Arrange the following words in the correct order in which they would appear in a dictionary: 1. Drum 2. Drubbing 3. Drunken 4. Drudgery 5. Duster.

Introduction / Context:
In this question, five words starting with D R must be arranged according to dictionary order. Because they share the initial letters D R, the learner must compare further letters carefully. The goal is to train accurate application of alphabetical rules without being distracted by meanings or word lengths.

Given Data / Assumptions:

Words: 1. Drum, 2. Drubbing, 3. Drunken, 4. Drudgery, 5. Duster. All words begin with the letters D R. We assume standard English dictionary ordering based on letter by letter comparison. Number labels will express the final sequence.

Concept / Approach:
Lexicographic ordering compares words letter by letter. If the first two letters are identical, we move to the third, then to the fourth, and so on until we find a difference. The word whose differing letter comes earlier in the alphabet appears earlier in the dictionary. If one word is a prefix of another, the shorter word is placed earlier. In this group, the first three letters D R U are common in four words, while D R U versus D U for Duster creates an important split early on.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Write the words with emphasis on their first few letters: Drubbing, Drudgery, Drum, Drunken, Duster. Step 2: Compare the first two letters. For Drubbing, Drudgery, Drum, and Drunken we have D R, while Duster has D U. Step 3: Since R comes before U, all D R words must appear before Duster in dictionary order. Thus Duster (5) will be last. Step 4: Now focus on the D R words. After D R, the next letter is U for all four: D R U B B I N G, D R U D G E R Y, D R U M, D R U N K E N. Step 5: Compare the fourth letters: Drubbing has B, Drudgery has D, Drum has M, Drunken has N. Alphabetically, B comes before D, D before M, and M before N. Step 6: Therefore, the order among these four is Drubbing (2), Drudgery (4), Drum (1), Drunken (3). Step 7: Placing Duster (5) last, the complete sequence is 2, 4, 1, 3, 5.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick verification method is to write the D R U words and underline only the fourth letter: B, D, M, N. Arranging these letters alphabetically gives B, D, M, N, directly yielding Drubbing, Drudgery, Drum, Drunken. Then, noticing that Duster has D U rather than D R, it clearly belongs after all D R words. This check confirms that 2, 4, 1, 3, 5 is the correct dictionary sequence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The sequence 3, 1, 5, 4, 2 starts with Drunken before Drum and Drubbing, ignoring that B and D come before M and N. The sequence 1, 3, 4, 5, 2 places Duster before Drubbing, although U comes after R in the alphabet. The sequence 2, 1, 4, 3, 5 incorrectly places Drum before Drudgery even though D comes before M at the first point of difference. The sequence 4, 2, 1, 3, 5 misorders Drubbing and Drudgery, placing D after B, which does not match alphabetical ordering.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners may forget to treat Duster separately because it starts with D U rather than D R U, causing them to misplace it in the middle of the list. Another frequent mistake is to compare only the first three letters and then guess the internal order of similar words like Drubbing and Drudgery. Careful attention to exactly where letters differ, supported by writing and underlining, is the best defence against such errors.

Final Answer:
The correct dictionary order is 2, 4, 1, 3, 5.