Word arrangement: dictionary order and logical order

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Two kinds of questions

• Dictionary order: arrange words as they would appear in an English dictionary.
• Meaningful (logical) order: arrange words in a natural sequence, such as stages of growth, size or the steps of a process.

Dictionary order rules

1. Compare the first letters. The word whose first letter comes earlier in the alphabet comes first.
2. If the first letters are the same, compare the second letters, then the third, and so on.
3. Stop at the first place where the letters differ. Only that letter decides the order.
4. If one word is exactly the start of another (CAR and CARD), the shorter word comes first.
5. Capital and small letters are treated the same.

Method for dictionary order

1. Group the words by first letter and order the groups.
2. Inside each group, look at the second letter and split again.
3. Keep going until every word has its own place.
4. Write the order as the numbers of the words and match with the options.

Meaningful order

Here there is no letter rule. Ask: what comes first in real life? Common types are:

Read all the words before you start. Find the clear first and last words, then fit the middle ones between them.

Common mistakes

• Judging by word length instead of letters. Length only matters when one word is the start of another.
• Comparing the wrong letter position when words share a long common start, such as PLAN, PLANE and PLANET.
• In meaningful order, mixing two different sequences, such as size and time.

Solved examples

1. Arrange in dictionary order: 1. Science 2. Scenery 3. Scheme 4. Scene 5. Scent
   All start with “Sc”. Third letters: e (Scenery, Scene, Scent), h (Scheme), i (Science). Among the “Scen” words, Scene is the start of Scenery, so Scene comes first, then Scenery; Scent has t in the fifth place, which comes after e. Order: Scene, Scenery, Scent, Scheme, Science, that is 4, 2, 5, 3, 1.
2. Which word comes third in dictionary order: Plant, Planet, Plane, Plank, Plan?
   Plan is the start of all the others, so it comes first. Next come the “Plane” words: Plane, then Planet. Then Plank (k), then Plant (t). Order: Plan, Plane, Planet, Plank, Plant. Answer: Planet.
3. Arrange in a meaningful order: 1. Adult 2. Child 3. Infant 4. Teenager 5. Old
   Life stages in order: Infant, Child, Teenager, Adult, Old, that is 3, 2, 4, 1, 5.