One of the most common questions ESL students ask during PTE preparation is:
âShould I use American or British spelling in my PTE test?â
The answer is simpleâbut thereâs an important catch.
Yes, You Can Use Either â But Be Consistent!
PTE Academic is a computer-based test, and its automated scoring system recognizes both American and British English spellings. So, whether you write âcolorâ or âcolour,â both are acceptable.
However, you must stick to one spelling convention throughout the test.
For example:
- If you begin your essay using British English (e.g., âlabour, organise, centreâ), do not suddenly switch to American spelling (e.g., âlabor, organize, centerâ).
- Consistency in spelling is a key factor in scoring well under Spelling and Written Discourse in PTE.
đ§ Why Is This Important?
The PTE test is marked by AI, and it flags inconsistenciesâeven small ones. Mixing British and American spelling can:
- Lower your grammar and spelling score.
- Affect your overall writing band, especially in essay writing and summarizing written text.
The best strategy is to choose one spelling style based on what youâre most familiar with and stick to it throughout your preparation and test.
đ Common Differences Between British and American Spelling
Hereâs a handy table showing some of the most frequent spelling differences between British and American English:
| British English | American English | Example Word Type |
| colour | color | Words ending in -our |
| organise | organize | Words ending in -ise/-ize |
| centre | center | Words ending in -re |
| travelling | traveling | Doubling final l in verbs |
| defence | defense | Words ending in -ce/se |
| licence (noun) | license | Noun-verb difference in spelling |
| programme | program | Especially in IT/tech context |
| analyse | analyze | Words ending in -yse/-yze |
| jewellery | jewelry | Extra letters in BrE nouns |
| enrolment | enrollment | Doubling letters in noun forms |
đĄ How to Choose Your Spelling Style?
Here are a few tips:
- If youâve studied in British-based systems (e.g., in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan), youâre probably more familiar with British spellingâstick with it.
- If youâre planning to study or live in the US or Canada, you might want to get used to American spelling.
- If youâre already mixing both unconsciously, itâs time to pick one and practice it consistently in your writing.
âī¸ Practice Tip
When writing essays or summaries for practice:
- Run your writing through a spell checker set to either British English or American English (depending on your choice).
- Highlight and correct any spelling that doesnât match your selected convention.
- Review your spelling errors as part of your PTE writing preparation checklist.
đ Final Thoughts
In the PTE exam, the key is not whether you use ârealiseâ or ârealizeââitâs whether you use just one version consistently. The scoring algorithm is trained to recognize and reward consistency.
So, make your choiceâđŦđ§ British or đēđ¸ Americanâand stay loyal to it!
Need help preparing for your PTE writing section with the right spelling conventions and strategies?
đ Contact Ace Language or visit www.ace-pte.com to join our expert-led preparation classes.
FB Post
đŦđ§đēđ¸ American vs. British Spelling in PTE â Which One Should You Use?
One of the most common questions we get from PTE students is:
â âShould I use American or British spelling in my PTE test?â
â Good news: You can use either!
But hereâs the catch â you must stay consistent throughout the test.
Donât mix âorganizeâ with âcentreâ or âcolorâ with âtravelling.â It will lower your writing score.
đ Some common spelling differences:
| British đŦđ§ | American đēđ¸ |
| colour | color |
| organise | organize |
| centre | center |
| jewellery | jewelry |
| travelled | traveled |
đ Our tip?
Pick the one youâre most comfortable with and stick to it in all your writing tasks.
Want more writing tips and scoring hacks for your PTE success?
Join our expert-led classes at Ace Language or visit đ www.ace-pte.com
đŦđ§đēđ¸ PTE āĻĒāϰā§āĻā§āώāĻžāϝāĻŧ American āύāĻž British Spelling â āĻā§āύāĻāĻž āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšāĻžāϰ āĻāϰāĻŦā§āύ?
āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āϰ āĻ āύā§āĻ PTE āĻļāĻŋāĻā§āώāĻžāϰā§āĻĨā§āĻ āĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻā§āϏ āĻāϰā§:
â âPTE āĻĒāϰā§āĻā§āώāĻžāϝāĻŧ āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻŋ British spelling āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšāĻžāϰ āĻāϰāĻŦ, āύāĻžāĻāĻŋ American spelling?â
â āĻāϤā§āϤāϰ āĻšāϞ⧠â āϝā§āĻāĻž āĻā§āĻļāĻŋ, āϝā§āĻā§āύā§āĻāĻž āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšāĻžāϰ āĻāϰāϤ⧠āĻĒāĻžāϰā§āύ!
āĻāĻŋāύā§āϤ⧠āĻāĻāĻāĻž āĻā§āϰā§āϤā§āĻŦāĻĒā§āϰā§āĻŖ āύāĻŋāϝāĻŧāĻŽ āĻŽāύ⧠āϰāĻžāĻāϤ⧠āĻšāĻŦā§ â āĻāĻāĻŦāĻžāϰ āϝā§āĻāĻž āĻŦā§āĻā§ āύā§āĻŦā§āύ, āĻĒā§āϰ⧠āϞā§āĻāĻžāϝāĻŧ āϏā§āĻāĻž āĻ āύā§āϏāϰāĻŖ āĻāϰāϤ⧠āĻšāĻŦā§āĨ¤
āĻŽāĻžāύā§, āĻāĻĒāύāĻŋ āϝāĻĻāĻŋ âorganizeâ āϞāĻŋāĻā§āύ, āϤāĻžāĻšāϞ⧠āĻĒāϰ⧠āϝā§āύ âcentreâ āύāĻž āϞāĻŋāĻā§ āĻĢā§āϞā§āύāĨ¤
đ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖ spelling-āĻāϰ āĻĒāĻžāϰā§āĻĨāĻā§āϝ:
| đŦđ§ British | đēđ¸ American |
| colour | color |
| organise | organize |
| centre | center |
| jewellery | jewelry |
| travelled | traveled |
đ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āϰ āĻĒāϰāĻžāĻŽāϰā§āĻļ:
āϝā§āĻāĻž āĻāĻĒāύāĻŋ āϏāĻŦāĻā§āϝāĻŧā§ āĻŦā§āĻļāĻŋ āĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻšāĻžāϰ āĻāϰāϤ⧠āϏā§āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻāύā§āĻĻā§āϝāĻŦā§āϧ āĻāϰā§āύ, āϏā§āĻāĻžāĻ āĻŦā§āĻā§ āύāĻŋāύ â āĻāĻŦāĻ āϏā§āĻāĻžāϝāĻŧ āĻāĻāĻĻāĻŽ āύāĻŋāϝāĻŧāĻŽāĻŋāϤ āĻĨāĻžāĻā§āύāĨ¤
đ āĻāϰāĻ āĻāĻŋāĻĒāϏ, āϰāĻžāĻāĻāĻŋāĻ āϏā§āĻā§āϰā§āϝāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻŋ āĻāϰ āĻĢā§āϞ PTE āĻĒā§āϰāϏā§āϤā§āϤāĻŋ āĻĒā§āϤā§
āϝā§āĻāĻžāϝā§āĻ āĻāϰā§āύ Ace Language-āĻāϰ āϏāĻžāĻĨā§ āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ āĻāϰā§āύ đ www.ace-pte.com