The differences between American-English and British-English when writing your thesis

When you are writing your thesis, one of the first things you have to decide is what style of English you will use. The most common options are American, British, or Australian English. Although they follow many of the same rules, they also have some important differences – especially in relation to spelling. This article will help you make spelling choices that match the English you are using.

Why is it so complicated?

After winning their independence from the British, Americans used language as a way to create their own identity. This led to many variations in spelling and punctuation, among other things. Australia also developed its own written conventions, which lie somewhere in between those of the US and UK (although they tend to be more British). Of the three, Australian English is generally the most flexible.

Basic spelling differences

The following “cheat sheet” outlines the preferred spelling of some words that are commonly used in academic writing.

Verbs

US	UK	Australia
analyze	analyse	analyse
apologize	apologise	apologise
capitalize	capitalise	capitalise
categorize	categorise	categorise
characterize	characterise	characterise
colonize	colonise	colonise
endeavor	endeavour	endeavour
enroll	enrol	enroll
fulfill	fulfil	fulfil
globalize	globalise	globalise
honor	honour	honour
hypothesize	hypothesise	hyphothesise
inquire	enquire	enquire
install	instal	install
legalize	legalise	legalise
maneuver	manoeuvre	manoeuvre
maximize	maximise	maximise
minimize	minimise	minimise
mold	mould	mould
neutralize	neutralise	neutralise
optimize	optimise	optimise
paralyze	paralyse	paralyse
plow	plough	plough
practice	practise	practise
privatize	privatise	privatise
randomize	randomise	randomise
realize	realise	realise
recognize	recognise	recognise

Past verb forms

US	UK	Australia
canceled	cancelled	cancelled
channeled	channelled	channelled
labeled	labelled	labelled
modeled	modelled	modelled
traveled	travelled	travelled

Nouns

US	UK	Australia
acknowledgment	acknowledgement	(either)
aluminum	aluminium	aluminium
artifact	artefact	artefact
behavior	behaviour	behaviour
caliber	calibre	calibre
center	centre	centre
color	colour	colour
cooperation	co-operation	(either)
councilor	councillor	councilor
counselor	counsellor	counselor
defense	defence	defence
estrogen	oestrogen	oestrogen
fetus	foetus	foetus
fiber	fibre	fibre
flavour	flavour	flavour
humor	humour	humour
judgment	judgement	judgement
labor	labour	labour
leukemia	leukaemia	leukaemia
license	licence	licence
litre	litre	litre
meter	metre	metre
neighbor	neighbour	neighbour
organization	(either)	organisation
paleontology	palaeontology	palaeontology
program	programme  (but program if computer-related)	program
sulfur	sulphur	sulphur
theater	theatre	theatre
tire	tyre	tyre
vapor	vapour	vapour

Adjectives

US	UK	Australia
aging	ageing	ageing
favorite	favourite	favourite
gray	grey	grey
livable	liveable	livable
movable	moveable	moveable
orthopedic	orthopaedic	orthopaedic
salable	saleable	saleable
skeptical	sceptical	sceptical
somber	sombre	sombre

Don’t forget: Consistency is key!

Each word should of course be spelled the same throughout your document. However, it’s also important not to use a mix of English styles.

Examples:

The defense minister first travelled to China in 2013. (US English/UK English)

The defense minister first traveled to China in 2013. (all US English)

The defence minister first travelled to China in 2013. (all UK English)

In addition, the same spelling should generally be used for all forms of a word.

Examples:

The organization is headquartered in Osaka, but it usually organizes workshops in Tokyo. (all US English)

The colours of the samples varied greatly, but smallest sample was the most colourful. (all UK English)

Which type of English should I choose?

Some universities have a preference, so you may wish to check your school’s website for guidance. If you are free to decide yourself, it’s best to pick the style that feels most natural to you. Once you have done so, make sure that this is the language that is set for your document (in Microsoft Word, select Tools à Language).

Further understanding the differences

If you want to know more about spelling and other grammatical differences between these styles of English, the below tables provide more details. Bear in mind that the rules are not always very firm: there are many exceptions, and conventions are always changing!

Spelling: As can be seen, the variation usually relates to just one or two letters.

#	US	UK	Australia
a	uses -ize, -yze (e.g. quantize, analyze)	prefers -ise, -yse (e.g.quantise, analyse), but is flexible	almost always uses ise, yse
b	-er (e.g. center, meter, etc.)	-re (e.g. centre, metre, etc.)	British usage
c	uses -or (e.g. honor, color, splendor)	uses -our (e.g. honour, colour, splendour)	British usage
d	uses –ction (e.g. connection)	acceptable to use –xion (e.g. connexion)	American usage
e	prefers single consonants  (e.g. canceled, focuses, appal), with certain exceptions for words in which the stressed syllable falls on the doubled consonant (e.g. willful)	uses double consonants (e.g. focusses,cancelled, appall), with certain exceptions (e.g. wilful)	British usage
f	often drops -e for word modifications (e.g. judge àjudgment, live à livable)	generally keeps e for word modifications (e.g. judge à judgementlive à liveable)	keeps -e: (e.g.judgement), like British; but sometimes drops -e: (e.g. livable)
g	-e usually preferred to -oe or -ae (e.g.pediatrician, leukemia, etc.)	-oe and -ae used (e.g. paediatrician, leukaemia, etc.)	British usage

Punctuation:  Here the main differences relate to whether to use single or double quotation marks, and where to put other punctuation in relation to those quotation marks.

#	US	UK	Australia
a	Double quotation marks (“x”), but alternate with single for quotations within quotations (e.g. She said, “This model has been called ‘the best.’”)	Single quotation marks (‘x’), but alternate with double for quotations within quotations (e.g. She said, ‘This model has been called “the best”’.)	UK usage
b	Punctuation appears within quotation marks (e.g. “The best there is,” she said. or She said, “the best there is.”) except when punctuation emphasizes the writer’s sentence rather than the speaker’s quotation (e.g. Did she say, “the best there is”? or “She told them we are “the best there is”!)	Punctuation appears outside quotation marks, except when the punctuation is part of the original quotation (e.g. ‘The best there is’, she said. but She said, ‘the best there is.’; also, Did she say, the best there is’? but She asked, ‘the best there is?’)	UK usage

Verb forms:  The different styles of English do not always agree about whether singular or plural verbs should be used with certain nouns. There is also disagreement about some past forms of verbs.

#	US	UK	Australia
a	Collective nouns (nouns referring to a group of individual things) take verbs as conjugated for singular nouns (e.g. The team is going to win. or  The staff has decided. or The team leads the charge.)	Collective nouns (nouns referring to a group of individual things) take verbs as conjugated for plural nouns (e.g. The team are going to win. or The staff have decided. or The team lead the charge.)	US usage
b	Verbs take -ed endings for simple past tense and past participles (e.g. compel àcompelled,spell à spelled, learn à learned) with the exception of common irregular verbs (e.g. take à took, hear à heard)	Verbs take -ed endings for simple past tense and past participles, but with more exceptions (e.g.compel à compelled but spellà spelt,learn à learnt); irregular verbs are conjugated the same	UK usage

Abbreviations:  There is also disagreement over how to use periods in abbreviations.

US	UK	Australia
Most title abbreviations take a period (e.g. Doctor à Dr. Missus à Mrs. Honorable à Hon. Avenue à Ave.)	Title abbreviations take a period only if the abbreviation does not end on the last letter of the full word (e.g. Doctorà Dr Missus à Mrs but Honourable à Hon. Avenue à Ave.)	UK usage