Providing information for preservice teacher education students and inservice teachers refreshing their knowledge, this self-instruction book addresses "word attack" or word analysis strategies, which are part of the strategies readers use to process written language for meaning. New to the sixth edition of the book are updated references, a more careful selection of key words to aid users of the book, and a new self-check at the end of the book to allow readers to monitor their own improvement. After a discussion of what word attack is and a self-check on word attack, sections of the book address consonants, vowels, morphemic and structural analysis, context cues, and using the dictionary. The new self-check and a "final perspective" conclude the book. Contains 44 references. (RS)