Python: Sort Words Alphabetically in a Text File (Solved)

Practice Question 27

In this question, we will learn how to write a function that takes a list of words from a file and rearranges them into Alphabetical Order (A to Z) before saving them into a new file.

The Logic (How it works)

Before writing the code, let us first understand the logic behind the solution.

To sort file data, we must first bring it into a Python List, as strings themselves are “immutable” (cannot be changed in place).

• Read and Split: We read words.txt and use .split() to create a list of words.

• The sort() Method: We apply .sort() to our list. By default, Python sorts strings in alphabetical order (based on ASCII values).

• Write to New File: We loop through the now-sorted list and write each word into sorted.txt.

Let’s Code as per the above logic :

def sortWords():
    f1 = open("words.txt", "r")
    data = f1.read()
    wordlist = data.split()
    f1.close()
    
    # Step 2: Sort the list alphabetically
    wordlist.sort()
    
    # Step 3: Write sorted words into another file
    f2 = open("sorted.txt", "w")
    for word in wordlist:
        f2.write(word + "\n") # Writing each word on a new line
        
    f2.close()

# To call the function:
sortWords()

Important Notes for Students

As a teacher, I want you to focus on these three key points so you don’t lose marks:

• Case Sensitivity: In Python sorting, capital letters come before lowercase letters (e.g., ‘Z’ comes before ‘a’). If you want a truly alphabetical sort regardless of case, you would use wordlist.sort(key=str.lower).

• sort() vs sorted(): list.sort() modifies the original list and returns nothing. sorted(list) creates a new sorted list. For this program, list.sort() is perfectly fine.

• Newlines: I used \n in the write() function so the sorted file looks organized like a dictionary. You can change this to a space " " if you want them in a single paragraph.

Teacher’s Secret Tip for Exams:

If the examiner asks you to sort in Reverse Alphabetical Order (Z to A), simply change the sort line to: wordlist.sort(reverse=True).

Want to practice more? If you found this helpful, I have compiled a full list of 30 practice problems just like this one. Each question focuses on a different logic to help you become a pro at File Handling.

Click here to view the full 30-Question Practice Set