Advice on Academic Writing

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Some Tools and Rules to Improve Your

Spelling
Written by Heather Fitzgerald, University College Writing Centre

 Printable PDF Version

 Fair-Use Policy
English spelling is notoriously difficult to master for native speakers and language learners alike.
Because English developed from several different language families, and because it so easily
absorbs new words from other languages even today, the English language has many different ways
to spell the same sound and many different ways to pronounce the same spelling. But improving
your English spelling is not impossible: with some patience, you will see a noticeable improvement in
your spelling by using some techniques that good spellers use.

Use a (good) dictionary.

Though memory aids are useful for memorizing difficult-to-spell words, good spellers never rely
solely on memory: they depend on a reliable, up-to-date dictionary. There are many kinds of
dictionaries available, both in print and online. Some of your instructors will have strong preferences
about spelling conventions (preferring Canadian over American spelling, for example), while others
will accept any standard spelling. Most dictionaries identify all standard spellings, but Canadian
dictionaries give preferred Canadian spellings before other variants.
An English dictionary designed for English language learners, such as Longman’s Dictionary of
Contemporary English or Oxford’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, can be very helpful for non-native
speakers. These dictionaries give more information and often many more examples of words in
context to help students select and use words appropriately.

Be consistent about using British or American

spellings in your writing.
In general, Canadians use both British and American spellings. While Canadians generally prefer
the British –our ending in words like honour and colour, for example, the American –or endings for
these common words are also acceptable. The same is true of the –re/-er endings of words
like centre/center and theatre/theater: Canadians generally prefer the British –re, but the American –
er is acceptable. On the other hand, Canadians often follow the American convention of using –
ize rather than –ise endings for words like theorize or hypothesize, but –ise would not be considered
incorrect. The key is to remain consistent in your choices throughout a single document. You should
not, for example, combine both –ize and –ise forms in the same document.

Spelling tip: When adding suffixes to words ending in –our, it is customary to drop
the u: humorous not humourous; honorary not honourary.

Always check certain “troublesome” suffixes in

your dictionary.
Some English suffixes confound even the best spellers. Make it a habit always to check these types
of words when you are editing or proofreading your work.

-able or -ible (-ably/-ibly; -ability/-

ibility) responsible / dependable; responsibly / dependably; responsibility / dependability

 -ent or -ant apparent / blatant

 -ence or -ance occurrence / importance

 -tial or -cial influential / beneficial

Create your own “difficult-to-spell” lists.

Many writers and editors keep a list of words that they find difficult to spell correctly on or near their
computer while they work. If you notice that you routinely misspell certain words, consider learning
from your mistakes by creating your own personal “difficult words” list. Keeping this list close at hand
as you write will save you time and probably eliminate many of your common spelling errors.

Learn the standard pronunciations for frequently

misspelled words.
Some common misspellings derive not from difficult combinations of letters but from pronunciations
that do not reflect the word’s spelling. The word mischievous, for example, is often misspelled
because of the common pronunciation “miss CHEEVY us.” Learning the standard pronunciation
“MISS chiv us” will aid you in properly spelling the word.

Watch out for homophones, near-homophones,

and other easily confusable words.
Many English words have identical or similar pronunciations but different spellings. Using the wrong
word of a homophone pair is one of the most common spelling pitfalls for all writers. Learn to check
these types of commonly misspelled words carefully during your proofreading.
 accept/except discreet/discrete oral/aural

adverse/averse elude/allude palette/palate

affect/effect eminent/imminent populace/populous

altar/alter ensure/insure precede/proceed

boarder/border elicit/illicit prescribe/proscribe

broach/brooch hanger/hangar principle/principal

callous/callus illusion/allusion right/write/rite

casual/causal incidents/incidence stationary/stationery

censor/censure isle/aisle tenet/tenant

cite/site/sight its/it’s there/their/they’re

climactic/climatic led/lead tortuous/torturous

compliment/complement liquor/liqueur waver/waiver

conscience/conscious lose/loose whose/who’s

desert/dessert naval/navel your/you’re

Use your computer spellchecker, but with caution.

A spellchecker can be your first proofreading tool for spelling, as it will catch any combinations of
letters that do not form a known English word. But you should never rely exclusively on your
spellchecker, because it will miss many incorrectly spelled words that form another English word: a
spellchecker will not record who’s as a misspelling of whose, for example.
Over-relying on spellcheckers is another danger. You may become less conscious of spelling as you
write and revise, and you may consequently lose confidence in your ability to recognize correct
spellings. Students who over-rely on spell-checkers suffer particularly during exams, when they do
not have access to electronic aids.
You can develop your intuition for correct spelling by turning the spellchecker off and devoting at
least one revision to spelling. If you sense that a word may be used incorrectly, look it up. This
activity will encourage you to become actively engaged in the process of spelling, which is the only
reliable way to improve your spelling skills. You can turn the spellchecker back on at the very end of
the process, just to be sure that a spelling error didn’t get by you unnoticed. If it did, study the word
so that you are less likely to make the same error again.

Become familiar with English spelling rules.

Contrary to common perception, English spelling does often follow certain rules. Becoming aware of
these rules can help you avoid some common spelling errors. Many writing handbooks and style
guides contain a complete list of spelling rules. Below are four of the most helpful. Rule 1:
i before e except after c, or when sounded like /ay/ as in neighbour or weigh.

 This simple rhyme helps explain the difference between the spellings of believe (i before e)
and receive (except after c). In general, when the long /e/ sound (ee) is spelled with the
letters i and e, the order is ie: shield, field, fiend. Common exceptions are leisure, seizure,
and weird.
 When the letters i and e are used in words with a long /a/ sound, they are usually
spelled ei: sleigh, feint, heinous.
 When the sound is neither long /e/ nor long /a/, the spelling is
usually ei: their, seismic, foreign. Some exceptions to this rule are friend, sieve, and mischief.

Rule 2:  When adding suffixes that begin with a vowel (-able, –ible, –ous, etc.) to words ending in
silent e, drop the final e.

 This rule explains why a word like desire contains an e and a word like desirable does not.
Other examples include response → responsible, continue → continuous, argue → arguing.
We do, however, retain the final e when a word ends in –ce or –ge in order to maintain the
distinctive “soft” pronunciation of those
consonants: notice → noticeable, courage → courageous, advantage → advantageous.
 For reasons of pronunciation, the final e is also retained in words ending in a double e,
e.g. agree → agreeable, flee → fleeing.

Rule 3: When adding suffixes to words ending in y, change the y to an i.

 This rule explains the spelling shift that occurs in the following word
pairs: happy → happier, plenty → plentiful, body → bodily.
 As English spelling does not generally allow an i to follow another i, the y is retained when
the suffix itself begins with an i: carry → carrying, baby → babyish.

Rule 4: When adding suffixes, double the final consonant of a word only if any of the following
conditions apply.

 The final consonant is preceded by a single vowel: bar → barred. When there is more than
one vowel before the final consonant, the consonant is not doubled: fail → failed. When the
 final consonant is preceded by another consonant, the consonant is not
doubled: bark → barking.
 The word has only one syllable or has the stress on the last
syllable: fit → fitted, commit → committed, prefer → preferred. For words with more than
one syllable where the stress does not fall on the last syllable, the final consonant is not
doubled: benefit → benefited, offer → offered.
 The suffix begins with a vowel: prefer → preferred. But if the syllable stress changes
because of the addition of the suffix, then the consonant is not
doubled: prefer → preference. Final consonants are also not doubled if the suffix begins with
a consonant: prefer → preferment.
 If the word ends in l or p, then the consonant is usually doubled in Canadian
spelling: travel → travelled; worship → worshipped. Note: American spelling does not follow
this rule.

 Some Commonly Misspelled Words

accelerate fiery pastime

accessible fluorescent pejorative

accessory fluoride penultimate

accommodate foresee perennial

acknowledge fulfill / fulfil perseverance

acquaint government persuade

acquire grammar phenomenon

across grievous pneumonia

aficionado guarantee Portuguese

aggressive handiwork preeminent

amphitheatre handkerchief prerogative

anecdote harass privilege

anomaly heinous pronunciation

apparent hemorrhage proverbial

arctic hygiene pursue

asphalt hypocrisy quandary

auxiliary idiosyncrasy receive

bachelor indispensable remuneration

berserk inedible rendezvous

besiege innocuous renowned

bizarre inoculate repertoire

bookkeeper / bookkeeping intercede restaurateur

caffeine invigorate rhyme

camaraderie iridescent rhythm

Caribbean irresistible sacrilegious

category laboratory seize

collaborate leisure seizure

committee liaison separate

concede manoeuvre / maneuver sergeant

consensus mayonnaise silhouette

corollary medieval smorgasbord

curriculum Mediterranean solely

deceive memento soliloquy

de rigueur millennium sophomore

desiccate minuscule subtle

dilapidated miscellaneous supersede

diphtheria mischievous susceptible

diphthong misspell synonymous

dissension non sequitur tariff

duly noticeable tenterhook

dysfunction nuptial threshold

ecstasy occasion tortuous

embarrass occurrence tragedy

exaggerate offered Ukrainian

excerpt ophthalmology vaccinate

exhilarate pageant vacillate

experiential parallel vague

February parliament weird