Reading and writing test practice

Two of the four parts of the naturalization test are about written English: you read one sentence aloud out of up to three, and you write one sentence out of up to three that the officer dictates. Both use the words on two short USCIS lists, the reading vocabulary and the writing vocabulary. This material trains those words, and it is honest about what paper and cards can and cannot do.

The written sheet

Sixteen short questions, each built only from words on the reading list: "Who was the first President?", "Where does Congress meet?", "When do we vote for President?" Read each question aloud, which is the reading task, then write the answer as one full sentence, which uses the words on the writing list: "Washington was the first President." "Congress meets in Washington, D.C." "We vote for President in November." Upload a photo of your sheet and each sentence is checked against the answer it should give.

What it does not do: at the interview the officer dictates the sentence, and you write what you hear. Here you build the sentence yourself from the question, which practices the same spellings and the same words but not listening. For real dictation practice, ask someone to read the model sentences to you. Reading aloud cannot be judged from a sheet either, so say the questions out loud to someone who can tell you whether every content word came through.

The rules the officer applies

• Reading: all content words must be read; short words may be left out, and accent or small pronunciation errors are fine if the meaning is clear. Leaving out or replacing a content word, or long pauses, fail the sentence.
• Writing: spelling, capital-letter and punctuation mistakes do not fail you if the officer can understand the sentence, and numbers may be written as words or digits. An abbreviation for a dictated word ("Pres."), a different sentence, or only one or two isolated words fail it.
• Fail either part and you are retested on that part only, 60 to 90 days later.

The flashcards

Twenty-four cards on list words that people most often stumble on: the Father of Our Country, the Bill of Rights, the White House, the holidays with their months (the writing list has only seven months, one for each of them), Alaska, California, Canada and Mexico, and short verbs like elect and pay. Each card gives the meaning and a sentence made from list words.

Applicants who are exempt from the English requirement, for example because of the 50/20, 55/15 or 65/20 age and residence rules, skip this part of the test.

The vocabulary comes from the USCIS reading and writing vocabulary lists and the test rules from the USCIS Policy Manual, works of the United States government. The sentences, the sheet and the checking are Zestly's own.

• Read aloud questions made only from the USCIS reading vocabulary
• Write full answer sentences with the USCIS writing vocabulary, with no abbreviations
• Know what passes and fails a sentence on the reading and writing tests
• Learn the list words people stumble on: holidays and their months, places, people and civics terms

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the USCIS Reading Vocabulary and Writing Vocabulary for the Naturalization Test (rev. 08/08) and on the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part E, Chapter 2 (reading test: one of three sentences read correctly; writing test: one of three dictated sentences written so the officer understands it).