The citizenship writing test

The writing test is dictation: at your naturalization interview, the officer reads a sentence out loud and you write it down. Writing one of three sentences correctly passes this part. The sentences draw on one short official vocabulary list, published by USCIS and reproduced in full below. This guide is part of the English test for U.S. citizenship hub.

How the writing test works

The officer dictates; you write, by hand. If the first sentence has problems, you get a second, then a third, and one correct sentence passes. The officer stops administering the test as soon as you succeed. The sentences are short statements about civics and history, built from the same kind of vocabulary as the civics questions: presidents, places, holidays, and dates.

Two details from the official scoring guidelines are worth engraving. First, write every word out in full: abbreviating a dictated word is not allowed. Second, the standard is that your sentence be understandable as written, so a small spelling slip that leaves the meaning clear does not fail you.

The official writing vocabulary

This is the complete official list, all 75 entries, transcribed from the USCIS PDF linked in the sources below. Every dictated sentence is built from these words:

Dictation practice sentences

USCIS does not publish the real dictation sentences, so here are practice sentences written by CivicsMate using only words from the official list above. Have a friend or family member read them to you, one at a time, while you write them by hand; then compare against this page:

• Washington was the first President.
• Adams was the second President.
• Citizens can vote in November.
• Independence Day is in July.
• The flag is red, white, and blue.
• We pay taxes.
• Canada is north of the United States.
• Congress meets in Washington, D.C.

No practice partner today? Read a sentence, cover it, count to five, and write it from memory. Checking your own spelling against the list still trains the exact skill the test measures.

How to prepare

• Write by hand. The real test is handwritten, and typing practice does not train the same recall. A few sentences a day is enough.
• Master the months and holidays. They are the longest words on the list, they cannot be abbreviated, and dictated sentences lean on them heavily.
• Say it back before you write. Repeating the sentence in your head keeps you from dropping small words like and, during, or the.
• Pair it with the reading list. The citizenship reading test uses a sibling list, with question words instead of months, and practicing both together covers the whole English vocabulary in one habit.

Frequently asked questions

How does the writing test work at the interview?

The officer reads a sentence out loud and you write it down, by hand, at the interview. You pass by writing one of three dictated sentences correctly, and the officer stops as soon as you do. The sentences draw on a short official vocabulary list focused on civics and history words.

Do spelling mistakes fail the writing test?

Not automatically. The official scoring guidelines say an applicant will not fail because of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors unless the errors would prevent understanding the meaning of the sentence. Your sentence needs to be legible and clear, not perfect. Focus on the content words, like the names, places, and holidays.

Can I abbreviate words when I write?

No. The scoring guidelines are explicit: you must not abbreviate any dictated word in the written sentence. If the officer says November, write November, not Nov. This is one of the few strict rules in the writing test, so train yourself to write every word out in full.

Why are months on the writing list?

Because dictated sentences often mention dates and holidays, such as a sentence about Independence Day being in July. The writing list includes seven months (February, May, June, July, September, October, and November), and they double as spelling practice since you cannot abbreviate them.

How many words are on the writing list?

The official writing vocabulary list has 75 entries, and it fits on one page. It overlaps heavily with the reading list but adds months, more place names like Alaska and Canada, and words for colors and numbers. If you can spell the content words, the short function words take care of themselves.

This page explains the writing portion of the naturalization test and is for study and preparation only. It is not legal advice and does not determine your eligibility for naturalization. For official rules and any updates, rely on USCIS; USCIS guidance controls if anything here differs.