What term describes the process of writing a symbol to represent a sound?

The process of writing a symbol to represent a sound is referred to as encoding. This involves taking spoken language sounds (phonemes) and translating them into written symbols (graphemes), which are the letters or characters used in written communication. Encoding is a critical skill in early literacy development as it connects phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds) with written language, helping learners to create words on paper.

The other terms relate to different aspects of reading and writing. Decoding refers to the process of interpreting written symbols to understand spoken language, typically the reverse of encoding. Comprehension involves understanding and making meaning from text, while phonetics is the study of sounds in human speech, but it does not specifically address the act of writing symbols. Thus, encoding is the most accurate term for the process described in the question.