A control circuit obtains and utilizes a first set of rules that determines a distance, as a function of a modified Jaccard distance, between each of a number of predetermined classes. The control circuit utilizes that information to generate groups of the predefined classes by evaluating the distance between each of the predetermined classes. First probabilities for each of the additional text entries regarding membership in each of the groups so generated is calculated along with second probabilities regarding membership in a particular one of the predefined classes in its corresponding group. A resultant probability is then calculated using the first and second probabilities that a given additional text entry belongs to a particular one of the predefined classes. The control circuit then utilizes that resultant probability information to automatically classify additional text entries by associating the given additional text entry to a particular one of the predefined classes.