IELTS Spelling is a crucial aspect of the IELTS test, as you’re required to spell words accurately in Listening, Reading, and Writing sections. Read on this article to find out essential tips and effective IELTS spelling practice to enhance your IELTS spelling skills.

Why IELTS Spelling Matters

Correct IELTS spelling is very important and can be the reason for not reaching the band score you are aiming for. Common spelling mistakes in IELTS Listening will be marked as incorrect. In the Writing test, words with spelling errors can lead to confusion.

For example, if you hear the word “business” but write “bussines,” your answer will be wrong. Even though you understood the word correctly, the incorrect spelling affects your score.

Top Common Spelling Mistakes in IELTS Test

Single and Double Consonants

Test takers often encounter common spelling mistakes in IELTS test when single or double consonants occur nearby in a word.

Single consonant followed by double consonant: across, process, recommend, necessary
Double consonant followed by single consonant: apparent, exaggerate, occasion, parallel, immediate
Two pairs of double consonants: address, assess, accommodation, possess, success, occurrence

Suffixes to Words

IELTS test takers often struggle with spelling when adding specific endings like –ed, -ing, or -est to words, as sometimes the last consonant in the word is doubled.

Challenges with word endings are a very common

For example:

stop → stopped, stopping
thin → thinner, thinnest
win → winning, winner
prefer → preferred, preferring

Words Changing Form

A word’s spelling often changes when its form changes, which can pose a common challenge for IELTS candidates.

Here are some examples:

Changing adjectives to nouns: evident → evidence, intelligent → intelligence
Changing nouns to adjectives: beauty → beautiful, industry → industrial
Changing verbs to nouns: achieve → achievement, describe → description
Changing nouns to verbs: advice → advise, practice → practise

Silent Letters in Consonant Clusters

Silent letters within consonant can lead to IELTS spelling mistakes

Test takers frequently find it challenging to spell words containing silent letters within consonant clusters. Here are some common examples:

nm in environment, government
mn in autumn, column
sc in conscious, discipline, science
xc in excited, exception
kn in know, knee, knob
th in ordinals: eighth, twelfth

Frequently Confused Words

IELTS spelling mistakes often occur when candidates confuse words that sound similar but have different meanings and spellings.

One Listening Spelling Practice is to familiarize with similar sounding words

For example:

accept ≠ except
advice ≠ advise
stationary ≠ stationery
weather ≠ whether
alter ≠ altar
bear ≠ bare
desert ≠ dessert
whose ≠ who’s
passed ≠ past
costume ≠ custom

Difficult Words to Spell

There are some words in English that are simply difficult to pronounce and spelling, and IELTS test takers often struggle with them.

Focus on English words which are simply difficult to spell

Commonly misspelled words include:

hierarchy
entrepreneur
nauseous
perseverance
maintenance
accommodate
minuscule
conscientious
liaison
narcissistic

British vs. American Spelling

In the IELTS test, both British and American spellings are accepted, so you can be flexible between two styles.

Choose between British and American for IELTS spelling

However, switching between the two can create confusion and may impact your overall score, so it’s best to stick to one spelling convention to demonstrate clarity and accuracy.

Conclusion

IELTS spelling is very important when you take this test as it could be the reason for not reaching the band score you need. If you feel like you need more help with your spelling, test your spelling skills regularly with IELTS online test prepared by IELTS TEST PRO for IELTS spelling practice with a variety of exercises.

Mastering IELTS Spelling: 7 Common Mistakes and How to Improve