The English reading and writing test
You pass the reading test by reading one sentence correctly out of three, and the writing test by writing one out of three.
The English test has three parts: speaking, reading and writing. There is no separate speaking test. The officer judges your speaking from the conversation about your Form N-400, and may repeat or rephrase a question until it is clear whether you understand. Reading and writing are short, and they use a fixed set of words that USCIS publishes in two lists, the Reading Vocabulary and the Writing Vocabulary for the Naturalization Test. The 2025 change to the civics test did not change these lists.
Reading: one of three sentences
For reading, you read a sentence aloud. If you read it correctly, the reading test is over; if not, the officer gives you another, up to three. USCIS now often shows the sentences on a digital tablet. You pass if you read without long pauses, read all the content words, and the officer understands the meaning. Leaving out short words, or making pronunciation and intonation errors that do not change the meaning, does not fail you. The reading sentences are usually questions built from words such as Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
Writing: one of three sentences
For writing, the officer reads a sentence aloud and you write it down, up to three sentences, until one is written in a way the officer understands. You must not abbreviate words, so write Senators, not Sen. Spelling, capitalization and punctuation mistakes do not fail you unless they make the sentence hard to understand. The writing sentences are usually statements that answer the reading questions, for example Lincoln was President during the Civil War.
The vocabulary lists
Both lists are short and sorted into groups: people, civics, places, holidays, verbs, and function and content words. The reading list has question words; the writing list has months and numbers instead. Every word on them comes from civics topics in this course, so the sentences are easy to predict. For example, the writing list has Alaska and largest, which together give Alaska is the largest state, and it has Delaware and first, as in Delaware was the first state. The dictation below uses only words from the writing list.
| Group | Reading list | Writing list |
|---|---|---|
| People | Abraham Lincoln, George Washington | Adams, Lincoln, Washington |
| Civics | American flag, Bill of Rights, capital, citizen, city, Congress, country, Father of Our Country, government, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House | American Indians, capital, citizens, Civil War, Congress, Father of Our Country, flag, free, freedom of speech, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House |
| Places | America, United States, U.S. | Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, United States, Washington, Washington, D.C. |
| Months | none | February, May, June, July, September, October, November |
| Holidays | Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving | the same seven holidays |
| Question words | How, What, When, Where, Who, Why | none |
| Verbs | can, come, do/does, elects, have/has, is/are/was/be, lives/lived, meet, name, pay, vote, want | can, come, elect, have/has, is/was/be, lives/lived, meets, pay, vote, want |
| Other (function) | a, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we | and, during, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we |
| Other (content) | colors, dollar bill, first, largest, many, most, north, one, people, second, south | blue, dollar bill, fifty/50, first, largest, most, north, one, one hundred/100, people, red, second, south, taxes, white |
Who skips the English test? Applicants who are 50 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, 55 or older with 15 years, or 65 or older with 20 years. They still take the civics test, and may take it in their own language with an interpreter.
| Who was the first President? | Washington was the first President. |
| Who is the Father of Our Country? | Washington is the Father of Our Country. |
| Who was the second President? | Adams was the second President. |
| What is the largest state? | Alaska is the largest state. |
| When is Labor Day? | Labor Day is in September. |
| When is Thanksgiving? | Thanksgiving is in November. |
| Who lives in the White House? | The President lives in the White House. |
| What are the colors of the American flag? | The flag is red, white, and blue. |
| Who is on the dollar bill? | Washington is on the dollar bill. |
| Who elects Congress? | Citizens elect Congress. |
| What is the capital of the United States? | Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States. |
| When is Flag Day? | Flag Day is in June. |
- Who was the first President? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- Who is the Father of Our Country? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- Who was the second President? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- What is the largest state? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- When is Labor Day? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- When is Thanksgiving? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- Who lives in the White House? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- What are the colors of the American flag? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- Who is on the dollar bill? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- Who elects Congress? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- What is the capital of the United States? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
- When is Flag Day? · Reading test style: read the question aloud
Lincoln was President during the Civil War. Washington is the Father of Our Country. Alaska is the largest state. Delaware was the first state. The President lives in the White House.
- How many sentences must you read correctly on the reading test?
- At most, how many sentences can the officer give you on the writing test?
- On the writing test, may you write Sen. for Senators?
- No, you must not abbreviate
- Yes, any abbreviation is fine
- Only for names
- You misspell one word, but the officer can still understand the sentence. Do you fail?
- No, not if the meaning is clear
- Yes, any spelling error fails
- Only if it is a name
- How is your speaking ability judged?
- From your answers during the interview
- From a separate recorded test
- From a written essay
- Which word is on the writing list but not the reading list?
- November
- Who
- country
- Which sentence uses only words from the writing list?
- Alaska is the largest state.
- Texas is a big state.
- Hawaii is an island.
- Who is the Father of Our Country, according to the reading and writing lists?
- Washington
- Lincoln
- Adams
- Which group is exempt from the English test?
- 55 or older with 15 years as a permanent resident
- 45 or older with 10 years
- Anyone who has lived in the U.S. for 5 years
- When does Columbus Day come, using the writing list?
- October
- July
- February
- Reading: read 1 of 3 sentences aloud. Writing: write 1 of 3 dictated sentences.
- No abbreviations; small spelling errors are fine if the meaning is clear.
- All words come from the two official USCIS vocabulary lists.