While many college students at two-year public colleges need Basic Writing classes before entering college-level writing courses, only 34% have successfully passed their Basic Writing classes (Ternes, 2008). Troyo (2000) maintained that the reason students failed in Basic Writing classes was that more research-based effective teaching strategies need to be identified and implemented. This dissertation investigated strategies to advance college-ready writing competencies. This case study involved 15 Basic Writers and the instructor at a Pre-College Writing class at Juniper Technical College. The students were interviewed three times, respectively at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the semester, regarding their writing challenges and the teaching strategies they found effective. The instructor was also interviewed regarding her knowledge and observations of the students, and her teaching strategies to address their writing challenges. In addition, the students' writing samples, submitted prior to instruction, during instruction, and after instruction, were analyzed to keep a record of students' growth in writing. This study concluded that the students were challenged with content, conventions, organization, writer's block, and the writing process. They reported the following effective teaching strategies: be approachable; accompany the students through the writing process; establish a learning community; provide clear instruction; offer timely feedback, and understand students' social background. This study demonstrated that these six effective teaching strategies addressed the students' five challenges and improved their writing competency. Most importantly, both the challenges and the effective teaching strategies were voiced by the students themselves, a unique feature of this study compared to the literature review. The results of this study suggest that future Basic Writing instructors adopt a college-ready rubric into their teaching. Because of students' unique social backgrounds, Basic Writers need motivation and encouragement from their instructor to achieve academic excellence. Their voice, opinions, and preferences of teaching strategies should be seriously considered and blended into daily teaching activities. Moreover, it is crucial that Basic Writing instructors design effective classroom activities to engage students and accompany them through the entire writing process with timely feedback and guidance to help Basic Writers develop and grow as writers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]