Subprofessional · English

Clerical Ability sample questions

Clerical Ability is in the Subprofessional exam only. CSC lists two topics: filing and spelling. Items reward speed and accuracy, so practice with a timer.

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Practice

8 Clerical Ability questions

Choose your answer, then open the explanation. Original practice items written to match CSC's official topics — not actual exam questions.

1Spelling

Which word is spelled correctly?

  1. A. Accomodate
  2. B. Accommodate
  3. C. Acommodate
  4. D. Acomodate
Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. Accommodate Accommodate has a double c and a double m. It is one of the most commonly misspelled words in office writing.

2Spelling

Which word is MISSPELLED?

  1. A. Receive
  2. B. Separate
  3. C. Occurence
  4. D. Necessary
Show answer and explanation

Answer: C. Occurence The correct spelling is occurrence, with double c and double r. Read the stem carefully — this item asks for the misspelled word.

3Spelling

Which word is spelled correctly?

  1. A. Maintainance
  2. B. Maintenance
  3. C. Maintenence
  4. D. Maintanance
Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. Maintenance Maintenance comes from maintain, but the spelling changes to -tenance. Maintainance is the most common error.

4Spelling

Which word is spelled correctly?

  1. A. Liaison
  2. B. Liason
  3. C. Liasion
  4. D. Leiason
Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. Liaison Liaison has two i's: l-i-a-i-s-o-n. Dropping the second i is the usual mistake.

5Filing

Filed alphabetically by surname, then first name, which comes FIRST?

  1. A. Santos, Maria L.
  2. B. Santiago, Jose R.
  3. C. Santos, Mario A.
  4. D. Santillan, Rosa M.
Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. Santiago, Jose R. Compare letter by letter. Santiago and Santillan share S-a-n-t-i; the next letters are a and l, so Santiago comes first. Both Santos names come after.

6Filing

Which name belongs between "Reyes, Carlo" and "Reyes, Diana"?

  1. A. Reyes, Ben
  2. B. Reyes, Dolores
  3. C. Reyes, Elena
  4. D. Reyes, Carmen
Show answer and explanation

Answer: D. Reyes, Carmen Carlo and Carmen share C-a-r; l comes before m, so Carmen follows Carlo, and C comes before D. Dolores comes after Diana because o follows i.

7Filing

Records are filed by date, oldest first. Which record comes FIRST?

  1. A. 12 March 2026
  2. B. 03 December 2025
  3. C. 21 January 2026
  4. D. 30 November 2025
Show answer and explanation

Answer: D. 30 November 2025 Compare the year first, then the month, then the day. Both 2025 dates come before the 2026 dates, and November comes before December.

8Filing

Folders numbered 1032, 1023, 1203, and 1302 are arranged in ascending order. Which folder is THIRD?

  1. A. 1023
  2. B. 1032
  3. C. 1203
  4. D. 1302
Show answer and explanation

Answer: C. 1203 Ascending order is 1023, 1032, 1203, 1302, so the third folder is 1203. Compare digit by digit from the left.

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FAQ

About Clerical Ability

Is Clerical Ability in the Professional exam?

No. Clerical Ability is in the Subprofessional level only. Professional has Analytical Ability instead.

What topics are in Clerical Ability?

CSC's scope of examination lists two topics for Clerical Ability: filing and spelling.

How do I review spelling for the Civil Service Exam?

Focus on commonly misspelled office words — double letters, -ance versus -ence, and silent letters — and test yourself with timed lists.

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