If a student has strong decoding skills but weak encoding skills, which statement best describes the two steps in order?

If a student has strong decoding skills but weak encoding skills, which statement best describes the two steps in order?

• A. Encoding before Decoding.
• B. Decoding before Encoding.
• C. Decoding first, encoding second.
• D. Phonemic awareness precedes decoding.

Answer: (C)

Decoding and encoding are two ways we move between spoken and written language. Decoding means turning printed letters into sounds to read a word aloud. Encoding means taking the sounds you hear and writing them with letters to spell the word. If a student reads well by decoding but struggles with spelling, the logical order is to decode first to identify the word's sounds, then encode to spell it. For example, you hear the sounds /k/ /æ/ /t/ and read the word as “cat” by decoding; encoding would be writing the letters c-a-t to capture those same sounds. This ordering—decode first, encode second—matches the strength pattern and shows how reading and writing rely on the same phonemic knowledge but in different directions.

Decoding and encoding are two ways we move between spoken and written language. Decoding means turning printed letters into sounds to read a word aloud. Encoding means taking the sounds you hear and writing them with letters to spell the word. If a student reads well by decoding but struggles with spelling, the logical order is to decode first to identify the word's sounds, then encode to spell it. For example, you hear the sounds /k/ /æ/ /t/ and read the word as “cat” by decoding; encoding would be writing the letters c-a-t to capture those same sounds. This ordering—decode first, encode second—matches the strength pattern and shows how reading and writing rely on the same phonemic knowledge but in different directions.