US Citizenship Writing Test — Practice Sentences and Spelling Guide

ABRAHAM LINCOLN is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under PEOPLE. Correct spelling is 'A-B-R-A-H-A-M L-I-N-C-O-L-N.' Common dictation sentences using Lincoln: 'Abraham Lincoln was the President during the Civil War.' 'Lincoln was the President in February.' 'Lincoln was an American President.' WRITING TEST FORMAT: the USCIS officer dictates ONE OF THREE sentences. The applicant writes the sentence on a tablet or paper. The applicant must get one of three sentences correct (in writing). Minor spelling errors may be acceptable if the meaning is clear, but applicants should aim for correct spelling especially of vocabulary words. Other PEOPLE on the writing vocabulary list: George Washington. Names of months and days of the week are also on the list and are commonly used in dictated sentences. PRACTICE TIP: write the vocabulary words multiple times until you can spell them correctly. Pay special attention to: silent letters (Lincoln has an L before the N); double letters; common confusion points. Print clearly — neat printing is generally easier to read than cursive for the officer.

GEORGE WASHINGTON is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under PEOPLE. Correct spelling: 'G-E-O-R-G-E W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N.' Note the order of letters in 'Washington' — the trickier letter combinations include 'sh' (s-h) and the ending '-ing-ton.' Common dictation sentences using Washington: 'George Washington was the first President.' 'George Washington was the Father of Our Country.' 'Washington was the first President.' 'Washington, D.C., is the capital.' Note: 'Washington' can mean either the person (George Washington) or the place (Washington, D.C., the capital city; or Washington state). Context tells you which. WRITING TIPS: (1) Practice the names BEFORE your interview — spell them aloud as you write them; (2) Watch for tricky combinations: 'George' has 'g-e-o-r-g-e' which is unusual; 'Washington' has 'w-a-s-h-i-n-g-t-o-n'; (3) Don't worry about cursive vs. print — clearly written print is fine; (4) Capitalize names properly (capital letters at the start of first and last names). The full vocabulary list is published on the USCIS website and on the M-480 'Welcome to the United States' handbook.

PRESIDENT is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under CIVICS. Correct spelling: 'P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T.' Common dictation sentences using 'President': 'The President lives in the White House.' 'The President is in Washington, D.C.' 'The people vote for President.' 'Lincoln was a President.' 'Washington was the first President.' 'Adams was the second President.' WRITING THE WORD: capitalize when referring to the U.S. President as a title or position; lowercase when used generally (e.g., 'club president'). For the USCIS test, you'll typically capitalize 'President.' Other CIVICS VOCABULARY for the writing test: American Indians, capital, citizens, Congress, country, Father of Our Country, flag, free, freedom of speech, President, right, Senators, state/states, White House. Tips for practice: (1) MEMORIZE the spelling of key vocabulary words; (2) Practice writing each word 5-10 times; (3) Have a friend or family member dictate sample sentences; (4) Print clearly — neatness counts; (5) Listen carefully to the officer's pronunciation — if unsure, you can usually ask the officer to repeat. The actual sentences on test day come from a closed set of possibilities all drawn from the published vocabulary.

WASHINGTON is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list. Correct spelling: 'W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N.' Pay attention to all the letters — the order is W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N (the 'sh' in the middle is followed by 'ington'). The word 'Washington' can mean the person George Washington OR the place (Washington, D.C., or Washington state). For the writing test, the dictated sentence will give context. Common dictation sentences using 'Washington': 'Washington is the capital.' 'Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States.' 'George Washington was the first President.' 'The capital is in Washington.' Other PLACES VOCABULARY for the writing test: Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City, United States, Washington, Washington, D.C. WHEN WRITING D.C.: write the letters D-period-C-period (D.C. with periods). Some applicants write 'DC' without periods; either is generally accepted. Always CAPITALIZE place names — Washington, D.C., America, the United States, Mexico, etc. The article 'the' is typically used with 'United States' but not with 'America' alone — 'the United States is...' / 'America is....' The USCIS officer should be patient and clear with dictation; if you didn't hear clearly, you can ask the officer to repeat the sentence.

JULY is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under MONTHS. Correct spelling: 'J-U-L-Y' (only four letters). All 12 months are on the USCIS writing vocabulary list because dictated sentences often include dates and holidays: JANUARY (J-a-n-u-a-r-y); FEBRUARY (F-e-b-r-u-a-r-y); MARCH (M-a-r-c-h); APRIL (A-p-r-i-l); MAY (M-a-y); JUNE (J-u-n-e); JULY (J-u-l-y); AUGUST (A-u-g-u-s-t); SEPTEMBER (S-e-p-t-e-m-b-e-r); OCTOBER (O-c-t-o-b-e-r); NOVEMBER (N-o-v-e-m-b-e-r); DECEMBER (D-e-c-e-m-b-e-r). CAPITALIZE the first letter of each month (this is standard English capitalization). Sample dictation sentences using months: 'Independence Day is in July.' 'Labor Day is in September.' 'Memorial Day is in May.' 'Thanksgiving is in November.' 'Columbus Day is in October.' 'Flag Day is in June.' 'Presidents Day is in February.' Pay close attention to: February (the 'r' after 'b' is often silent in pronunciation but must be written); March (silent 'a' issues); September (two 'e's and an 'er' ending); August (audible 'au' at the start). Practice spelling each month aloud, then writing it. Days of the week (Sunday through Saturday) are also on the writing vocabulary list.

THANKSGIVING is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list. Correct spelling: 'T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G' — written as ONE word (no space between 'Thanks' and 'giving'). Pay attention to: starts with 'TH' (not just 'T'); 'GIVING' is spelled with 'I-V-I-N-G' (no 'e' before the 'ing'). Common dictation sentence: 'Thanksgiving is in November.' 'We have Thanksgiving Day.' 'Thanksgiving is a holiday.' Other HOLIDAYS on the USCIS writing vocabulary list: COLUMBUS DAY (C-o-l-u-m-b-u-s D-a-y); FATHERS DAY (F-a-t-h-e-r-s D-a-y, can be Father's Day with apostrophe); FLAG DAY (F-l-a-g D-a-y); INDEPENDENCE DAY (I-n-d-e-p-e-n-d-e-n-c-e D-a-y) — note 'Independence' has '-ence' ending, not '-ance'; LABOR DAY (L-a-b-o-r D-a-y); MEMORIAL DAY (M-e-m-o-r-i-a-l D-a-y); MOTHERS DAY (M-o-t-h-e-r-s D-a-y); PRESIDENTS DAY (P-r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t-s D-a-y); THANKSGIVING (T-h-a-n-k-s-g-i-v-i-n-g). Note the capitalization of holiday names — both words start with capital letters: Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, etc. THANKSGIVING is typically just ONE word; the others are TWO words.

FLAG is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under CIVICS. Correct spelling: 'F-L-A-G' (four letters). Note: NO E at the end. Common dictation sentences using 'flag': 'The flag has 50 stars.' 'The American flag has 50 stars.' 'The flag is red, white, and blue.' 'We have a flag.' 'Flag Day is in June.' The American FLAG: has 50 STARS representing the 50 states; has 13 STRIPES representing the original 13 colonies; colors are RED, WHITE, and BLUE; nicknames include 'Stars and Stripes' and 'Old Glory'; first adopted with 13 stars in 1777; current 50-star design dates from July 4, 1960 (after Hawaii's statehood in 1959). FLAG-related vocabulary on the writing list: FLAG (the object itself); FLAG DAY (the holiday); these may appear together in sentences like 'Flag Day is in June.' Practice writing 'flag' — it's a short, common word but easy to add an unnecessary 'e' (FLAGE is wrong) or double letter. The PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE is the recitation honoring the flag: 'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.'

Correct: 'GEORGE WASHINGTON was the first President.' This is one of the most likely dictation sentences on the USCIS writing test. Practice this exact sentence and similar ones. GEORGE WASHINGTON is spelled: 'G-E-O-R-G-E W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N.' Tips for spelling: GEORGE starts with G (a soft G sound, /j/, similar to the J in James — but spelled with G); has E-O-R-G-E pattern; WASHINGTON has W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N. Note 'Washington' includes the letter combination 'sh' (W-A-S-H) followed by 'ington' (I-N-G-T-O-N). Capitalize: both first and last names start with capital letters. SAMPLE SENTENCES YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO WRITE: 'George Washington was the first President.' 'George Washington was the Father of Our Country.' 'Washington, D.C., is the capital.' 'Adams was the second President.' 'Lincoln was the President in February.' 'Lincoln was an American President.' WRITING PRACTICE TIPS: (1) Get familiar with each vocabulary word; (2) Practice each sentence multiple times by writing it from memory; (3) Have a friend dictate sentences and check your spelling; (4) Use lined paper; print neatly; capitalize where needed; punctuate with periods (or question marks for questions). REQUIREMENT: write one of three sentences correctly. The officer dictates each sentence clearly. You may not see the sentence written before you write it.

Correct: 'We live in the United States.' This sentence demonstrates several writing rules tested by USCIS: (1) FIRST WORD CAPITALIZED: 'We' starts with a capital W; (2) PROPER NOUN CAPITALIZED: 'United States' is capitalized as a country name (the country); (3) COMMON WORDS LOWERCASE: 'live in the' are not capitalized (lowercase) because they are not proper nouns; (4) ENDING PUNCTUATION: a PERIOD at the end (a question mark would be used for a question; an exclamation point is generally not used on USCIS sentences). USCIS WRITING TEST SCORING typically focuses on whether the sentence is understandable and the key words are spelled correctly. Minor punctuation or capitalization errors typically don't disqualify, BUT applicants should aim for correct writing because: (1) clean writing demonstrates better English skills; (2) very poor writing might be marked wrong if meaning is unclear. WRITING TIPS: (1) WRITE NEATLY — print or cursive both acceptable as long as legible; (2) WRITE LARGE ENOUGH to be readable; (3) START WITH CAPITAL LETTERS for first words and proper nouns; (4) END WITH A PERIOD (or question mark if it's a question); (5) PUT SPACES between words; (6) DON'T WORRY about perfect handwriting — clearly written is what matters. SAMPLE WELL-WRITTEN SENTENCES: 'The President lives in the White House.' 'Thanksgiving is in November.' 'Lincoln was a President.' 'Independence Day is in July.' 'America is in North America.' 'We celebrate Thanksgiving in November.' 'The flag has 50 stars.'

SENATORS is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under CIVICS. Correct spelling: 'S-E-N-A-T-O-R-S.' The ending is '-ators' (a-t-o-r-s), NOT '-aters' (no 'e'). Note: many English nouns ending in 'or' (senator, actor, doctor) are commonly misspelled with 'er' (sometimes correct for some words but not these). Common dictation sentences using 'Senators': 'There are 100 Senators in Congress.' 'States have Senators.' 'Senators meet in the Senate.' 'The President meets with Senators.' CAPITALIZE 'Senators' when referring to U.S. Senators as a specific group (though casual usage may not always capitalize — the USCIS list shows it capitalized). Other CIVICS VOCABULARY on the USCIS writing test: AMERICAN INDIANS (A-m-e-r-i-c-a-n I-n-d-i-a-n-s); CAPITAL (C-a-p-i-t-a-l — for the city; CAPITOL is the building, different spelling); CITIZENS (C-i-t-i-z-e-n-s); CIVIL WAR (C-i-v-i-l W-a-r); CONGRESS (C-o-n-g-r-e-s-s — two S's at end); COUNTRY (C-o-u-n-t-r-y); FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY (capitalize: F-a-t-h-e-r O-f O-u-r C-o-u-n-t-r-y, all capitalized as a title); FLAG; FREE; FREEDOM OF SPEECH; PRESIDENT; RIGHT; SENATORS; STATE/STATES; UNITED STATES; WHITE HOUSE. Spell each word out repeatedly until you can write it from memory.