Short answer: no. The computer-delivered IELTS Writing test has no spell-checker and no autocorrect — no red underlines, nothing. You're as responsible for spelling as with a pen on paper, and typing can even add new errors. Since spelling is marked under Lexical Resource, this matters.
⌨️ Open Typehush and train accurate, spell-check-free typing →The IELTS Writing answer box is not a word processor. There is no spell-check, no grammar-check, no autocorrect, and no wavy red line under a misspelled word. Whatever you type stands exactly as typed. This surprises candidates used to their phone or laptop quietly fixing mistakes — here, nothing is fixed for you. The only spell-check you get is your own eyes in the final few minutes, which is why reserving proofreading time is essential.
Spelling isn't a minor detail — it's assessed under Lexical Resource, one of the four equally weighted criteria, alongside word formation. Occasional slips are tolerated at higher bands, but frequent errors pull that criterion down, and misspellings that make a word hard to recognise cost more than harmless ones. With no software safety net, your raw spelling ability is fully exposed on the computer test — for better or worse.
Beyond words you genuinely can't spell, the keyboard introduces its own errors: transposed letters ("teh"), doubled keys ("commmon"), and dropped endings ("develop" for "developed") when your fingers move faster than your attention. On a phone, autocorrect hides these; in the exam, they all count. So computer-test spelling is partly a typing-accuracy problem, and the fix is the same as for speed: practise typing real English until clean output is automatic.
This has a subtle consequence: a candidate who spells perfectly by hand can still lose Lexical Resource marks on the computer test simply because their typing is untrained. The words are right in their head but arrive garbled on the screen. If you've only ever practised Writing on paper, you may not even know this is a weakness of yours — it only shows up under the speed and pressure of typing. That's a strong reason to shift all practice onto a keyboard well before test day, so any typing-driven spelling errors surface while you still have time to train them out.
Both are accepted. You can write colour or color, organise or organize — IELTS doesn't favour either system. The one rule is consistency: don't mix "colour" and "organize" in the same essay. Pick the variety you know best and stay with it. This is one less thing to worry about — you won't be marked down for using American spelling on a British-run test, only for mixing the two inconsistently. If you're unsure which variety you default to, decide before test day and stick to it, so you're not second-guessing spellings under pressure.
The best preparation is to practise typing in the same spell-check-free conditions as the test — a plain text box, no autocorrect — so you build genuine spelling accuracy rather than a dependence on software. Typing high-band model essays drills correct spellings into muscle memory, surfaces the words you personally get wrong, and builds the typing accuracy that stops slips creeping in. You end up faster and cleaner, which is exactly what a test with no spell-check rewards.
⏱ Test your typing speed — can you finish Task 2 in 40 minutes? →No. There is no spell-check, grammar-check or autocorrect. Whatever you type stands as typed, so your own proofreading is the only check you get.
Yes. Spelling is marked under Lexical Resource. Occasional slips are tolerated, but frequent errors lower that criterion, especially if they obscure meaning.
Both are accepted. Just be consistent within a single essay rather than mixing the two systems.
Type steadily for accuracy, keep a list of your repeat misspellings and drill them, and reserve a few minutes to proofread each task for spelling and word endings.
Typehush — practise typing high-band IELTS model essays for the computer-based Writing test. Start practising · Model-essay library · Do spelling mistakes matter? · What to expect