Final answer:
Misspelling "wait" as "whet" is an orthographic error because it involves substituting one grapheme for another, which leads to an incorrect representation of the sounds in the word.
Step-by-step explanation:
Misspelling "wait" as "whet" demonstrates an orthographic error by involving a substitution of one grapheme for another. This kind of error occurs when the written symbols (graphemes) that are chosen do not correctly correspond to the phonemes (sounds) of the desired word. An orthographic error is a mistake in the spelling of a word that results in the wrong letter, or set of letters, being used to represent sounds.
Orthographic errors are not necessarily indicative of a lack of phonemic awareness, which is the understanding of how phonemes work together to create words. Instead, these errors may occur for various reasons including unfamiliarity with spelling conventions, or in the case of individuals with dyslexia, difficulty with sound-letter correspondence. Misspellings like substituting "whet" for "wait" may confuse readers because the incorrect spelling represents a completely different word with its own meaning.