Civil Service Clerical Ability Practice exam

To determine which word comes third when alphabetizing, we need to examine each word's initial letters, and if necessary, subsequent letters. The alphabetization follows the order of the letters based on the standard English alphabetical sequence.

All the words begin with the letter "e," so the next letter must be considered. The words can be broken down as follows:

- "earn" begins with "earn"

- "early" begins with "earl"

- "earnest" begins with "earnes"

- "excitement" begins with "exc"

First, we compare "earn" and "early." Since "a" comes before "r," "earn" is first. Next, comparing "early" to "earnest," we find "e" is common for both, but "a" in "early" precedes the "n" in "earnest," so "early" is second.

Finally, "excitement" follows these since "ex" comes after "ear." Thus, the correct alphabetical order is:

1. earn

2. early

3. earnest

4. excitement

This results in "earnest" being the third item in the alphabetical order, confirming that this is indeed the