Attempts to combine language and composition in the freshman English course at Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, Minnesota) should interest all teachers of English. One project utilized a single key word for several assignments. Students were asked to (1) think through the meaning of the word for a week and write definitions and associations, (2) consult dictionaries to differentiate connotative and denotative definitions, (3) collect definitions and usages from their peers, (4) consider possible bases for definition classification, (5) trace the word in the "New English Dictionary," and (6) compile citations of uses of the word encountered in print. An alternative assignment was an historical survey using six versions of the Bible to trace a given passage. One nonhistorical approach involved an analysis of words used in advertisements. In other instances, studying the origins of place names led to the compilation of linguistic atlases, and an essay assignment encouraged students to project generalizations about language after reading "local color" fiction. The limited and frequently erroneous conclusions which resulted became the bases for further discussions. (RD)