ven though this is a common topic for people to talk about regarding The TOEFL Exam (which is why I must address the issue) — this is NOT something that you need to worry about.  Just use the English that you know.  Do not spend any energy worrying about if it is “American” or “British”.

es — the exam was created, and is administered, by an American institution.  But it is understood that the people taking The TOEFL Exam will be from all around The World — and most will probably have been taught British English.  But it is NOT necessary to use American English when taking the TOEFL iBT Exam.  (That would be a completely ridiculous thing for them to expect you to do!)

t is stated in almost every text-book about The TOEFL Exam — that if a person uses either British or American English — they should remain consistent throughout the exam.  I can comprehend why they would say such a thing — but once again — this is also a ridiculous thing to even consider.  This is because:

ut if a person has learned the word “Lorry” because they learned English in Europe, or India, or pretty-much any other country that was once part of the former British Empire — then they are probably NOT going to use a DIFFERENT word for the same thing.  They are not going to use both “Truck” AND “Lorry”.  That is just not natural.  So to tell test-takers to be consistent about there use of English only serves to do one thing…

f you were to use a British word like “Lorry” in one part of a Spoken or Written response — but then used the American term “TV” in another part — you will NOT be graded-down for being “in-consistent”…  That doesn’t make sense because it is all English.  So any teacher who tells you otherwise is not using basic logic.

ut for the EXACT same reasons that this whole idea is ridiculous with The Speaking Section examples above (using two different words for the same thing) — This is ALSO ridiculous for the situation of spelling.  If someone learns the “British” way of spelling a word, then THAT is the way they are going to spell it — always!  They will not spell it in two different ways.  Do you often spell the same word in more than one way?  NO!

nd although there is a slight chance that you could get graded down if you spelled one word in the “British” way, and another word in the “American” way — it is far MORE likely that you would not have developed such a habit of spelling as this.

t is also un-likely that the person grading your Writing Responses would even notice it.  They are focused — FIRST — on whether or not you fulfilled the task — THEN — on proper use of English grammar, and the overall flow of your response as a whole.

ou already have enough that you need to learn, regarding simply Preparing For The TOEFL Exam.  Worrying about whether-or-not you are “Remaining Consistent” with your use of British or American English throughout The TOEFL Exam is a COMPLETE waste of your mental energy.
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(And to be able to do such a thing in the way that other teachers talk about — you would have to learn BOTH forms of English before the exam, and then choose which one you would use.  Which is — once again — COMPLETELY & UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!)

emaining consistent with whatever form of English you have ALREADY learned is something that you will NATURALLY & AUTOMATICALLY do;  without even trying!  You Do Not Even Need To Think About It!  And switching to “American English” (if you learned “British English”) will NOT earn you any more points than using the English that you already know.  Just relax, and use what you know.  😉