Which miscue category describes leaving out a word?

• A. Omission of a word.
• B. Insertion of a word.
• C. Substitution of a word.
• D. Self-correction.

Answer: (C)

Leaving out a word is an omission. When a reader skips a word while reading aloud, that word is omitted from the text they read. This is different from inserting an extra word (insertion), replacing a word with another (substitution), or recognizing and fixing an error as they read (self-correction). For example, reading “The cat sat on the mat” as “The cat on the mat” leaves out the word “sat.” So the miscue described by leaving out a word is omission of a word, not substitution or the other categories.