Some common spelling mistakes in IELTS can cost the students their desired IELTS scores. Although spellings do not form a separate section of the test, it is assessed throughout the written part of the IELTS. Students have to write answers in the reading, listening and writing sections of IELTS and it is important that they deliver only error-free answers.
While a wrong spelling will lead to penalties in the IELTS reading and listening sections, in the writing section, a wrong spelling can make it difficult for the examiner to understand the candidate’s message. This way, the overall IELTS band score will reduce even if your answers are logically correct.
Students should remember that a good IELTS score helps the student to achieve their goals, be it immigration, study or work. Therefore, it becomes imperative that they are careful and mindful of the spellings. In this article, we will discuss some of the most common spelling mistakes in IELTS that students make and eventually reduce their chances of getting a desired IELTS band score.
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Types of Spelling Mistakes in IELTS Exam
Here are some types of common spelling mistakes in IELTS exam that students make and get their marks deducted.
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Omission of single letters such as when ‘occurring’ is written as ‘occuring’.
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Insertion of single letters. For example, ‘off’ for ‘of’.
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Substitution of a letter by another letter like ‘definate’ instead of ‘definite’.
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Transposition of letters where two adjacent letters are misplaced. For instance, ‘label’ written as ‘lable’.
Most Common Spelling Mistakes in IELTS Exam
Let us find out some of the most common spelling mistakes in the IELTS exam that trouble the students. The rules of spelling if taken care of, can minimise the chances of errors.
Weak Vowel Sounds
Some words are spelt incorrectly because of the presence of a weak vowel sound or schwa. Here the vowel does not make a long or short vowel sound. The schwa sound is generally softer and weaker for example in words such as:
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Balloon,
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Family,
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Support,
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Separate,
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Temperature, etc.
Sometimes schwa hides the pronunciation of ‘r’ such as in ‘opportunity’, ‘pursue’ and ‘surprise’.
Single and Double Consonants
The students make spelling errors when single and double consonants appear close together in a word. Problems occur when:
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A single consonant is followed by double consonants such as ‘across’, ‘harass, ‘tomorrow’, ‘necessary’ and ‘professor’.
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A double consonant is followed by single consonants like ‘commit’, ‘immediate’, ‘apparent’, ‘parallel’ and ‘exaggerate’.
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A double consonant comes after another double consonant as ‘accommodation’, ‘address’, ‘millennium’, ‘embarrass’ and ‘possess’.
Changes in Spelling with Change in Word Form
When there is a change in parts of speech of a word, the spelling changes too. Some of the difficulties encountered by IELTS test-takers are:
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When adjective changes to a noun.
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For example, ‘absent’ becomes ‘absence’.
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When a noun changes to an adjective.
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For example, ‘influence’ and ‘influential’.
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When a verb changes to a noun.
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For example, ‘maintain’ and ‘maintenance’.
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When a noun changes to a verb.
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For example, ‘excess’ and ‘exceed’.
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When a verb is changed to past tense.
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For example, ‘occur’ and ‘occurred’.
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When Suffix is Added to Words
Suffixes like -ed, -er, -ing and -est when added to words also confuse the examinees.
For example,
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When ‘big’ becomes ‘bigger’ or ‘biggest’, or
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When begin’ becomes ‘beginner’ or ‘beginning’.
Silent Letters in Cluster of Consonants
When silent letters are present in consonant clusters, students misspell words.
For example,
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‘nm’ in ‘environment’ and ‘government’,
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‘mn’ in ‘column’ and ‘autumn’,
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‘xc’ in ‘excited’ and ‘exception’.
Position of ‘i’ and ‘e’
Some words that have ‘i’ and ‘e’ closely together can get very confusing for beginners. This can often be seen in words like
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Receive,
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Deceive,
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Deceipt,
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Conceive, etc.
Homophones
Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but are different in meaning or derivation or spelling. Students have to contextually place the words and determine the spellings.
This can be seen in words such as:
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Lose and loose,
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Passed and past,
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There, they’re and their,
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Forth and fourth,
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Principle and principle
Words with Difficult Spellings
Almost all of us get confused while spelling out ‘entrepreneur’ and this is exactly what a difficult spelling looks like. Some other words with different spellings can be:
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Queue,
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Empty,
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Rhythm,
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Amateur,
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Perseverance.
British and American Spellings
The IELTS accepts both British and American spellings but the students must be consistent with their usage.
Some of the common words which have different spellings in British and American English include:
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Colour and color,
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Labour and labor,
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Anaylse and analyze,
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Traveller and traveler,
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Pretence and pretense
Mistake in Pronunciation
Sometimes, it is found that students pronounce a few words incorrectly. Well, the word ‘pronunciation’ itself is often ‘pronounced’ incorrectly as ‘pronounciation’.
Two other common examples here can be:
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Modern - pronounced - modern,
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Tough - pronounced - tuf,
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Different - pronounced - diffrent.
French Words Spellings
French words adopted in English are often wrongly spelt because of the difference in their pronunciation. The words frequently misspelt include:
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Bonjour,
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Beau,
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Mademoiselle,
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Chauffeur, and
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Silhouette.
Some Spelling Rules for IELTS
Learning the rules to spell correctly can avoid IELTS candidates from making common spelling mistakes in the IELTS exam. Although there are no strict spelling rules in the English language, it has certainly borrowed words from other languages to add new words every year.
Therefore, candidates can benefit from the following spelling rules for IELTS:
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Q is always followed by ‘U’ such as in a number of words. Also, when used like this, U does not remain a vowel. Some examples are:
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Earthquake,
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Queue,
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Queen, etc.
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If words end with ‘L’, ‘F’, or ‘S’ in a one-syllable word then the alphabet is repeated such as in
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Floss,
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Tall, and
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Stiff.
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When -ing is added, omit ‘e’. For example,
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Come - becomes - coming,
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Love - becomes - loving,
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Make - becomes - making.
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One ‘l’ must be dropped when ‘all’ is a prefix as in the case of ‘always’ and ‘almost’.
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Drop one ‘l’ when ‘full’ comes as a suffix like in ‘beautiful’, ‘cheerful’ and ‘hopeful’.
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Apostrophes are used for the contraction or omission of a few letters. For example,
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Do not - Don’t,
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Cannot - Can’t,
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Should not - Shouldn’t,
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Were not - Weren’t,
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Would not - Wouldn’t,
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How to Avoid Most Common Spelling Mistakes in IELTS?
Writing error-free spellings is not a Herculean task. Students can easily reprimand their mistakes by following some common practices to avoid the most common spelling mistakes in IELTS.
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Read: One must create the habit of reading books, magazines, newspapers and periodicals. When preparing for the IELTS, it is extremely necessary to read consistently to write well and avoid spelling mistakes.
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Write: Along with reading, writing is also to be given equal importance. One should make it a habit to write at least 200 words every day, after which one must proofread it. This way, students can see their mistakes in front of their eyes and will eventually not make them.
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Check the Dictionary: Nobody weak in English can get through the exam without referring to a dictionary. It is, in fact, one of the best ways to learn the spelling of a word while understanding its meaning.
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Make a List of Misspelt Words: IELTS candidates can preferably create a list of the words they misspell most frequently. The list would help them memorise the spelling and not repeat the mistake.
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Participate in Spelling Quizzes: There are many spelling quizzes available online that IELTS aspirants students can take and evaluate their performance. In addition, they can play word games like Scrabble, Crosswords, etc. which can help students overcome spelling difficulties in English.
Applicants should also check out Common Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for IELTS for better preparation.
How to Improve Your Spelling Skills for the IELTS?
While writing the IELTS exam, difficult spelling errors are sometimes overlooked by the examiners but the common spelling errors of simple words create a negative impression. IELTS examinees are expected to have a rich vocabulary and only make rare spelling mistakes.
Some points to improve common spelling mistakes for IELTS are:
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Students can take expert help to get their copies scanned for errors.
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Repeated practice of commonly misspelt words can help a long way.
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Students should repeat the words and their pronunciation in mind.
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They can frame their own spelling rules.
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The students are advised to create a notebook for vocabulary so that they can jot down the spellings and meanings.
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Students can check the internet or books for the most commonly misspelt words and make a list of them.
As vocabulary and spellings form an essential part of IELTS, they should be given special attention. Students should be cautious while writing spelling as they may unnecessarily cost them marks which will lower the overall band score. The eyes and mind should remain open while reading and writing so that they do not make spelling errors.
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