Places Vocabulary: Practice Questions & Explanations

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.

CALIFORNIA is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under PLACES. Correct spelling: 'C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A.' This is one of the more difficult place names to spell. Note: (1) starts with CALI- (not CALE- or CALID-); (2) F-O-R-N-I-A in the middle; (3) ends with -IA. Common dictation sentences using state names: 'Alaska is in the United States.' 'California is in the United States.' 'New York City is in New York.' 'Delaware is the first state.' PLACES VOCABULARY on the USCIS writing list: ALASKA (A-L-A-S-K-A); CALIFORNIA (C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A); CANADA (C-A-N-A-D-A); DELAWARE (D-E-L-A-W-A-R-E); MEXICO (M-E-X-I-C-O); NEW YORK CITY (with capitals on each word); UNITED STATES (U-N-I-T-E-D S-T-A-T-E-S); WASHINGTON (W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N); WASHINGTON, D.C. (with comma and periods). Tips: (1) Capitalize place names; (2) Watch for tricky letter combinations like 'rni' in California; (3) Practice each name separately; (4) Use 'New York City' as three words; (5) 'United States' is two words, both capitalized. ALASKA and HAWAII (Hawaii isn't on the writing vocabulary but is on the reading list) joined as the 49th and 50th states in 1959. The first 13 colonies/states included DELAWARE (became 1st state, December 7, 1787), PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY, GEORGIA, CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VIRGINIA, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, RHODE ISLAND (became 13th state, May 29, 1790).

WASHINGTON (as a place, Washington, D.C.) is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under PLACES. The correct spelling is 'W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N.' A common dictation sentence is 'Washington, D.C., is the capital' or 'The capital is Washington, D.C.' The writing test requires the applicant to write one dictated sentence correctly out of up to three. Because Washington appears as both a person and a place on the vocabulary lists, applicants practice spelling it for either use. Correct spelling of place names is part of the writing-test vocabulary.

UNITED STATES is on the USCIS WRITING VOCABULARY list under PLACES. The correct spelling is 'U-N-I-T-E-D S-T-A-T-E-S.' A common dictation sentence is 'I want to be a citizen of the United States' or 'The United States has fifty states.' On the writing test, the applicant must write one of up to three dictated sentences correctly. Practicing the spelling of 'United States,' which appears frequently in dictation sentences, is valuable preparation. Small errors that still let the sentence be understood are generally acceptable.