Civics Test

[jsnearline 2]

A number of the questions on the naturalization exam say something like:

"Name one right or freedom..."

"Name two wars fought in..."

In our practice sessions, my wife keeps giving more than the required number of answers. For example, if the question asks for two and she answers with three or more, will she get the question right or will they consider it wrong for not giving the number of answers required?

I ask because the questions have emphasis on the number, going so far as to underline it.

Edited June 25, 2009 by jsnearline

[MsAnn 0]

A number of the questions on the naturalization exam say something like:

"Name one right or freedom..."

"Name two wars fought in..."

In our practice sessions, my wife keeps giving more than the required number of answers. For example, if the question asks for two and she answers with three or more, will she get the question right or will they consider it wrong for not giving the number of answers required?

I ask because the questions have emphasis on the number, going so far as to underline it.

She needs to only give how many answers the question says. Otherwise, the officer may think she doesn't understand the question and wonder whether she knows her English!! So definitely, only give the number of answers stated in the question to be safe.

[jsnearline 2]

That was my thought too, that in trying to show she knows all the possible answers, she may get the IO thinking her English isn't proficient enough. She could pass the civics, but fail the English.

Edited June 25, 2009 by jsnearline

[RDDIXON 0]

Also, warn her about multiple choice when she can only select 1 answer and 2 answers are actually right. The correct answer, when there are 2 correct answers, is the one which exactly pertains to the question. That sounds logical, but during the test, it isn't so logical. There will be key words in the question and key words in the answer which match like if the question is about "seeing" something and there are 2 answers, 1 about seeing and 1 about hearing, but both are right, pick the one about "seeing." A lot of people get hung up when there are 2 right answers and they wonder which to pick, you have to look very carefully at the key words in the question and answer and which ever creates a match, that is the correct answer. If she looks for the key words that match, she won't say to herself during the test, "but both are correct," instead she'll begin matching the meaning of the key words in the question and answer to find a match.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering the same thing too..."Is it ok to give more than one answer, even though all of the answers are right?"....

"Why should we limit ourselves to only one answer if we know more?", is my line of thinking....It goes to show that we "know more than the basic limited answer" and is "better safe than sorry that we cover all answers".....

What do you think, should I just "stick by the boring rules of limits", and give them the one (or another specified number) of answers? Or should I just "cover all of my basis" here and just tell say all the answers that I know of regardless of question?

As you can see, I never did well on multiple-choice type tests anyways, as I can't decide on only one answer to pick from (lol..other than "all of the above")...Now if you tell me to write an essay....no problem....Why can't we have an essay-like test of immigration instead of multiple choice format?

I am interested in American history, would like to learn more about it (lol..as if I didn't learn enough in elementary school, high school, and college/university, and through pop culture already...), and can go on and on talking about it...Surely the USCIS would be impressed with such a knowledgable feat?...Just kidding....They aren't impressed with anything...other than money (they really want the $670 citizenship application fee), of course....

Ant (One Answer or More Answers?....)

A number of the questions on the naturalization exam say something like:

"Name one right or freedom..."

"Name two wars fought in..."

In our practice sessions, my wife keeps giving more than the required number of answers. For example, if the question asks for two and she answers with three or more, will she get the question right or will they consider it wrong for not giving the number of answers required?

I ask because the questions have emphasis on the number, going so far as to underline it.

Edited June 25, 2009 by AntandD

[jsnearline 2]

I remember taking a test in grade school that said READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING. Well, one of the instructions was to answer question 3 and turn the test in. I didn't read that far down, so I answered all the questions. Even though I got all the questions right, I ended up failing the test because I didn't follow the directions properly.

I just want to make sure she doesn't have a "gotcha moment" at the interview.

[antda 13]

Hi Jsnearline and Everyone,

Understandable.....about "reading all the instructions before starting". Lol..the same thing happend to my husband too in high school (but that's another story). Sorry though, that you failed that test because of that "technical detail". Lol...if I were the teacher, I would have passed you, as you did answer question 3..and heck, even given you bonus marks for answering more than you should have.....Oh well, I'm not the teacher, and regardless, glad that you learned something from that experience....

On that note, I agree that your wife shouldn't have to go through the same "gotcha moment" during her Citizenship test.

So before she (or anyone else) does the test, they should find out specifically if "only one answer, only two answers, or more answers, can be given to answer the question".

Does the USCIS have a clear and definite answer (lol..an answer for an answer...now that's funny...) as to what answer(s) to give for citizenship tests? If so, where is such an answer to an answer?......

I'm confused...how should I or anyone answer..... ?

Anyone else have the answer?

Ant (answered-out)

I remember taking a test in grade school that said READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING. Well, one of the instructions was to answer question 3 and turn the test in. I didn't read that far down, so I answered all the questions. Even though I got all the questions right, I ended up failing the test because I didn't follow the directions properly.

I just want to make sure she doesn't have a "gotcha moment" at the interview.

[poisontee 0]

Hi Jsnearline and Everyone,

Understandable.....about "reading all the instructions before starting". Lol..the same thing happend to my husband too in high school (but that's another story). Sorry though, that you failed that test because of that "technical detail". Lol...if I were the teacher, I would have passed you, as you did answer question 3..and heck, even given you bonus marks for answering more than you should have.....Oh well, I'm not the teacher, and regardless, glad that you learned something from that experience....

On that note, I agree that your wife shouldn't have to go through the same "gotcha moment" during her Citizenship test.

So before she (or anyone else) does the test, they should find out specifically if "only one answer, only two answers, or more answers, can be given to answer the question".

Does the USCIS have a clear and definite answer (lol..an answer for an answer...now that's funny...) as to what answer(s) to give for citizenship tests? If so, where is such an answer to an answer?......

I'm confused...how should I or anyone answer..... ?

Anyone else have the answer?

Ant (answered-out)

I remember taking a test in grade school that said READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE STARTING. Well, one of the instructions was to answer question 3 and turn the test in. I didn't read that far down, so I answered all the questions. Even though I got all the questions right, I ended up failing the test because I didn't follow the directions properly.

I just want to make sure she doesn't have a "gotcha moment" at the interview.

Personally, i think you should only give one answer if asked for one instead of giving all the answers to show you know them all. With the civic having a total of 10 questions, there is no way will will pick more than 4 questions with multiple answers. Again you can miss up 4 questions and still pass the test. Remember these officers might not know all that about the civic test. Just keep it simple. They say on the study booklet this" Although USCIS is aware that there may be additional correct answers to the 100 civics questions, applicants are encouraged to respond to the civic questions using the answers provided...." My interpretation, the officers might not know as much as the applicants. my opinion on answering the questions at the interview, keep it simple...

Good luck!!

poisontee

[wworld808 1]

In my case during my interviewed i only gave one answered in every question, I only answered the first one based in the reviewer then the IO wrote down my answered on the corrected column. Here are the questions that IO asked me.

1. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them? citizen 18 and older can vote

2. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States? communism

3. What is one reason colonists came to America? freedom

4. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? speech

5. Who is in charge of the executive branch? The president

6. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President? The vice president

Just gve one answer and if the IO wasn't satisfied then give all.

[NickD 203]

Never read the job requirements to become an IO, but apparently being a certified teacher is not one of them, and also with my wife's IO, proficiency in the English language is also not a requirement. Wife had great difficulty in understanding her, but you have to be tactful and play it by ear, and have to keep in mind that IO has the power of life or death over you. Also depends on how rushed your IO is, sure if you give more than one answer, IO will tell you he/she is satisfied and will go on to the next question. But really good to know the questions so you have an idea what is being asked.

When we say good luck at your interview, that means not running into a traffic jam and getting a reasonable IO, those factors you have no control over and that requires good luck.

[imzadi 0]

When we say good luck at your interview, that means not running into a traffic jam and getting a reasonable IO, those factors you have no control over and that requires good luck.

I couldn't agree more - the traffic is crazy in Atlanta and I really have to keep my fingers crossed that there will be no jam on my interview day.

And as for the reasonable IO: we all hope for getting one.

About the test questions - I also think one should give only the number of answers requested; no more, no less.

[lucyrich 20]

Also, warn her about multiple choice when she can only select 1 answer and 2 answers are actually right. The correct answer, when there are 2 correct answers, is the one which exactly pertains to the question. That sounds logical, but during the test, it isn't so logical. There will be key words in the question and key words in the answer which match like if the question is about "seeing" something and there are 2 answers, 1 about seeing and 1 about hearing, but both are right, pick the one about "seeing." A lot of people get hung up when there are 2 right answers and they wonder which to pick, you have to look very carefully at the key words in the question and answer and which ever creates a match, that is the correct answer. If she looks for the key words that match, she won't say to herself during the test, "but both are correct," instead she'll begin matching the meaning of the key words in the question and answer to find a match.

That might be relevant advice if the civics test were a multiple choice test. But it's not. It's given orally. They ask the question, and you state the answer. You don't get to choose one.

Some of the study guides are presented in multiple choice format, but that's not the way the actual exam is given.

It's probably good for anyone studying the exam to practice in the way the actual exam will be given; have someone read the questions, and let the student say the correct answer.

[queendlee 1]

This maybe a dumb and nit-picky question, but for those questions that have multiple answers but don't specify in the question to give a certain number of responses, do you chose one or say them all: example

why did the colonist fight the British? 1 - because of hight taxes (taxation w/out rep) 2- because the British army stayed in their houses, 3 - because they didn't have self-government.

also, has anyone had problems with paraphrasing. I am not good at memorizing word for word and regurgitating, I am better at understanding and then answering accordingly. So Do I need to memorize the words or just repeat the gist of the answer?

[jsnearline 2]

This maybe a dumb and nit-picky question, but for those questions that have multiple answers but don't specify in the question to give a certain number of responses, do you chose one or say them all: example

why did the colonist fight the British? 1 - because of hight taxes (taxation w/out rep) 2- because the British army stayed in their houses, 3 - because they didn't have self-government.

also, has anyone had problems with paraphrasing. I am not good at memorizing word for word and regurgitating, I am better at understanding and then answering accordingly. So Do I need to memorize the words or just repeat the gist of the answer?

In answer to your first question, I've assumed that one of the listed answers is acceptable to get the question right. However, I can't find anything in the test instructions to confirm or refute this.

As for paraphrasing, here's what the USCIS site says..

Although USCIS is aware that there may be additional correct answers to the 100 civics questions, applicants are encouraged to respond to the civics questions using the answers provided below.

Given that, I've been encouraging my wife to do her best to give the answers exactly as they are written.

Edited June 25, 2009 by jsnearline

[queendlee 1]

As for paraphrasing, here's what the USCIS site says..

Although USCIS is aware that there may be additional correct answers to the 100 civics questions, applicants are encouraged to respond to the civics questions using the answers provided below.

Given that, I've been encouraging my wife to do her best to give the answers exactly as they are written.

I read that, but I mean should it matter if I say them word for word or if they are saying it almost that way. using the same example as before:

why did the colonist fight the British? If I say: 1 - because of the high taxes and they had no representation for their taxation or 2- The British army stayed in their homes or 3 - They wanted self-government.

I know its a silly question really, but i want to give uscis no reason to say my answers are wrong, i dont like memorize word for word (I have other exams the same week, my brain can only do so much) and I am better at remembering things if I have my own system rather than just memorizing then I may forget, however I will if I need to.

Thanks for you input... I do enjoy reading your posts!

Edited June 25, 2009 by queendlee