Some basic pattern-analyzing functions that occur during the reading process are described in this paper. The functions deal mainly with the analysis of typographical factors such as word shape, spacing, and orientation, but they also interact with contextual variables. The research interpreted in the paper proposes an attentional model of reading that begins with decoding graphemic information and ends with interpretation of contextual material. In essence, the model proposes that the more experience the beginning reader has, the more automatic become the successive stages of the reading process; with increasing experience or practice, the reader becomes more sensitive to word shape and spelling pattern shape, pays less attention to graphemic decoding skills, and focuses more attention on the higher-order information processing stages. The implications of this model and the corresponding research about visual perception and cognitive processes in reading are described, with special reference to the reading disabled. (Discussion following presentation of the paper is included.) (RL)