7.3 Filing and Alphabetizing Rules

Why Filing Rules Are Tested

Records are useless if they cannot be found. Clerical exams test filing and alphabetizing because misfiled documents waste staff time and can hide a citizen's record. A filing item may give you a list of names and ask for the correct order, or show a sequence and ask where one more name belongs. The task rewards consistent rule application, not intuition.

Before sorting, break each name into indexing units. For a personal name, the order is surname first, then given name, then middle name or initial. So "Robert J. Allen" is indexed as Allen, Robert, J. Compare names unit by unit: first surnames, and only when surnames tie do you compare given names.

The 'Nothing Before Something' Rule

When one unit is identical to the start of a longer unit, the shorter unit files first. Nothing comes before something. An initial therefore files before a complete name that begins with the same letter, and a one-word surname files before a longer surname that begins the same way.

Prefixes and Special Surnames

Surname prefixes are filed exactly as spelled, treating the prefix and the rest of the name as one continuous string. Ignore apostrophes, periods, and internal spaces when comparing. This means Mac and Mc are not grouped together artificially; they fall wherever the actual letters place them.

A frequent question is whether "St." files as spelled (s-t) or as "Saint" (s-a-i). Standard indexing files it exactly as written, s-t, unless the exam's stated rule says to treat abbreviations as if spelled out. Always read the instructions; the exam tells you which convention governs.

Numbers and Business Names

Numbers that appear in names are commonly filed as if the number were spelled out. "4th Street Clinic" files as if it read "Fourth Street Clinic." Confirm this against the stated rule, because some systems file all numerals ahead of letters instead.

Business and organization names are indexed in the order they are written, word by word, with each word as a unit. "The" at the start is usually moved to the end or ignored, so "The Capitol Press" indexes as Capitol Press, The. Compare business names unit by unit just like personal names.

Letter-by-Letter Versus Word-by-Word

Two ordering systems exist, and the exam will rely on one. In letter-by-letter ordering, spaces are ignored and the whole string is compared as a continuous run of letters. In word-by-word ordering, a space counts as coming before any letter, so a shorter first word files ahead of a longer one.

In word-by-word ordering the space after "New" or "Air" stops the first word early, placing the two-word version first. In letter-by-letter ordering the space disappears, so "Newton" and "New town" compare as newton versus newtown and Newton wins at the fifth letter. Decide the system before you sort.

Worked Sequence

Put these in correct filing order: Allen, Robert; Allen, R.; Allard, Susan; Allen, Roberta.

First compare surnames. Allard precedes Allen because at the fourth letter a precedes e. So Allard, Susan files first. Among the three Allen names, compare given names: R. precedes Robert because the initial is shorter (nothing before something), and Robert precedes Roberta because Robert ends where Roberta adds an a. The order is: Allard, Susan; Allen, R.; Allen, Robert; Allen, Roberta.

Test-Day Method

1. Confirm the ordering system, letter-by-letter or word-by-word, from the instructions.
2. Index each name into units: surname, given name, middle.
3. Compare unit by unit, applying nothing-before-something on ties.
4. Treat prefixes and special characters exactly as the stated rule directs.
5. For insertion questions, find the two names the new entry falls between rather than re-sorting the whole list.

Titles, Seniority Terms, and Identical Names

When two personal names are otherwise identical, a seniority or title term breaks the tie. Junior usually files before Senior, and numeric designations file in number order, so John Adams Jr. files before John Adams Sr., and King George IV files before King George VI when the surnames and given names match. Professional titles such as Dr. or Capt. are normally indexed last as a separate unit, not first, so they do not change the surname position. Read the exam's stated rule, because a few systems ignore titles entirely.

Identical names with no tie-breaker may be filed by a further unit the exam supplies, such as a city or account number. Do not invent a tie-breaker the question does not give; if the names are truly identical and no extra unit is provided, they occupy the same position.