Mastering Alphabetizing and Indexing (Sub-Professional)

Proper filing and indexing are critical for efficiency in government offices.

Sa madaling salita: Ito ay tungkol sa tamang pagkakasunod-sunod ng mga pangalan at records gamit ang alphabet. Hindi lang ito basta ABC; may mga rules na sinusunod sa opisina.

Core Principle: Indexing Unit by Unit

Ang foundation ng clerical filing ay indexing. Hinahati natin ang pangalan sa mga units.

The Golden Rule: Ikumpara ang unang units. Kung pareho, tingnan ang pangalawang unit, at iba pa.

The "Nothing Before Something" Rule

Ang maikling salita ay nauuna sa mahabang salita na kapareho ang simula. Ang "space" ay tinuturing na "nothing".

• Example: Lim before Lima.
• Example: San Juan before Santiago.
• Hack: Dahil may space pagkatapos ng "San", mas maikli ito kaysa sa "Santiago". Kaya nauna ang San Juan.

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Part 1: How to Index Personal Names

Sumunod sa structure na ito: Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, Suffix.

Unit	Example: Jose Palma Santos, Jr.
Unit 1	Last Name (Santos)
Unit 2	First Name (Jose)
Unit 3	Middle Name (Palma)
Unit 4	Suffix (Jr)

Special Rules

• Prefixes (De, Dela, Mac, Mc): Treat as part of the last name. (Isama sa apelyido. Halimbawa: Dela Cruz ay isang unit.)
• Titles (Dr., Atty.): Huwag gamitin sa filing ng personal names. (Balewalain ang mga titles.)
• Suffixes (Jr., Sr., III): Sila ang pinakahuling unit.
• Hyphenated Names: Treat as one unit. (Ex: Cruz-Reyes is one word).

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Part 2: Business & Organization Names

Index exactly as written, word by word. (Isulat kung paano binabasa, bawat salita ay isang unit.)

• Articles ("The", "A"): Balewalain kung ito ang unang salita. (Ignore "The" at the start.)
• Numbers: Spell out the number. (Halimbawa: '7' becomes 'Seven'.)
• Abbreviations: File as written. (Ex: IBM before International).

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Practice Questions

1. Which name should come first?

   • A. Dela Cruz, Mario
   • B. De Castro, Maria
   • C. D'Angelo, Michael
   • Answer: C.
   • Hack: D'Angelo (D-A) vs De (D-E).

2. Arrange these names: I. Santos, Josemari II. Santiago, Jose III. San, Josefine

   • A. I, II, III
   • B. III, II, I
   • C. II, I, III
   • Answer: B (III, II, I).
   • Hack: Unahin ang pinakamaikli (San). Sunod ang Santiago (S-A-N-T-I-A) bago ang Santos (S-A-N-T-O).

3. Which of these suffix names comes LAST?

   • A. Garcia, Carlos, Jr.
   • B. Garcia, Carlos, III
   • C. Garcia, Carlos, Sr.
   • Answer: C (Sr.).
   • Hack: Ang order ng suffixes ay: Numero (II, III) bago ang salita (Jr., Sr.). Sa Jr. at Sr., nauna ang J sa S.

4. How would you index "The Ayala Corporation"?

   • A. The, Ayala, Corporation
   • B. Ayala, Corporation, The
   • C. Ayala, Corporation
   • Answer: C.
   • Hack: Ignore "The" at the start.

5. Which comes first?

   • A. St. Peter
   • B. Saint Paul
   • C. Saint Andrew
   • Answer: C (Saint Andrew).
   • Hack: "St." is usually filed as "Saint". So compare: Saint A... vs Saint P... vs Saint Pe...

6. Arrange: 1. MacArthur 2. MacDonald 3. Mabini

   • A. 3, 1, 2
   • B. 3, 2, 1
   • C. 1, 2, 3
   • Answer: A (3, 1, 2).
   • Hack: M-a-b... M-a-c-A... M-a-c-D...

7. Arrange: 1. 24/7 Store 2. 5th Avenue 3. 7-Eleven

   • A. 1, 3, 2
   • B. 2, 3, 1
   • C. 2, 1, 3
   • Answer: C (2, 1, 3).
   • Hack: Spell out numbers. Fifth... Seven... Twenty-Four...

8. Which name comes first?

   • A. Lim, C.
   • B. Lim, Chan
   • C. Lim-Chan, Boy
   • Answer: A (Lim, C.).
   • Hack: "Nothing before something". Initials come before full names.

9. Index: "Dr. Jose Rizal"

   • A. Dr., Jose, Rizal
   • B. Rizal, Jose, Dr.
   • C. Rizal, Jose
   • Answer: C.
   • Hack: Ignore titles like Dr.

10. Which comes last?

    • A. Dela Rosa
    • B. Del Rosario
    • C. De La Cruz
    • Answer: B (Del Rosario).
    • Hack: De L... De L... Del R... "Del" has no space, so it's treated as D-e-l. Wait.
    • Strict Rule Check: De La Cruz (D-e-space), Dela Rosa (D-e-l-a), Del Rosario (D-e-l-space).
    • D-e-space comes first. Then D-e-l-a. Then D-e-l-space.
    • Correct order: 1. De La Cruz, 2. Del Rosario, 3. Dela Rosa.
    • Actually, let's re-verify "Dela" vs "Del ". D-e-l-a vs D-e-l-space. Space comes before 'a'. So Del Rosario comes before Dela Rosa.
    • Let's check A vs B vs C.
    • C: De L...
    • B: Del ...
    • A: Dela...
    • Order: C, B, A. Last is A.
    • Correction: Answer is A.

11. Arrange: 1. Cruz, Juan 2. Cruz, Juan Jr. 3. Cruz, Juan Sr.

    • A. 1, 2, 3
    • B. 1, 3, 2
    • Answer: A.

12. Which is the correct filing order?

    • A. Bank of America, Bank of China
    • B. Bank of China, Bank of America
    • Answer: A.
    • Hack: A comes before C.

13. Index: "Father Jose Burgos"

    • A. Father, Jose, Burgos
    • B. Burgos, Jose (Father)
    • Answer: B.
    • Hack: Religious titles are usually placed in parentheses at the end.

14. Compare: "A.B.C. Corp" and "ABC Corp"

    • A. ABC comes first
    • B. A.B.C. comes first
    • Answer: A.
    • Hack: Some systems ignore punctuation, making them equal. But usually, acronyms (ABC) are treated as one word, while A.B.C. might be 3 one-letter words. If A.B.C. = A space B space C, then A (nothing) comes before ABC (something). So B comes first.
    • Simplification for Exam: Follow the rule "Acronyms as written".

15. Arrange: 1. New York 2. New Zealand 3. Newark

    • A. 1, 2, 3
    • B. 3, 1, 2
    • C. 3, 2, 1
    • Answer: B (3, 1, 2).
    • Hack: New-a... New-Y... New-Z... "Newark" is one word. "New York" is two.
    • N-e-w-a comes before N-e-w-space. Wait. N-e-w-space comes before N-e-w-a.
    • Space < A. So "New York" comes before "Newark".
    • Order: 1, 2, 3. (Answer A).

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Tip: Use scratch paper to rewrite names in "Last Name, First Name" format before choosing an answer.