Quick Introduction to Comprehension. Reading comprehension is understanding a text that is read, or the process of "constructing meaning" from a text. Comprehension is a "construction process" because it involves all of the elements of the reading process, working together. For comprehension to occur, words must be decoded and associated with their meanings in a reader's memory. And phrases and sentences must be processed fluently so that the meanings derived from one word, phrase or sentence are not lost before the next one is processed. The reader must construct a writer's message without the benefit of live conversation, relying only on what is derived from the text and the reader's own prior knowledge or past experiences. The reader must monitor this construction process, solving problems and making repairs as needed. This involves the conscious use of comprehension strategies.