Rather than being viewed as a reading skill, comprehension is viewed as inferring the task of the writer or as discerning the ends and means of a discourse. Inferring the writer's task is to reason backwards from the product to the questions with which he may have started. Discerning ends and means is to view what is described, argued, or explained; to see order, language, and structure. Many skills are needed to comprehend, and these should meet certain evaluative criteria relating to their validity, inclusiveness, coherence, and brevity. No hierarchical sequence is needed for teaching comprehension skills, but teachers should be able to select those skills which are needed by their students. A list of skills, and explanations of them, is attached. (MD)