Reading and Writing questions for N400 interview

looklook199

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

I am very new to this group. Wish all is well.
May I know how do I prepare reading and writing questions for N400 interview as I am really bad in spelling.
Does USCIS have all of the require vocabulary list?

Thank you,

LOOKLOOK199
 
Do not get anxious about your test!!

In the English test, you will be asked to read a given sentence. If you are able to read it completely without any prolonged pauses, you will be given a pass. Your accent and pronunciation will not be taken into account. You will also be asked to write one out of the three given sentences. Omitting short words and grammatical errors which do not affect the meaning of the sentence will be usually ignored. You will also be tested on your fluency to speak ordinary English. You need to comprehend the question asked by the Immigration officer and respond to it in a meaningful way. There are so many resource materials on the USCIS site like the naturalization self test etc. Apart from this, there are so many resources available in the form of DVD's like
http://www.uscitizenship.info/us-citizenship/test-interview-dvd.jsp which will be highly helpful. Good Luck with the preparation!
 
Hi,
thanks for replying.
I guess what I am worrying is:
is there any specific vocabulary that I have to memory?

Thank you,
LookLook
 
Hi,
thanks for replying.
I guess what I am worrying is:
is there any specific vocabulary that I have to memory?

Thank you,
LookLook

Since the test is based on general, common English only, it would be fine if you could just learn the basic vocabulary that is being used commonly.
 
Hi all,

I am very new to this group. Wish all is well.
May I know how do I prepare reading and writing questions for N400 interview as I am really bad in spelling.
Does USCIS have all of the require vocabulary list?

Thank you,

LOOKLOOK199

If you wrote your post, you pass.
 
I have done a lot of research. since very scared of interview........
for those whom have done the interview;
could you please let me know if the vocabulary ( in terms of reading and writing) is all from these website, which is provide my USCIS?

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office o...nter Site/Publications/PDFs/M-715_reading.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office o...nter Site/Publications/PDFs/M-715_writing.pdf

thanks for helping!!! if possible, please post your questions which would definitely helps!

LOOKLOOK
 
I have done a lot of research. since very scared of interview........
for those whom have done the interview;
could you please let me know if the vocabulary ( in terms of reading and writing) is all from these website, which is provide my USCIS?

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office o...nter Site/Publications/PDFs/M-715_reading.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office o...nter Site/Publications/PDFs/M-715_writing.pdf

thanks for helping!!! if possible, please post your questions which would definitely helps!

LOOKLOOK

I hope you realize that reading and writing are rather small components (and the easiest ones) of the English test during the naturalization interview.
For reading and writing the IO will ask you to read a single and fairly easy English sentence and then to write one as well.
However, during the entire interview the IO will be evaluating your ability to communicate in English - to speak English and to understand what is being said to you.
It is much more likely that you may have a problem with that part of the English test rather than with the reading/writing part.
Based on the number of grammar errors in your post above, it does seem to me that you have reasons to worry.
If you have time to do that before the interview, it is not a bad idea to sign up for an English class; many community colleges offer such classes at very low costs. Also, if you live in a reasonably large metropolitan area, there are certainly immigration support groups available there that offer free English classes.
 
I hope you realize that reading and writing are rather small components (and the easiest ones) of the English test during the naturalization interview.
For reading and writing the IO will ask you to read a single and fairly easy English sentence and then to write one as well.
However, during the entire interview the IO will be evaluating your ability to communicate in English - to speak English and to understand what is being said to you.
It is much more likely that you may have a problem with that part of the English test rather than with the reading/writing part.
Based on the number of grammar errors in your post above, it does seem to me that you have reasons to worry.
If you have time to do that before the interview, it is not a bad idea to sign up for an English class; many community colleges offer such classes at very low costs. Also, if you live in a reasonably large metropolitan area, there are certainly immigration support groups available there that offer free English classes.

Thank you for replying Sir.

Yes, I am worried about the exam. That is why I would like to know what is on the exam! If I know well about the exam, you will not see this thread at all, isn't it?

I just would like to know if there is any specific vocabulary that I have to know before going to the interview; again, b/c I am not good in English but I am willing to do my part to memory what I have to do!

Once again, I appreciate your reply.
 
Based on the number of grammar errors in your post above, it does seem to me that you have reasons to worry.

I disagree. They don't penalize naturalization applicants for grammatical errors in their speech at the interview, as long as the errors are not so large that it becomes difficult for the interviewer to understand what they said.

looklook199,
As long as your English is good enough to have a normal conversation without confusing people, you will pass the English section of the test. Your spoken English just needs to be good enough to answer the interview questions, they're not going to test you on SAT-level vocabulary and analogies. While your posts have some grammatical and spelling errors, they're not large enough to confuse the meaning of what you write. And they will tell you what to read and write for the reading/writing part of the test, so grammar won't matter there. Stop worrying about it.
 
Thank you for replying Sir.

Yes, I am worried about the exam. That is why I would like to know what is on the exam! If I know well about the exam, you will not see this thread at all, isn't it?

I just would like to know if there is any specific vocabulary that I have to know before going to the interview; again, b/c I am not good in English but I am willing to do my part to memory what I have to do!

Once again, I appreciate your reply.

Like I said, the English exam consists largely in the IO evaluating your overall English communication skills based on your conversation with the IO during the entire interview. The "reading/writing" portion of the English test is actually a very small and rather easy portion of the test. They'll ask you to read one simple English sentence and to write another sentence. Those sentences will be rather short and pretty basic in terms of grammar and vocabulary, something like "Washington is the capital of the United States" or "Every state elects two senators". If you are going to run into trouble with the English test, it is much more likely to be related to your spoken English and oral comprehension skills rather than to reading/writing.
 
I disagree. They don't penalize naturalization applicants for grammatical errors in their speech at the interview, as long as the errors are not so large that it becomes difficult for the interviewer to understand what they said.

While I agree with your general point, the practical experience shows that the English test is fairly subjective and for people with shaky conversational English the result depends quite a bit on their luck with a particular IO.

I know a few people in our local community who failed the English test (most of them are somewhat elderly Russians, but also a few younger Chinese). At least in some of those cases I'd say that they do have (at least in my opinion) enough English skills for their basic needs but were unlucky with the IOs.


It is, of course, hard to say based on the OPs posts what his/hers spoken English is like, but the number of significant errors in a short post strikes me as high enough to be a potential cause for concern:

I have done a lot of research. since very scared of interview........
for those whom have done the interview;
could you please let me know if the vocabulary ( in terms of reading and writing) is all from these website, which is provide my USCIS?

"since very scared of interview"
"those whom have done the interview"
"all from these website"
"which is provide my USCIS"
 
LookLook, if you have been able to read and understand what the people have said in here you are way overqualified for what is the test about. Be aware that if you are already working you are a step ahead of somebody that is not in contact with the English language everyday.

Actually, what I am writing right now or anybody have written before me is FAR more complicated, and this is basic English okay.

BUT for your peace of mind, read the following sentence at loud:

"When is President's Day?" Could you do it? that's what you going to get.

Now write:

"President's Day is in February."

That is the test, that's it. No biggy dude. Or you can get the ten questions before or after that. That's it.

Now, my officer told me that some officers are picky on the "exact" words of the answers or grammar issues but she wasn't. I put the period at the end and the question mark, but the test does not imply more than 5 words-sentence so you won't need to know semicolons and such grammatical requirements. Chill out.
 
... you are way overqualified for what is the test about...

Since we are talking english, and this is in jest ... over-qualified means extremes where the person may not be granted a job because of having too much qualification. If this happened in naturalization, the officer would say ... you deserve to be the president or senator, are you sure you are happy just being a citizen? What's the guarantee you will not leave us tomorrow for better fortunes.

Your point though is very valid.
 
As suggested by others, You need to worry too much about the English Test. You will be asked to read a very simple sentence in English, reply meaningfully to the Officer's question and write down the simple sentence given to you. If you want to worry about the Citizenship Test, it is the civics portion of it that needs all your attention. You seem to be good in English as all your posts are almost in proper, good English. Grammar and accent will be of no issue in the test.
 
Whatev sanjose...I was making a point that he is worrying too much for something that he already (by writing in here) has demostrated is capable. If you want to look beyond my words is your choice. By the way, naturalization has nothing to do with even being a Senator or a President. I wasn't asking if you get my point or not but thanks to mention it.

Since we are talking english, and this is in jest ... over-qualified means extremes where the person may not be granted a job because of having too much qualification. If this happened in naturalization, the officer would say ... you deserve to be the president or senator, are you sure you are happy just being a citizen? What's the guarantee you will not leave us tomorrow for better fortunes.

Your point though is very valid.
 
Hi guys,

sorry that my misusing english causes lots of argument to you all.
my writing style, speaking, and english ability are not what we can do now.
i only want to do what i have to do:
1: memorize civic questions
2: make sure if the vocabularies from those 2 links are the "must" words that i have to know?

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office ...15_reading.pdf
http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Office ...15_writing.pdf

if you have done the interview for your n400, please comment on it.

Thank you for replying and best to you all.
LookLook
 
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