1. Alphabetizing & Filing: Ang Foundation ng Office Work! 📂

Basic pero nakakalito! Ito ang bread and butter ng clerical work. Master mo 'to at siguradong may extra points ka!

📋 The Golden Rules of Alphabetizing:

Rule 1: Letter-by-Letter Comparison

Compare each letter from left to right until you find a difference.

Example: Apple comes before Apricot (p vs r)

Rule 2: Nothing Comes Before Something

Shorter words come first if they share the same beginning.

Example: Cat before Catch before Catcher

Rule 3: Ignore Articles at the Start

Skip "The", "A", "An" when filing titles.

Example: "The Manila Times" → File under M (Manila)

Rule 4: Numbers Come Before Letters

Numeric entries are filed before alphabetic ones.

Example: 3M Company before ABC Corp

Rule 5: Personal Names - Surname First

File by: Surname, Given Name, Middle Initial.

Example: Juan A. Dela Cruz → Dela Cruz, Juan A.

🎯 Practice Exercise: Arrange in Alphabetical Order

Santos, Maria | San Juan, Pedro | Sanchez, Ana | San Diego, Jose

Click for Answer

1. San Diego, Jose
2. San Juan, Pedro
3. Sanchez, Ana
4. Santos, Maria
(Note: "San" is treated as part of surname, spaces count!)

2. Spelling Mastery: Bawal ang Typo! ✍️

Isang maling letter, pwedeng iba na ang meaning. Sa government documents, walang room for error!

❌ Commonly Misspelled Words

❌ ~~Accomodate~~ → ✅ Accommodate
❌ ~~Occurence~~ → ✅ Occurrence
❌ ~~Recieve~~ → ✅ Receive
❌ ~~Seperate~~ → ✅ Separate
❌ ~~Definately~~ → ✅ Definitely
❌ ~~Occassion~~ → ✅ Occasion
❌ ~~Neccessary~~ → ✅ Necessary
❌ ~~Goverment~~ → ✅ Government

✅ Memory Tricks (Mnemonics)

🧠 Necessary: 1 Collar, 2 Sleeves (1 c, 2 s's)
🧠 Separate: There's "A RAT" in separate
🧠 Receive: "I before E except after C"
🧠 Accommodate: 2 c's, 2 m's (double double)
🧠 Occurrence: 2 c's, 2 r's
🧠 Government: GOVERN + MENT

🔤 Confusing Word Pairs (Homonyms & Near-Homonyms)

Their/There/They're
Their = Possessive (their book)
There = Place (over there)
They're = They are

Its/It's
Its = Possessive (its color)
It's = It is (It's raining)

Affect/Effect
Affect = Verb (to influence)
Effect = Noun (the result)

Principal/Principle
Principal = Main/School head
Principle = Rule/Belief

Stationary/Stationery
Stationary = Not moving
Stationery = Paper/Supplies

Compliment/Complement
Compliment = Praise
Complement = Complete

3. Number & Code Comparison: Accuracy is Key! 🔢

Ito ang classic sa clerical exam - maghahanap ka ng errors or matches sa mga numbers at codes!

🎯 Techniques for Accuracy:

Chunk Method

Break long numbers into groups of 3-4 digits.

Example: 1234567890 → 123-456-7890

Digit-by-Digit Scan

Point to each digit simultaneously in both numbers.

Look for Transpositions

Common error: swapped adjacent digits (56 vs 65).

Check Length First

Different digit count = automatic mismatch!

🎯 Practice: Find the Matching Pair

A. 7483921056 | 7483912056

B. 9182736450 | 9182736450

C. 5647382910 | 5647382901

D. 3829104756 | 3829104756

Click for Answer

✅ B and D are matching pairs!
A has transposition (921 vs 912)
C has different ending (10 vs 01)

4. Data Entry & Verification: Speed + Accuracy! ⌨️

Sa office work, mabilis ka dapat mag-encode pero walang mali. Paano? Practice at technique!

⚡ Speed Tips

Master the number pad (10-key)
Don't look at keyboard while typing
Develop muscle memory for common codes
Use keyboard shortcuts

🎯 Accuracy Tips

Double-check before moving on
Read numbers aloud (mentally)
Take short breaks to avoid fatigue
Cross-reference with source document

📊 Common Data Entry Tasks in Civil Service:

Employee ID numbers and records
Budget codes and account numbers
Document tracking numbers
Dates in various formats (MM/DD/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD)
Names with proper capitalization

5. Office Vocabulary & Terminology 📚

May specific terms sa government work na dapat alam mo. Wag ma-confuse!

📖 Essential Office Terms:

Memorandum - Internal office communication

Endorsement - Forwarding document to another office

Indorsement - Writing on back of document (legal)

Routing Slip - Document tracking form

CC (Carbon Copy) - Copies sent to others

BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) - Hidden recipients

FIFO - First In, First Out (processing order)

Enclosure - Attached documents

🏛️ Government Office Abbreviations:

CSC - Civil Service Commission

GSIS - Gov't Service Insurance

DBM - Dept. of Budget

COA - Commission on Audit

DILG - Interior & Local Gov't

DOLE - Dept. of Labor

6. Punctuation & Capitalization Rules ✏️

Maliit na bagay pero big deal sa official documents!

✅ Capitalization Rules:

First word of sentence
Proper nouns (names, places)
Official titles before names (President Marcos)
Days, months, holidays
Government agency names
First word in salutation (Dear Sir)

📌 Punctuation Quick Guide:

Period (.): End of sentence, abbreviations

Comma (,): Series, introductory phrases, compound sentences

Semicolon (;): Links related independent clauses

Colon (:): Introduces lists, explanations

Apostrophe ('): Contractions, possessives

⚠️ Common Punctuation Errors:

❌ Comma Splice: Two sentences joined only by comma
❌ Missing Oxford Comma: "I love cooking, my family and my pets" vs "cooking, my family, and my pets"
❌ Apostrophe Abuse: It's = It is, NOT possessive!
❌ Overusing Exclamation: Keep professional tone!