Word Lists, Words of the Champions (WOTC), Consolidated Word Lists (CWLs)
Spellers preparing for competitions frequently ask questions like: Which word lists should I study for spelling bees? How many spelling bee word lists are there? How many words do I need to learn to win the Schoor Bee or National Spelling Bee? Understanding the answers to these queries can help spellers design an effective preparation strategy.
Which word lists should I study for spelling bees?
Spellers should focus on studying words that are most likely to be featured in spelling bees. SpellPundit excels in this regard, dedicating extensive effort to identifying high-probability words that commonly appear in spelling bee competitions. By targeting these curated lists, spellers can make their preparation both efficient and effective.
How many spelling bee word lists are there?
The number of words required to achieve success depends on the competition level. For instance:
• Winning a school spelling bee typically requires about couple of thousand words.
• Winning or excelling in a national-level competition like the Scripps National Spelling Bee often demands mastery of over 60,000 words, including rare and challenging words.
Key Word Categories for Spelling Bees
For both the Scripps National Spelling Bee and the SpellPundit National Spelling Bee, words in the following two categories are especially valuable:
- Words of the Champions (WOTC): These 4,000 words form the core study material for spellers at all levels.
- Consolidated Word List (CWL): About 24,000 words released by Scripps are the words to be prepared after WOTC.
- Beyond WOTC and CWL, words with multiple roots, words of scientific/social/historic importance, words that do not follow spelling bee rules, rare genus names, are the next words to be prepared.
A brief description of Words of the Champions and Consolidated Word Lists is provided below.
Words of the Champions
The Words of the Champions (WOTC) is the official study guide for the Scripps National Spelling Bee (https://spellingbee.com/study-list). This resource helps students prepare for classroom, school, county/district, regional, and the early rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The WOTC contains 4,000 words, with 800 new words added each year as older ones are replaced. By mastering all the WOTC words, students gain an advantage not just for the current year but for future competitions as well.
About 450 words from the 4000 WOTC are selected for School Spelling Bee Study Lists. The 4000 WOTC words are divided into three levels and they are called 1B, 2B, and 3B. The word difficulty increases with level.
While vocabulary is optional at the school, district, and regional levels (depending on your local bee rules), it has been a required component at the national level since 2013. Check with your school spelling bee coordinator to confirm whether vocabulary is included in your local competition.
SpellPundit word lists have all 4,000 WOTC words and the 450 school words in an easy-to-use format, allowing students to prepare efficiently using the software.
The WOTC has replaced previous guides such as Spell It and Paideia.
Consolidated Word Lists
The Scripps Consolidated Word Lists (CWLs) are an indispensable resource for spellers aiming to excel in high-level competitions such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Compiled by Scripps in 2003, these lists include approximately 24,000 words drawn from past regional and national spelling bees. Organized into three categories—Frequently Used Words, Moderately Frequently Used Words, and Infrequently Used Words—the CWLs provide a structured approach to studying.
The CWLs hold exceptional value for spelling bee preparation because they contain words that have been historically significant in competitions. Their inclusion in past events makes them likely candidates for future bees, making them a strategic focus for aspiring champions. There is a higher probability of these words asked again and again.
In the CWL list, only about 35% of the words are supplemented with diacritical marks for pronunciation, along with definitions and example sentences. To streamline preparation, the SpellPundit database includes all the information (audio pronunciation, diacritical marks, definitions, part of speech, sentence) for all the 24,000 CWL words. Using the SpellPundit lists software, spellers can efficiently study and master these words, ensuring they are equipped with a strong foundation to tackle even the toughest challenges in spelling competitions. The CWL words and some additional words are in SpellPundit Word Lists 2, 3, and 4.
Beyond WOTC and Consolidated Word Lists
SpellPundit Word Lists 5-10 contain advanced words. A detailed description of Word Lists and their description is in https://www.spellpundit.com/faq.php