Are spelling mistakes acceptable in OET Listening?
- 9 Comments
A common question that candidates ask about Part A of the OET Listening paper is if spelling mistakes are acceptable.
There is some margin for variation here, compared to the Reading and Writing papers, but the short answer to this question is that yes, it is certainly possible to lose marks for spelling errors. An answer with a spelling error may in a few instances be accepted by the marker, but this cannot be relied upon and you should take care to spell your words with as much care as possible and use the time given to you at the end of Part A to check your spelling again. This applies to all formats of the OET, computer-based, paper-based and the latest version, the OET at home.
Particular care should be taken with plurals, as this is a common mistake, especially by those candidates who have no real plurals as such in their own language.
For example, if the answer is pain in legs and the candidate writes pain in leg, this will be marked as incorrect.
The same also applies to grammatical errors. Using correct grammar is part of general English proficiency, and in many instances, errors will be penalised. Again, use the time made available to you at the end of Part A to check for errors.
Some general advice:
- When you do sample tests of the OET Listening Paper at home, you should compare your answers to the answer key. If you find that you have spelled a word incorrectly, look at how close your answer is to the correct word. Ask a fellow healthcare professional, such as a doctor or nurse, to read your answer and to say what they think the word is based on your spelling. This will help you to judge how closely your spelling is to the original word.
- Keep a list of difficult-to-spell words so that you can review them regularly. This may include words from your own specialty, but should also include words from other specialities as well. The more accurate your spelling is, the more confident you will feel on test day. Also, becoming more familiar with how words are spelled and pronounced will help to develop your listening skills.
Finally, as mentioned above, it is important to use the time available after Listening Part A on the OET Listening Paper to check over your answers. If you take the OET on a computer, you are more likely to make typographical errors that you don´t notice at the moment. These errors may mean that the spelling is not close enough to the original word to earn the mark.
If you need more practice, you can get the Benchmark OET Listening Practice Test here.
9 thoughts on “Are spelling mistakes acceptable in OET Listening?”
Leave a Reply
OET
- OET Computer-based
- OET on Paper
- OET Writing
- oet reading
- oet Grammar
- oet test dates
- oet sample test
- oet speaking
- oet listening
- OET News
OET PRO & MOCK TESTS
Doctors & Nurses
- Expert strategies for Listening, Reading, Writing & Speaking
- Realistic OET Mock
- Detailed feedback
Do they consider correct if someone write phybomyalgia and bear intead of fibromyalgia and beer?
hello.i have used word carpal tunnel syndronme.i am worried about syndronme spelling.will it deduct my marks
One spelling error may be viewed as a typo or clerical mistake by the examiner, so you might actually get away with it.
What if we use half a phrase. Like I write diarrhea and the key said liquid diarrhea. Will my answer be correct
I have a question for the writing exam… after writing the second paragraph, I reviewed it and found that I had forgotten important information in the first paragraph, so I deleted the second paragraph and added the information to the first paragraph, then I went down four lines so that I would not write on an unclear background and it would become difficult to read the first paragraph. And rewriting the second paragraph.. The question is that there is now a space between the two paragraphs of about four lines. Is this permissible?
I have wrote Flakky instead of flecky. Will marks be deducted from me ?
Very helpful content.
What about articles before the noun?The answer is a few weeks .Without a is that answer wrong ?
I have written ankel instead of ankle.. It’s really a silly mistake. Now I am worried whether it will be considered as right or wrong