when you are spelling words with a schwa (the upside down 'e') how do you know whether to spell it with an....

Question

how do you know whether to spell it with an 'a', 'e', or an 'o'?
my school's middle school spelling bee is coming up and i need tips for success

to the first answerer: i'm just sounding it out

Answer 1

Spellingbee.com has an essay on this very issue:
http://www.spellingbee.com/cc07/Week09/schwa.shtml

That site also lists numerous resources that will help you prepare for your spelling bee: http://www.spellingbee.com/glance.shtml

Good luck!

Answer 2

Wow - I forgot about that....... Its been a while. :)

It seems to me the best and only way to know what to use is to study the spelling words and memorize them. Which vowel to use is in those cases is one of the bigger spelling challenges for people.

Its been a while since I've been in middle school, but the schwa wasn't even something that was generally factored in when it came to spelling words. It was more something involved with the pronunciation of words, as you know. I just learned spelling words and rules and went with it.

I guess if what you're asking is how will you know if the person giving the words includes a "schwa word", to me, the only way you can know is to recognize the word the person says, know how to spell that word, and not be concerned about the schwa.

I know my answer is kind of a non-answer. Maybe someone else does have a trick.

Answer 3

I'm confused. Do they give you the word in the bee and tell you it's a schwa? Or are you just sounding it out?