Civil Service Clerical Ability Practice exam

In the context of alphabetizing names, one follows the general rule of sorting by the first letter of the last name, then subsequent letters if necessary, and ultimately by the first name if the last names are the same.

In this scenario, when you look at the last names:

- The first option, "McDonough," starts with "M."

- The second option, "McDonohugh," also starts with "M."

- The third option, "Da Costa," starts with "C."

- The fourth option, "Costa," starts with "C" as well but follows the other "Da" in terms of sorting.

To determine the correct order, you start comparing last names that begin with “C,” which are “Costa” and “Da Costa.” The prefix "Da" in "Da Costa" sorts before "Costa" because "D" comes before "C."

When sorted alphabetically based on last names, the first two would be “Costa, Hector David” and “Da Costa, Hector.” Thus, after those two, “McDonough” entries come into consideration, placing them afterward since names starting with "M" come after those beginning with "C."

Therefore, in this ordering, the name