Depending on what sort of spelling bee you’re participating in, you will have different routes to acquiring your word list. Some spelling bees will have word lists associated with them. Most all spelling bees will have grade appropriate word lists.


If you are participating in a contest that has a list attached to it, contact the organizers for the word list. The Scripps Spelling Bee, for example, makes grade appropriate word lists available to teachers at participating schools.
If your competition has no official list, consult educators or the contest’s organizers for a recommendation of grade level appropriate lists.
If your competition has no official or recommended lists, compile your own grade appropriate list. Consider Merriam-Webster’s Spell It! at http://myspellit.com to help build your list.;
, Organizing your list will help you locate words, identify similarities between types of words, and save time. There are several ways you can organize your list.


Group words alphabetically. This will help you locate words more easily.
Group words by theme or part of speech. For instance, you can group nouns together like “teacher,” “beagle” and “flower.” You can then use pictures or stories to associate the words in each list.
Group words by suffix. The suffix "-OUS" often sounds just like the suffix "-OSE," so it can be challenging to remember which word ends with which suffix. Try to group "OUS" and "OSE" separately. This will help you to distinguish the difference.
 You’ve got your list and you’ve organized it, but you’re probably already familiar with a good number of those words. Try to identify which words are most challenging. This way, you’ll have somewhere to begin, and you won’t waste time on words you already know. You can do this several ways:


Read through your list, checking ones you are confident about, and marking ones you might struggle with. You might notice themes about what sort of words you miss.
Take a couple pre-tests using your organized word list. Have a friend or family member help you with this by randomly selecting words and running through them quickly. Remember, this is just a diagnostic to see what sort of words challenge you. You don’t have to get them all right, and you don’t have to spend two full minutes spelling them.
Make sure to still incorporate words you are more comfortable with into your rotation a couple of times. Just don’t focus on them as much as other, more challenging, words.
 Once you’ve figured out what words challenge you, you need to make a plan for how you will move through your list in a limited amount of time. You need to make a plan so that you can cover all of your words quickly at least three times. Preferably, you want to cover tougher words four or five times (or until you’re comfortable with those words). Consider a few things:


Your limited amount of time.
Days you might be too busy to study.
Periodic tests and quizzes.
Extra time for extra challenging words., Find yourself a good dictionary and some websites that will help you study. Your dictionary is going to be your most important study resource, so it should be one that you are comfortable using. In addition, websites will make studying a bit more fun, and perhaps easier.


Dictionaries can be bought at pretty much any book store, but make sure to get one that is recommended and/or approved by your spelling bee organization. A good dictionary will show a word’s root, phonetic spelling, common usage, and even origin. Oxford is a good choice, but Merriam-Webster’s is the official choice of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and many smaller spelling bee organizations also recommend it.
Vocabulary.com has a very helpful word list building tool. See it at https://www.vocabulary.com/lists/vocabgrabber

Take a look at Merriam-Webster’s Word Central at http://www.wordcentral.com/. If you are a younger spelling bee competitor, you can play games and build your own dictionary of tough words!

, Make sure to get a notebook in order to store your word lists and the paper that you’ll be writing on when studying. A good organized notebook with your main word list, lists of challenging words, notes, definitions, and more, will be critical to your success.
 Go over spelling and definition for each word. Be very systematic about this process so you cover all of your words in a timely fashion. Remember, though, since you don't have much time, don't focus too much on definitions!

, Learning roots, prefixes, and suffixes will help you understand word construction and origin much better. Word spelling will make much more sense rather than being "magic." See a chart of common roots, prefixes and suffixes at http://www.prefixsuffix.com/rootchart.php.


Roots. When looking at your words of the day, pay attention to the roots--where the word is derived from. In your dictionary, you can see the root in the etymology section of the word entry. This will usually follow the pronunciation and part of speech, but come before the definition. Many of the words we use have Latin roots, many of the words used in science and philosophy come to us from Greek, and there are others from French, Spanish, German and more.
Prefixes. A prefix is a word, letter, or number attached to the beginning of a word that serves to create a derivative word. For instance: "inter" is a prefix that means between, and "rupt" is from a Latin root meaning "to break."
Suffixes. A suffix is added at the end of a word to create a derivative word. For instance, "able" is a suffix meaning "capable of or tending to" that is attached to the end of words. To demonstrate, let's take the Latin "amicus" which means friend. Adding a suffix of "able" will create the new word, "amicable. The new word means "having a spirit of friendliness.", Sound your words out. For instance, "a-mic-a-ble." You now know the root "amicus" and the suffix "able," so this should be easier. But remember, sounding out words won't work all the time. Some words with silent vowels or certain root words will be very challenging.
 Associating the word with the definition is very important to this process. When encountering a word you don't know the meaning of, use your dictionary to look it up. Also, try highlighting roots, suffixes, and prefixes -- this will help you memorize the word better.
 Each time you see the new word, find out how it is pronounced (see your dictionary) and then practice the correct pronunciation out loud. You may want to check with someone else and have them say the word, too.
 This is a good trick that will help you visualize the word as you spell it out verbally. Spelling words out in the air will also help you focus.
 Have a family member, friend, teacher, or anyone else that you can find read off the words to you. Then write them down or spell them out verbally., Make sure to test yourself every three days so you know how you’re progressing. As with your initial test, don’t try to get every word right, and don’t use the full two minutes that you’ll be allocated in the spelling bee. Do this quickly just to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. The Scripps National Spelling Bee also has a webpage that will help you to test yourself online, see it at https://secure.spellingbee.com/tests/publicsample/?page=word

, After you’ve tested or quizzed yourself, examine your results to see what type of words you are getting wrong. It might be words with lots of vowels, or it might be “OUS” words, or another specific type of word. Focus on these. After two or three tests, you’ll begin to get a very good idea of where your weaknesses are, and you’ll be able to spend more time on those tougher words.
 Remove words from your rotation after 3 times if you are confident you know that word. Replace those words with more challenging words. Gradually, you will cycle easy words out and hard ones in.
 A couple days before the spelling bee, hold a final test with twenty to thirty randomly selected words. Have a friend or family member read the words to you, and allow yourself two minutes to spell each word. Go through everything we’ve covered here, including spelling the word in the air. This way, you’ll have an idea of how it will feel to compete on the big day!
Get your word list.
Organize your list.
Figure out what you don’t know.
Make a plan.
Get yourself a dictionary and find helpful websites.
Get yourself other materials to help study and prepare.
Tackle your word list one section at a time, based on your plan.
Learn your roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
Learn to spell in syllables.
Write down each word five to ten times (depending on how much it challenges you), and also write down the definition at least once.
Hear words and say words.
Spell out the word with your fingers in the air.
Find people to help you.
Test yourself frequently.
Examine your results.
Target your weaknesses and adjust your word list as you progress.
Take a final test.
{"src": "wikihow-all_validation", "title": "How to Learn Words for a Spelling Bee Quickly"}