Naturalization Writing Test
Write one dictated sentence out of three correctly; practise with the official word list.
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How to use the writing list and dictation
- Read the word groups first: people, civics, places, months, holidays, verbs and the two groups of other words.
- Press the speaker button next to a word to hear it.
- Open the dictation practice and press Listen. The page reads a short line of three words from the list aloud.
- Type the line, spelling every word in full without abbreviations, and press Check. New line gives you another one.
- The line is shown if you missed it; note the words you got wrong.
- Repeat until the words in each group feel familiar.
The dictation lines are random word groups from the list, not sentences: USCIS does not publish sample sentences, and the real test dictates up to three sentences.
Short daily sessions work best for word lists. Go through one or two groups, then revisit them the next day. The rules of the test, and what counts as correct, are explained further down this page with their USCIS source. Say each answer aloud once. Check the source link when a number matters to your case. Come back to anything you were unsure about the next day. Nothing you do here is sent to a server. Keep a note of any question you have to look up twice. Short sessions repeated over several days work better than one long one. If something on this page seems out of date, the linked USCIS page is the authority.
What do I need to write on the naturalization test?
You write a sentence the officer dictates, using words from the official writing list of 75 words. Those words cover people, civics, places, months, holidays, verbs, and common function and content words. Knowing this list is the core of your preparation.
| Category | Words on the writing list |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Function words | and, during, for, here, in, of, on, the, to, we |
| Content words | blue, dollar bill, fifty/50, first, largest, most, north, one, one hundred/100, people, red, second, south, taxes, white |
Months appear on the writing list but not on the reading list, so practise them specifically. The list pairs some words with numerals, such as fifty/50 and one hundred/100, so both forms are listed. Apart from those, write every word in full.
How many sentences do I write in the citizenship test?
You are dictated up to three sentences, and you must write one of them correctly to pass. The exam does not require all three to be right.
What does the writing list include that the reading list does not?
The writing list has 75 words against 64 on the reading list, and it adds months (February, May, June, July, September, October and November), several place names (Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware, Mexico, New York City) and the colors blue, red and white, plus words such as taxes, freedom of speech and Civil War. The reading list has question words and a few other words that the writing list lacks. Study the two lists separately.
Does the writing test change between the 2008 and 2025 civics tests?
No. The Federal Register notice for the 2025 test says it does not change the English language parts of the naturalization test, and USCIS publishes one writing list. The word list we used is marked rev. 07/14 (text) and rev. 08/08 (PDF), checked on 2026-10-26. Applicants who qualify for the 50/20 or 55/15 exemption (anyone who meets 65/20 normally meets 50/20 too), or who have an approved N-648 medical exception, may be exempt from the English test.
How this tool works and where the numbers come from
Word lists are taken from the USCIS vocabulary files (text file rev. 07/14, PDF rev. 08/08) retrieved 2026-10-26 and every word was checked against the PDF; the pass rules are quoted from the Policy Manual.
Sources
Check yourself: common questions
Do I have to use capital letters?
Capitalisation errors do not fail you on their own. USCIS states that an applicant does not fail the writing test because of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation errors, unless the errors interfere with the meaning. Still, writing clearly with normal capitals makes your sentence easier to read.
Can I use abbreviations or numerals?
Do not abbreviate any word, because USCIS requires applicants to write every word in full. The writing list does include numerals for some items, such as 50 and 100, shown beside fifty and one hundred. Write other words fully, for example “United States” rather than a short form.
Do spelling mistakes fail me automatically?
No. A spelling error alone does not fail the test unless it interferes with the meaning. Since you need only one of up to three sentences correct, an error in one sentence does not end your attempt if another is written correctly.
What is the written test for naturalization?
The written test is a dictation check of your English. The officer reads a sentence aloud, and you write it down using the official writing vocabulary. Writing one of the three dictated sentences correctly is enough to meet the writing requirement.
How hard is it to pass the naturalization test?
Each part is pass or fail: write one of up to three sentences, read one of up to three, and answer 6 of 10 (2008) or 12 of 20 (2025) civics questions correctly; if you fail a part you get one retest of it 60 to 90 days later. USCIS publishes no miss rates, so no single question is provably the hardest. The civics pass mark is 60 percent in both versions (6 of 10 or 12 of 20) and the officer stops once the result is decided. By our own rules, 26 of the 128 questions on the 2025 list and 22 of the 100 on the 2008 list are flagged as harder; see hardest civics test questions.
Related tools
- USCIS reading vocabulary: Use it to check the words you will read as well as write.
- Naturalization reading test: Use it when you want to practise reading sentences aloud.
- Citizenship test audio: Use it if you prefer listening to material before practising by writing.
- Naturalization test practice: Use it for general practice across the test parts.
- 65/20, 50/20 and 55/15 exemption checker: Use it to see whether an exemption may apply to your English requirement.
- Naturalization interview questions: Use it to prepare for the rest of your interview.