Do you use toward or towards in your writing? Are both correct? Is one better than the other?
Both of these words have the same meaning, and both are real words. However, which one you should use depends on the audience for whom you're writing. Toward is the preferred word in American English. Towards is what the Brits tend to lean toward (see what I did there? I use American English, so I favor toward).
Therefore, if your audience is primarily American, always use toward unless it is in dialogue. Many Americans say towards in everyday speech, so it would seem natural to use it in dialogue—or use toward if you want your characters to be grammatically correct. If your audience is British (or in any other English-speaking country), use towards.
The same rule applies to other directional "ward" words, including backward/backwards, forward/forwards, afterward/afterwards.
Trivia: Chaucer used toward even though he was a European writer. The toward/towards distinction that we use today didn't really become solidified until the beginning of the twentieth century. Before that, towards was more common in America.
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