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US citizenship English test: reading and writing
Free citizenship English test practice: at your interview the officer asks you to read aloud up to 3 sentences and write up to 3, and one right in each part is a pass, per USCIS. The English test has three parts: speaking, reading and writing. This page explains the citizenship reading and writing test, and shows the two USCIS word lists the sentences come from. You can practise too: read sentences aloud, or write them as your browser reads them to you.
Free from USCIS: the official questions, flash cards and practice tests are on USCIS, study for the test. USCIS forms are always free; get them only from USCIS forms (USCIS, avoid scams).
How the English test works
- Speaking
- The officer judges your spoken English from how you understand and answer questions during the eligibility interview, including the questions about your Form N-400. USCIS
- Reading
- The officer shows you up to three sentences, one at a time, and you read one aloud. Read one of the three correctly and you pass: the officer stops at the first sentence you read correctly. USCIS
- Writing
- The officer reads up to three sentences aloud, one at a time, and you write each one down. Write one of the three so that the officer can understand it and you pass: the officer stops there. Do not abbreviate any word. USCIS
- If you fail
- If you fail the reading or the writing test, you are retested on that part 60 to 90 days after the interview. Failing it a second time leads to denial of the application. USCIS
- Which civics test
- Both civics tests: USCIS gives the same English test whether you take the 2025 or the 2008 civics test. USCIS still links the same two word lists (rev. 08/08). USCIS
- Who takes it
- People applying to naturalize (Form N-400), at their interview. If you are 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, or 55 or older with 15 years, you skip the English test but still take civics. A medical disability exception (Form N-648) can excuse English, civics or both. USCIS
Practise reading and writing
Which part
What to practise
The 5 sample reading sentences, one at a time, free as often as you like.
The citizenship reading test
The officer shows you up to three sentences, one at a time, and you read one aloud. Read one of the three correctly and you pass: the officer stops at the first sentence you read correctly. The sentences are questions, built from the reading vocabulary below.
How the USCIS reading test is scored
The Policy Manual says: In general, the alien must read all content words but may omit short words or make pronunciation or intonation errors that do not interfere with the meaning.
A sentence is not read successfully when the applicant:
Omits a content word or substitutes another word for a content word;
Pauses for extended periods of time while reading the sentence; or
Makes pronunciation or intonation errors to the extent that the alien is not able to convey the meaning of the sentence and the officer is not able to understand the sentence.
The 5 sample reading sentences
- Who was the first President?
- What is the capital of the United States?
- Who lives in the White House?
- When is Labor Day?
- Who is on the dollar bill?
The citizenship writing test
The officer reads up to three sentences aloud, one at a time, and you write each one down. Write one of the three so that the officer can understand it and you pass: the officer stops there. Do not abbreviate any word. The sentences are statements built from the writing vocabulary, and they often answer a reading question.
How the USCIS writing test is scored
The Policy Manual says: An alien does not fail the writing test because of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors, unless the errors interfere with the meaning of the sentence and the officer is unable to understand the sentence.
A writing sample that passes may have:
Some grammatical, spelling, or capitalization errors;
Omitted short words that do not interfere with meaning; or
Numbers spelled out or written as digits.
The applicant fails the writing test by writing:
A different sentence or words;
An abbreviation for a dictated word;
Nothing or only one or two isolated words; or
A sentence that is completely illegible.
How the check on this page works
If what you type matches the sentence, with capital letters, spacing and punctuation ignored (and numbers as words or digits), it is marked right. Anything else shows the sentence and a word-by-word comparison, and you mark it yourself with the guidance above. This is not how USCIS marks: the officer decides whether your writing conveys the meaning.
The 5 sample writing sentences
- Washington was the first President.
- Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States.
- The President lives in the White House.
- Labor Day is in September.
- The flag is red, white, and blue.
USCIS reading vocabulary list
Every entry of the USCIS list “Reading Vocabulary for the Naturalization Test” (rev. 08/08), in its order. Where USCIS lists more than one form of a word, the forms are separated by a slash.
- People
- Abraham Lincoln, George Washington
- Civics
- American flag, Bill of Rights, capital, citizen, city, Congress, country, Father of Our Country, government, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House
- Places
- America, United States, U.S.
- Holidays
- Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving
- Question words
- How, What, When, Where, Who, Why
- Verbs
- can, come, do/does, elects, have/has, is/are/was/be, lives/lived, meet, name, pay, vote, want
- Other (function)
- a, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we
- Other (content)
- colors, dollar bill, first, largest, many, most, north, one, people, second, south
USCIS writing vocabulary list
Every entry of the USCIS list “Writing Vocabulary for the Naturalization Test” (rev. 08/08), in its order. Where USCIS lists more than one form of a word, the forms are separated by a slash.
- People
- Adams, Lincoln, Washington
- Civics
- American Indians, capital, citizens, Civil War, Congress, Father of Our Country, flag, free, freedom of speech, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House
- Places
- Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, United States, Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Months
- February, May, June, July, September, October, November
- Holidays
- Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving
- Verbs
- can, come, elect, have/has, is/was/be, lives/lived, meets, pay, vote, want
- Other (function)
- and, during, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we
- Other (content)
- blue, dollar bill, fifty/50, first, largest, most, north, one, one hundred/100, people, red, second, south, taxes, white
Common questions
Did the English test change with the 2025 civics test?
No. Both civics tests: USCIS gives the same English test whether you take the 2025 or the 2008 civics test. The reading and writing vocabulary lists USCIS links are still the rev. 08/08 lists shown on this page.
Do I need to know every word on the lists?
USCIS publishes these lists as the vocabulary of the reading and writing test, so they are the words to learn. The test asks you to read and write whole sentences, not single words, so practise with sentences.
What happens if I fail the reading or writing test?
If you fail the reading or the writing test, you are retested on that part 60 to 90 days after the interview. Failing it a second time leads to denial of the application.
Does this page record my voice?
No. It never uses a microphone and has no speech recognition. Sentences are read aloud by your browser's own voice, and your marks are saved in this browser.
What is free here, and what does the US interview pack add?
The explanations, both USCIS word lists and the 10 sample sentences are free. The US interview pack (US$9.99, one payment) adds practice with all 61 reading and 47 writing sentences, the 3-sentence test (it stops at your first right sentence, as the officer does), Missed sentences and your history on this device. It also includes the full interview practice on the interview page. The all-tests unlock (£7.99, paid in British pounds) includes it.
Practise the civics interview, or go back to the US civics test page.
Test facts checked 23 October 2026 against the official page: USCIS, 2025 civics test.