Washington Bureau

Inside Guide to Round 2

8:24 a.m.

Something to notice: The words in round two are very simple for the national contest.

In recent years, the words were much harder. But many failed to realize that spellers were given a direct list with every round two word on it. Therefore, the words were actually some of the easiest in the bee even though they didn't appear to be easy at home.

While the words are much easier now, compare magenta to accouchement, round two words are now off-list. Spellers have no clue what they'll see first; therefore, bee officials try to make the words as easy as possible.

By the way, while we're discussing round two, let me explain how they decide who makes it to round three this afternoon.

All of the spellers took a 50-word written test. The bee randomly chose 25 words to grade, and each speller has a score between 0-25 following the test. Then, each speller is asked to spell a round two word. If they are able to spell the word correctly, a three-point bonus is added to their test score. Theoretically, if they miss their round two word, they are not automatically eliminated. However, in all actuality, spellers that miss their round two words have doomed themselves.

All of the scores are plotted on a graph, and "a threshold of 80" is found. The top 80 spellers advance to the next round. Usually, more than 80 advance due to ties. Example: If 77 spellers have a score of 21 and 11 have a score of 20, the bee takes all 11 to the next round. There will be at least 80 but most likely more.

-Josh Dawsey


  1. I have found a lot of useful information from this platform. I must say that sharing your thoughts with one another is an easy way to relax yourself in the daily hectic routines. Each time a description of the change, there are always lots of talk about it anywhere. These are not exempt. I mean one must be up to date with the day to day change in the environment and in the technology as well. In my personal opinion, the world is turning into a global village and now you can get a lot of required information by just a click while sitting where ever you are. \ SCDJWS \ LPI Certification \ capm exam \ Checkpoint Certification \ oracle 11g certification \ CompTIA certifications \ ais certification \ mcitp database administrator 2008

    Posted by ali503 on 10/20 at 01:35 AM
    2. Page 1 of 1 pages

Registration Required

MGWashington.com requires that you be logged in in order to post comments. Please log in or register to leave your comment.

Next entry: Good word

Previous entry: First misspelled word

<< Back to main


-- Advertisement --