Some Tools and Rules

to Improve Your Spelling

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
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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.
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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.
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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

Prepared by Heather Fitzgerald, University College Writing Centre.

Other handouts from UC are available online at www.uc.utoronto.ca/handouts
A full set of U of T handouts on university writing is available at www.advice.writing.utoronto.ca