Civil Service Practice
Start free

Subprofessional · Civil Service Exam

Filing and alphabetizing

Filing items give you names and ask which order they belong in under standard alphabetic filing rules.

Personal names file by surname first, then given name, then middle name or initial. That reordering is the step people skip, and everything after it is then wrong.

Nothing comes before something: a surname standing alone files before the same surname followed by a given name. `Reyes` precedes `Reyes, Ana`.

Prefixes such as `dela`, `de la`, `Mac` and `St.` are filed as written and as one unit with the name that follows, rather than being ignored or moved.

Worked examples

Try these, then read why.

Written for this platform and generated from the same bank the practice sets draw on. Every wrong option is explained, because knowing why a distractor was tempting is most of the learning.

Arrange the following names in correct alphabetical filing order.

A. Castillo, Nestor
B. Bernardo, Olivia
C. Valdez, Ana
D. Bernardo, Lorenzo Torres
  1. AB-A-C-D
  2. BC-A-B-D
  3. CD-B-A-C (correct)
  4. DC-D-A-B

File by surname first, then first name, then middle name. A surname prefix such as De la, Del, or San is part of the surname and files with it. When two names match up to a point, nothing comes before something, so a name without a middle name files ahead of the same name with one. Applying those rules in order gives: Bernardo, Lorenzo Torres -> Bernardo, Olivia -> Castillo, Nestor -> Valdez, Ana.

  • A This orders the names by middle name. The middle name is only consulted when the surname and first name are identical.
  • B This is the correct sequence reversed. Filing runs from A to Z.
  • D This orders the names by first name. Filing is by surname first, then first name, then middle name.

Arrange the following names in correct alphabetical filing order.

A. Pascual, Ana
B. Pascual, Ana Aquino
C. Ramos, Grace Garcia
D. Tolentino, Fidel
  1. AA-B-C-D (correct)
  2. BD-C-B-A
  3. CA-B-D-C
  4. DA-C-B-D

File by surname first, then first name, then middle name. A surname prefix such as De la, Del, or San is part of the surname and files with it. When two names match up to a point, nothing comes before something, so a name without a middle name files ahead of the same name with one. Applying those rules in order gives: Pascual, Ana -> Pascual, Ana Aquino -> Ramos, Grace Garcia -> Tolentino, Fidel.

  • B This is the correct sequence reversed. Filing runs from A to Z.
  • C This orders the names by first name. Filing is by surname first, then first name, then middle name.
  • D Two adjacent entries are the wrong way round. Compare the surnames letter by letter before deciding the order.

Practise this properly.

Three examples show you the format. Finding out whether filing and alphabetizing is actually costing you marks takes a measured set, which is what the free diagnostic is for.

Take the free diagnosticHow it works

Other topics