Arrange the following English words in the exact order in which they would appear in a standard dictionary: i. Application ii. Approve iii. Appeal iv. Astonishing.

Introduction / Context:
This verbal reasoning problem checks understanding of dictionary or alphabetical order for English words. The learner must compare spellings letter by letter and decide the correct sequence. Such questions reinforce careful attention to character positions rather than relying on vague familiarity with words.

Given Data / Assumptions:

Words to arrange: Application, Approve, Appeal, Astonishing. They are labelled as: i. Application, ii. Approve, iii. Appeal, iv. Astonishing. We follow standard English dictionary order, comparing letters from left to right. Capitalisation does not affect alphabetical order.

Concept / Approach:
Dictionary order is based on lexicographic comparison. We compare the first letters of each word. If they are the same, we move to the next letter, and so on, until we find a difference. The word whose differing letter has a smaller alphabetical position comes earlier. When one word is a prefix of another, the shorter word appears first. By applying these rules systematically, we can determine the exact order without guesswork.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the words clearly: Appeal, Application, Approve, Astonishing. Step 2: Compare first letters: All start with capital A, so move to the second letter. Step 3: Second letters: Appeal (p), Application (p), Approve (p), Astonishing (s). Since p comes before s, Astonishing must come after all words beginning with Ap. Step 4: Among Appeal, Application, and Approve, compare letter by letter. Up to A, p, p are the same, so move further. Step 5: Appeal spells A p p e a l, Application spells A p p l i c a t i o n, Approve spells A p p r o v e. At the fourth letter we have e (Appeal), l (Application), and r (Approve). Alphabetically, e comes before l, and l comes before r, so the order among these three is Appeal, Application, Approve. Step 6: Astonishing begins with A s, which comes after Ap, so it is placed last. Step 7: Mapping to labels: Appeal is iii, Application is i, Approve is ii, Astonishing is iv. Hence the correct sequence is iii, i, ii, iv.

Verification / Alternative check:
An alternative verification is to quickly sort the words mentally by looking at their first two or three letters: Appe..., Appl..., Appr..., Ast.... Since e comes before l and r, and s comes after p, the order Appe..., Appl..., Appr..., Ast... is clearly correct. Converting these back to the labelled forms confirms that iii, i, ii, iv is the accurate arrangement.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The sequence ii, iii, iv, i places Approve before Appeal and Astonishing before Application, both of which violate letter by letter comparison. The sequence iii, ii, i, iv reverses the order between Application and Approve, ignoring that l comes before r. The sequence i, ii, iii, iv starts with Application and Approve before Appeal, which is incorrect because e comes earlier than l and r. The fully reversed pattern iv, iii, ii, i clearly does not follow alphabetical rules.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to judge only by the first two or three letters and not continue comparison until the first actual difference. Another pitfall is to be influenced by the meanings or commonness of words instead of strict spelling order. Some learners also reorder words visually without mapping back to the labels correctly. Writing out the words in full and marking differing letters can help prevent such errors.

Final Answer:
The correct dictionary order is iii, i, ii, iv.