<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I'm British, and we spell some words differently from the way Americans do - "colour" instead of "color", "favoured" instead of "favored", and so on. When I'm writing the SAT essay, should I use the American versions of words, or the British versions? I'm taking the exam in Britain, but I don't know who will mark it.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Yeah I was thinking about this too. I live in Canada, and I am taking the test in Canada: should I write the test in Canadian?</p>
<p>It would be preferable to use American versions, but it won’t matter that much. I can’t see them possibly taking points off for discrepancies in spelling.</p>
<p>It’s highly documented that SAT essay scorers have an apparent bias against British test takers. My suggestion would be to avoid using Dickens as an example, for that is a palpable red flag of English origins. Furthermore, make sure you use the American Revolution as an example, and repeatedly profess the ineptitude and injustices of the Redcoats, while speaking in a laudatory tone toward the Patriot side, showering praises on them for their valor and gallantry.
I’m kidding. They honestly won’t care. Just write however you feel comfortable. I’m American and I tend to spell honor as “honour”. It just seems right.</p>
<p>So, so long as I show consistency (I stick to using only British, or only American spellings), you’re sure they won’t take marks off?</p>
<p>P.S. You have a great sense of humo(u?)r :).</p>
<p>lol, I thought you were totally seriously there for a minute :p</p>
<p>^Heh, me too. I like your username, btw ^^</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the Collegeboard scoring rubric:
[How</a> the Essay is Scored](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Understanding SAT Scores – SAT Suite | College Board)
I didn’t notice a concern for spelling mentioned in the rubric and would hope that essay graders have enough experience, training and knowledge to recognize British and Canadian spellings as well.</p>
<p>And Canadian. Don’t forget Canadian.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link; it was pretty useful, but I’m still unsure as to the whole spelling thing. I wonder - if the graders know that I took the SAT in England, would they actually take marks off if I used American spellings?</p>
<p>You’re probably overthinking this. When I read British writing, I don’t even notice that it’s different. I doubt graders are going to notice when all they have is three minutes to decipher each essay and assign a grade.</p>
<p>Why don’t you email collegeboard and get their feedback directly?</p>
<p>Actually, that’s a great idea. I’ll do that. Thanks :).</p>
<p>-goes to compose email-</p>
<p>If we’re talking about spelling differences, I’m sure they’ll realize that you must be British and not count off. Otherwise that would be horribly unfair.</p>
<p>If we’re talking about stylistic differences, I can’t tell the difference when reading papers by British writers.</p>
<p>I was talking spelling differences, but I’ll drop College Board a line just to be on the safe side.</p>