How the PELLETB spelling sub-test works
A sentence is given with one word left out, shown as a blank. Below it are four spellings of that word, and you choose the one spelled correctly. POST used no fixed word list: the words are ones likely to appear in police reports and other writing officers do.
The test is Californian, so the spellings marked right are American.
How to pick the right spelling
The wrong options are built to look right at a glance, so slow down:
- Read each option letter by letter rather than as a whole word.
- Check the usual trouble spots: double letters, silent letters, ie or ei, and the vowel you do not hear clearly.
- Apply the suffix rules: keep the base word with ness and ly, drop a silent e before ing, and change y to i before es or ed.
- If two look right, say the word slowly in syllables and check each one.
Worked example
“The officer’s report was ______.” a. accurite, b. acurate, c. accurate, d. accurrate.
The word has a double c and a single r, and ends in “ate”, so the answer is c. Option b drops a c, d doubles the r, and a spells the end as it can sound.
Tips for the real spelling sub-test
- Learn the rules in POST’s guide rather than word lists: prefixes, suffixes, plurals, and i before e except after c.
- Keep a list of words you misspell when writing, and practise words common in reports, such as vehicle, receive and conscientious.
- If you learned British English, practise the American forms of everyday words.
- Answer every item. A blank scores the same as a wrong answer.
Practise PELLETB spelling on CogniPrep
Our spelling drill gives you 16 items in 8 minutes, each a sentence with a blank and four spellings of a report-writing word. We leave out words that British and American English spell differently, so a British spelling is never what costs you a mark. You can move back and forth and flag items, and you get your percentage correct. The 8 minutes are our suggested share of the real clock.