The prosodic features of oral reading refer to such things as:

• A. Rhythm
• B. Punctuation
• C. Volume
• D. Intonation

Answer: (D)

Prosody in oral reading is about the sound pattern that adds meaning beyond the words themselves. The most distinctive feature here is intonation—the rise and fall of pitch as we speak. This melodic contour signals questions, statements, emphasis, and mood, helping the listener grasp nuance and sentence type. Rhythm and volume are part of vocal delivery, but rhythm concerns timing and beat, and volume is about how loud you are; they don’t convey meaning through pitch in the same direct way. Punctuation guides how we pause and stress in reading, but it’s a written cue rather than a spoken feature. So the characteristic that best captures prosodic features in oral reading is the intonation pattern.