characteristics of different writing systems -- partly to gain some
insight into written English and partly to clear up misconceptions
about many writing systems.

Note that we used the term processes a few times in the preceding
sentences. This book is primarily about how the mind processes
information during reading. We will have virtually nothing to say
about motivational and emotional issues during reading. Our focus in
the book will be on the reading process for skilled readers who are
motivated to read. We assume that such skilled and motivated
reading characterizes much of reading, and as you shall see, it is
enough of a challenge to explain it. However, beginning reading and
certain kinds of reading disabilities will be the focus of Part 4.

Chapter 3 is one of the most important chapters in the book because
there we will discuss how words are identified. In that chapter, we
will describe some of the work cognitive psychologists have done to
understand how isolated words are perceived, recognized, and
understood. Some researchers are critical of this work and suggest
that identifying words in isolation is quite different from normal
fluent reading. The position we adopt (and will justify at various
points in the book) is that skilled reading involves a number of
component processes, and that these component processes can be
studied. That is not to say we believe that reading is merely
identifying individual words and stringing the meaning of the words
together; the process of comprehending text is much more complex
than that. However, a moment's reflection should make it clear that
for reading to proceed at all efficiently, we must be able to recognize
and understand the meaning of most -- if not all -- the individual
words we encounter.

The first section of the book thus will primarily provide you with the
background information necessary to understand the process of
reading. In the subsequent sections, this background information will
be used to help you understand the complex information-processing
activities that occur when you read and understand text.

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