
What spelling should I use in IELTS, US or UK?
IELTS accepts both US and UK spelling, with just one rule – you shouldn’t mix them. When I say ‘mix them’, here is what I mean:
Case 1: Mixing different spelling within the same task
Imagine you’re writing your essay and you’ve used the words “colour” and “emphasize”. The first word has the UK spelling and the second – US. This is considered to be mixed spelling and you should avoid it.
Case 2: Mixing different spelling within the same skill
You’ve written your Writing Task 1 and you’ve used the word “prioritized” (US spelling). You have then written your Writing Task 2 and you’ve used the words “labour” and “colour” (UK spelling). This is also considered to be mixed spelling and you should avoid it.
What spelling should I use in the Reading test?
Luckily, in the Reading test you don’t need to worry about choosing US or UK spelling – all your answers should be copied directly from the text, and so whatever spelling version the text is using, you will be using the same.
Can I use different spelling in different IELTS Parts (e.g. UK in Listening and US in Writing)?
Your score won’t be affected if you use UK spelling in one part of the test, such as the Listening test, and US spelling in another, such as the Writing test. Different IELTS parts are marked by different examiners.
Listening is clerically marked and your answers are compared to a list of correct answers. If the word can be spelled in more ways than one, all of them will be on the list of correct answers. You won’t be marked down for using US or UK spelling on the Listening test.
Writing is marked by a different, highly trained examiner and so if you have been consistent with your spelling in the entire Writing section (including Writing Task 1 and Task 2), if you didn’t mix US and UK spelling, your score is safe.
What words are spelled differently in the British and American English?
Here are some words that frequently appear in IELTS texts, topics and answers:
British (UK) vs American (US)
colour vs color
neighbour vs neighbor
labour vs labor
centre vs center
metre vs meter
litre vs liter
dialogue vs dialog
travelling vs traveling
offence vs offense
licence vs license
prioritise vs prioritize
specialise vs specialize
Download a list of spelling words
Download a complete list of words spelled differently in the British and American English here.