Decoding in reading helps you primarily to:

Decoding in reading helps you primarily to:

• A. It helps you memorize vocabulary for spelling tests.
• B. Pronounce and sound out words so that you can understand text.
• C. Read the text faster without understanding.
• D. Understand the author's purpose without decoding.

Answer: (B)

Decoding in reading is turning letters into sounds so you can read words aloud and understand what the text says. When you can blend the sounds of individual letters into whole words, you access their meaning and with it the ideas the author is sharing. This connection between pronunciation and meaning is what makes decoding essential for comprehension—you can’t grasp the message if you can’t recognize and pronounce the words. So the primary purpose is to pronounce and sound out words so that you can understand the text. It isn’t mainly about memorizing vocabulary for spelling tests, which is a different skill, nor is it about reading faster without understanding. And understanding the author’s purpose relies on understanding the text itself, which starts with decoding the words.

Decoding in reading is turning letters into sounds so you can read words aloud and understand what the text says. When you can blend the sounds of individual letters into whole words, you access their meaning and with it the ideas the author is sharing. This connection between pronunciation and meaning is what makes decoding essential for comprehension—you can’t grasp the message if you can’t recognize and pronounce the words.

So the primary purpose is to pronounce and sound out words so that you can understand the text. It isn’t mainly about memorizing vocabulary for spelling tests, which is a different skill, nor is it about reading faster without understanding. And understanding the author’s purpose relies on understanding the text itself, which starts with decoding the words.