This document provides case studies of innovative Composition I programs at six community colleges throughout the country. Information on the various programs was obtained by means of field research at the colleges. Chapter One describes a grammar-oriented approach at Houston Community College and analyzes the reasons and techniques of teaching grammar. Chapter Two discusses Forest Park Community College's reluctance to teach grammar and analyzes the effect of recent scholarship in social dialects on the teaching of composition. Chapter Three describes the approach at Austin Community College which emphasizes Kinneavy's theory of the aims of discourse. Chapter Four discusses the simulations approach at Long Beach City College and analyzes the need for realistic, well-defined writing situations. Chapter Five describes the classroom-tutorial approach at Tarrant County Junior College and analyzes individualization in composition instruction, and Chapter Six describes the applied communication alternative to composition at Meramec Community College and analyzes the rationale for a career-oriented alternative for those students desiring it. The study concludes that instructional emphasis on social dialects is growing, and that instructors are making greater efforts to develop realistic, well-designed writing assignments. (Author/JDS)