Which term refers to the ability to construct meaning from printed text?

• A. Vocabulary
• B. Graphemes
• C. Reading comprehension
• D. Literacy

Answer: (C)

Reading comprehension is the ability to construct meaning from printed text. It means understanding ideas, identifying the main point, and making inferences as you connect new information to what you already know while you read. It’s about grasping how sentences and paragraphs fit together to convey a message or purpose, not just recognizing words aloud. Vocabulary and fluency support this process, but they aren’t the act of meaning-making itself. Graphemes are the basic letters and sounds that form words, which is about decoding rather than understanding, and literacy is the broader set of reading and writing abilities. The term that captures the act of making sense of text is reading comprehension.