Dictionary Order & Alphabet
🔒 Log in to trackArranging words and picking slots
🔒 Log in to trackThe standard question gives four to six similar words. You arrange them as in a dictionary, then answer one lookup: which is third, which is last, which comes just after a given word. Group the words by their shared stem first. Sort inside each group letter by letter. Number the final order, then read the asked slot from it.
The standard arrangement question
You get four to six similar words. Arrange them as in a dictionary. Then answer one lookup: which is third, which is last, which comes just after X, which is second from the right.
The method never changes. Only the lookup changes.
Split at the first difference
Line up the words. Ignore the stem. Look at the next letter of each word. Sort by those letters. If two words tie, go one letter deeper.
The STAT family after Station: the u-words show e, r, s, t at the sixth letter. So Statue, Stature, Status, Statute.
Full order: Station, Statue, Stature, Status, Statute.
The prefix rule inside ties
When one word is the bare stem itself, it comes before all its extensions. Among the extensions, the letter right after the stem decides.
Sand comes before Sandy, Sandal, Sandwich. Then a, a, w sort Sandal and Sandy before Sandwich (fourth letters a, a, w; Sandal before Sandy at the fifth letter d before y).
Number the slots, then read
Write the final order as a numbered line, 1 to N. Then answer the question from the numbers:
- "Third word" → slot 3.
- "Second from the right" → slot N + 1 − 2.
- "Just after X" → X's slot plus one.
- "Adjacent pair" → two words whose slots differ by exactly 1.
Example: Judge, Judo, Joust, Journal, Jostle. Second letters: o-group (Jostle, Journal, Joust) before u-group (Judge, Judo). Order: Jostle, Journal, Joust, Judge, Judo. Second from the right = slot 4 = Judge.
A full worked run
Cable, Cabin, Cabaret, Cabbage. Which is third?
- All share CAB. Fourth letters: a (Cabaret), b (Cabbage), i (Cabin), l (Cable).
- Sort by them: Cabaret, Cabbage, Cabin, Cable.
- Slot 3 = Cabin.
Twenty seconds on paper, and the sort also answers any other question about these four words.
Check before marking
The word with the earliest deciding letter should sit near the left end. The one with the latest should sit near the right end. If your order breaks that, re-scan the deciding column; a swapped pair is the usual cause.
Watch: Letters decide the order. Numbers decide the answer. Do both on paper.
A practised hand finishes a five-word arrangement in 30 to 40 seconds. If you cross one minute, you are re-sorting in your head. Restart on paper; it is always faster.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Arrange and pick the slot
Four to six words; the question asks which is the Nth word in dictionary order.
Strip the shared stem; sort by the first differing tail letter.
Write the numbered order 1 to N.
Read the asked slot and check it against the end words.
One sort answers every slot question; the lookup is just counting.
Arrange Chalk, Charm, Chart, Chase, Chatter. Which is the fourth word?
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All share CHA. Fourth letters: l, r, r, s, t.
The r-pair splits at the fifth letter: m (Charm) before t (Chart).
Order: Chalk, Charm, Chart, Chase, Chatter. Fourth = Chase.
Chase
Prefix versus later-letter battle
The list mixes a bare stem with extensions that fight over a later letter.
The bare stem sorts before all extensions.
Extensions sort by the letter right after the stem; ties go one letter deeper.
Re-read the deciding column twice; one misread flips two slots.
The first difference decides, at whatever depth it hides.
Arrange Mystery, Mystic, Myself, Myopia. Which comes first?
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Third letters: s, s, s, o. O is earliest, so Myopia leads.
The s-group: fourth letters e (Myself), t, t.
Myself, then Mystery (fifth e) before Mystic (fifth i). First = Myopia.
Myopia
Extremes and immediate neighbours
The question asks which comes last, just after X, or immediately before Y.
Sort fully and number the slots.
Just after X = X's slot + 1; immediately before Y = Y's slot − 1.
For 'last', only the deepest group's final word matters.
Neighbour questions are slot arithmetic on the finished order.
Which comes just after Colony: Colonel, Colony, Column, Colour, Colossus?
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All share COL. Fourth letter u sends Column last.
The o-group sorts by fifth letters: n, n, s, u.
Order: Colonel, Colony, Colossus, Colour, Column. After Colony = Colossus.
Colossus
Counting from the right end
'Second from the right', 'third from the end' — the slot is counted from the back.
Sort and number 1 to N as usual.
Convert: k-th from the right = slot N + 1 − k.
Convert first, then read. Do not count backwards on the raw list.
The right end is slot N, so every from-the-right question is one subtraction.
Arrange Judge, Judo, Joust, Journal, Jostle. Which is second from the right?
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Second letters o before u: Jostle, Journal, Joust, then Judge, Judo.
Inside the o-group: Jostle (third letter s), then Journal (r before s at the fourth letter), then Joust.
Slot 5 + 1 − 2 = 4 → Judge.
Judge
Choose the correct full order
The words are numbered 1 to 4, and the options give sequences like 2, 4, 1, 3.
Sort the words once on paper.
Write the numbers of your sorted order as a sequence.
Match that sequence against the options.
The full sequence is fixed by one sort, so matching options is instant and error-free.
Words: 1. Ladder, 2. Lantern, 3. Loyal, 4. Lovely. Which order is correct?
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All share L. Second letters: a, a, o, o.
a-group: third letters d (Ladder) before t (Lantern). o-group: third letters v (Lovely) before y (Loyal).
Order: Ladder, Lantern, Lovely, Loyal → 1, 2, 4, 3.
1, 2, 4, 3
Shortcuts that save time
Fix one numbered order for the whole question, then answer any slot lookup from it. Re-sorting for each option is where errors and lost time come from.
Cable, Cabin, Cabaret, Cabbage — which comes third?
Show solutionHide solution
All share CAB. Fourth letters: a (Cabaret), b (Cabbage), i (Cabin), l (Cable).
Order: Cabaret, Cabbage, Cabin, Cable.
Third = Cabin.
Cabin
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Re-sorting mentally for every option.
Sort once on paper, number the slots, read every answer from that line.
Answering 'third from the right' with the third word from the left.
Convert first: k-th from the right = slot N + 1 − k.
Comparing at the wrong column after a shared stem.
Cross out the stem, then compare the very next letter.
Forgetting the bare stem sorts before its extensions.
Prefix word first, then the extensions by their next letter.
Marking without a sanity check.
Earliest deciding letter at the left end, latest at the right end — verify, then mark.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Strip the shared stem; the next letter after it decides.
Bare stem sorts before every extension of itself.
Write the numbered order; answer every lookup from it.
k-th from the right = slot N + 1 − k.
Just after X = X's slot + 1; adjacent = slots differing by 1.
Sanity check: earliest letter at the left, latest at the right.
Practice: 14 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 8 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.